Marc Ciampa
June 5th, 2004

One win away.

Not only that, but two shots at the Stanley Cup with the first being on home ice at the Pengrowth Saddledome tonight (CBC/ABC, 6:00 p.m. MT).

These are the Calgary Flames we're talking about. That small market Canadian team that many people, including its own fans, thought would never challenge for the Stanley Cup again.

And yet, here we are, one more improbable victory from seeing Jarome Iginla hoisting the Stanley Cup. Yes, the same Jarome Iginla that was seen as a big part of the "new era" when one of the last remnants to the 1989 Cup-Joe Nieuwendyk-was traded out of Calgary eight years ago.

Over those eight years, Flames fans have watched painfully as its team missed playoff after playoff while its alumni was leading teams to postseason success. Mike Vernon, 1997 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Joe Nieuwendyk, 1999 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Brett Hull, 1999 Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime. '

But now it's our turn, Calgary. Win or lose, it's been an amazing thrill ride and if the season ends tonight consider this: the Stanley Cup is in the building and we have the series lead.

FLAMES KEYS TO SUCCESS:

• Keep attacking: Through the first three games, the Flames managed less than 20 shots per game on Khabibulin. However, in Game 4 they blasted 29 shots on goal and in Game 5 they took 36 shots. The team needs to keep shooting and keep the territorial advantage.
• Jarome: He showed in Salt Lake 2002 he steps it up in big games. Well, they don't get much bigger than tonight. In what could very well be a 1-0 or 2-1 game, he could very well be the difference.
• Lydman: Now that the adrenaline rush of coming back to the lineup is out of the way, he'll have to make sure he can keep up the level of play he showed in Game 5.

ODDS ARE…

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team leading three games to two has an all-time record of 24-5 (.828). However, when the team leading the series 3-2 plays game six at home, that series record drops to 5-3 (.625)… Historically, when a team is up 3-2 they have won Game 6 58.6% of the time (17-12). When they play that game at home, it drops to .500 (4-4).

When the Flames lead a series 3-2 over their franchise history, they have an 8-2 series record with the only two losses coming in 1994 (Vancouver) and 1995 (San Jose). However, their record in Game 6 is only 3-7 in these situations. The three wins? 1989's Stanley Cup clincher over Montreal, and the past two rounds this year against Detroit and San Jose.

Tampa Bay has only once played a Game 6 while down three games to two, losing at home to Philadelphia in 1996.

GAME SIX HISTORY…

A look back at how teams have done in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals throughout history since 1960. The eventual Cup winner is in bold, whether or not they won the game that night:

2003 - New Jersey 2 at Anaheim 5 (result: series tied 3-3)

2001 - Colorado 4 at New Jersey 0 (result: series tied 3-3)

2000 - New Jersey 2 at Dallas 1 OT (result: Devils win series 4-2)

1999 - Dallas 2 at Buffalo 1 OT (result: Stars win series 4-2)

1994 - NY Rangers 1 at Vancouver 4 (result: series tied 3-3)

1991 - Pittsburgh 8 at Minnesota 0 (result: Penguins win series 4-2)

1989 - Calgary 4 at Montreal 2 (result: Flames win series 4-2)

1987 - Edmonton 2 at Philadelphia 3 (result: series tied 3-3)

1980 - Philadelphia 4 at NY Islanders 5 OT (result: Islanders win series 4-2)

1978 - Montreal 4 at Boston 1 (result: Canadiens win series 4-2)

1975 - Philadelphia 2 at Buffalo 0 (result: Flyers win series 4-2)

1974 - Boston 0 at Philadelphia 1 (result: Flyers win series 4-2)

1973 - Montreal 6 at Chicago 4 (result: Canadiens win series 4-2)

1972 - Boston 3 at NY Rangers 0 (result: Bruins win series 4-2)

1971 - Chicago 3 at Montreal 4 (result: series tied 3-3)

1967 - Montreal 1 at Toronto 3 (result: Leafs win series 4-2)

1966 - Montreal 3 at Detroit 2 (result: Canadiens win series 4-2)

1965 - Montreal 1 at Chicago 2 (result: series tied 3-3)

1964 - Toronto 4 at Detroit 3 (result: series tied 3-3)

1963 - Toronto 2 at Chicago 1 (result: Leafs win series 4-2)

1961 - Chicago 5 at Detroit 1 (result: Blackhawks win series 4-2)

1958 - Montreal 5 at Boston 3 (result: Canadiens win series 4-2)

One trend that Flames fans should take note of is the team playing game six on the road has gone on to win the Stanley Cup 17 out of 21 times. Not to mention, out of the last 21 game sixes, the home team has only won eight times.

The last team to win the Stanley Cup at home was the New York Islanders in 1980, on Bob Nystrom's overtime winner.

ROSTER UPDATES:

Calgary: Dean McAmmond (back), Denis Gauthier (leg) and Steve Reinprecht (shoulder) are all out for the rest of the season. Matthew Lombardi (concussion) is out. Shean Donovan (leg) is questionable).

Tampa Bay: The Lightning have nobody out of their lineup due to injury.

FAST FACTS:

The only team in National Hockey League history to lose game six at home and go on to win the Stanley Cup in game seven on the road was the 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs, who dropped a 1-0 overtime decision to the Detroit Red Wings in the sixth game only to bounce back and win Game 7 in Detroit 2-1… The Flames are 6-0 in these playoffs when Bill McCreary is one of the officials. However, before Game 4 they were 4-0 when Kerry Fraser wears the stripe… With their tenth road win of the playoffs Thursday, the Flames tied the 1995 and 2000 New Jersey Devils for a share of the NHL record… Following a loss in these playoffs, Kiprusoff has a huge 8-1 record with a 1.23 GAA and .950 save percentage with four shutouts… Iginla has regained a share of the league lead in points these playoffs with 22-tied with St. Louis and Richards… Flames are 13-1 when they score first and 11-0 when leading after two periods in this postseason… From the obscure stats file: Road teams leading by a single goal after two periods has a 5-0 record in Stanley Cup Finals history in Game 5, including Thursday night.

QUOTABLE:

"We will be having breakfast with you (the media) here Sunday. We'll be having breakfast here Sunday, and then we will get on to Game 7… We're fine. We feel good ... the pressure's not on us right now, it's on Calgary's team. They've got all of Canada here waiting for them to win, the Cup's in the building ... they're making all the calls to get their relatives in. I'm anxious to see how they respond."
- Lightning head coach John Tortorella, guaranteeing a Lightning victory tonight.

"Well, I think the biggest thing about that whole concept of playing the series of seven games was the fact that we had so many guys that hadn't been in Playoffs before and that we had a fairly inexperienced team as far as Playoffs went, and so to kind of get in that mindset of what it takes to concentrate on a set number of games and in the series kind of a fashion was, I think, beneficial, the fact that we knew the pressure games, knew the big games that it took to win and the fact that we needed to win basically all four series just to make the Playoffs, so we had a set goal that we had to achieve. In doing that, I think that we all learned very valuable things about the importance of big games."
-- Flames defenceman Andrew Ference on Sutter's coaching strategy of playing four seven-game series to close out the regular season.

"I think a lot of the guys will tell you and they will be totally honest with you when they say if we didn't win the Stanley Cup we would be very disappointed. We wouldn't say that at the start of the season. We wouldn't say that in round one, but when we put ourselves in this position, you know, we won't be happy without winning it all."
-- Flames defenceman Andrew Ference on how the team's expectations have risen during this playoff run.

HEAD-TO-HEAD:

Calgary leads best-of-seven series 3-2

June 3: Calgary 3 at Tampa Bay 2 OT
Tampa Bay: St. Louis, Modin (Khabibulin 36 shots, 33 saves)
Calgary: Gelinas, Iginla, Saprykin (Kiprusoff 28 shots, 26 saves)

May 31: Tampa Bay 1 at Calgary 0
Tampa Bay: Richards (Khabibulin 29 shots, 29 saves)
Calgary: None (Kiprusoff 19 shots, 18 saves)

May 29: Tampa Bay 0 at Calgary 3
Tampa Bay: None (Khabibulin 18 shots, 15 saves)
Calgary: Simon, Donovan, Iginla (Kiprusoff 21 shots, 21 saves)

May 27: Calgary 1 at Tampa Bay 4
Calgary: Nieminen (Kiprusoff 31 shots, 27 saves)
Tampa Bay: Fedotenko, Richards, Boyle, St. Louis (Khabibulin 19 shots, 18 saves)

May 25: Calgary 4 at Tampa Bay 1
Calgary: Gelinas, Iginla, Yelle, Simon (Kiprusoff 24 shots, 23 saves)
Tampa Bay: St. Louis (Khabibulin 19 shots, 15 saves)

Tampa Bay won the season series 1-0-0-0

January 24: Tampa Bay 6 at Calgary 2
Calgary: McAmmond, Gelinas (Turek 29 shots, 23 saves)
Tampa Bay: St. Louis (3), Fedotenko, Richards, Taylor (Grahame 20 shots, 18 saves)

STANLEY CUP HISTORY:

1989 Stanley Cup Finals (Flames win series 4-2)

May 14 Montreal Canadiens 2 at Calgary Flames 3
May 17 Montreal Canadiens 4 at Calgary Flames 2
May 19 Calgary Flames 3 at Montreal Canadiens 4
(Ryan Walter scored at 18:08 of the second overtime)
May 21 Calgary Flames 4 at Montreal Canadiens 2
May 23 Montreal Canadiens 2 at Calgary Flames 3
May 25 Calgary Flames 4 at Montreal Canadiens 2

1986 Stanley Cup Finals (Canadiens win series 4-1)

May 16 Montreal Canadiens 2 at Calgary Flames 5
May 18 Montreal Canadiens 3 at Calgary Flames 2
(Brian Skrudland scored at 0:09 of the first overtime)
May 20 Calgary Flames 3 at Montreal Canadiens 5
May 22 Calgary Flames 0 at Montreal Canadiens 1
May 24 Montreal Canadiens 4 at Calgary Flames 3