Monday, May 17, 2004
Mike Rathje, Patrick Marlow and Vincent Damphousse had two points.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Mike Rathje was motivated by his black eye. Patrick Marleau got a boost from Wayne Gretzky. Evgeni Nabokov needed no extra incentive to be his best.
So the San Jose Sharks followed their leaders, and they evened up the Western Conference finals.
Rathje, Marleau and Vincent Damphousse each had a goal and an assist in the Sharks' 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 4 Sunday, tying the unpredictable series at two road victories apiece.
Jonathan Cheechoo also scored, and Nabokov made 27 saves in his second straight impressive performance in front of the Saddledome's intimidating "Red Sea" of fans. Nabokov's teammates gave him plenty of breathing room with a dominant four-goal second period.
Game 5 tonight
The Sharks have no time to enjoy their victory: Game 5 is tonight in San Jose, where they've lost three straight playoff games.
But Nabokov hoped the compressed schedule would allow the Sharks to retain some of their good vibes from two straight victories in Calgary.
"We can say right now that we do have momentum, but we all know how that can change," Nabokov said. "If you're not prepared, if you're not working hard for even two minutes, it's gone. We've been waiting all year for the playoffs, though. We're ready to play our best."
Rathje, still sporting a shiner after a fight with Chris Simon in Game 3, got the Sharks' first goal on a long slap shot that somehow missed Miikka Kiprusoff's glove. Rathje acknowledged the goal felt particularly special with Simon's antics still fresh in his mind.
"This is the playoffs, and that kind of [goonery], it doesn't work," Rathje said. "We've had adversity all year, and we've kept going. That's not going to stop us."
Slump snapped
Marleau snapped his seven-game goal-scoring slump late in the second period, and his scoring pass to Damphousse -- using the shaft of his stick to make a pass behind him -- was the highlight of the game.
A day after Gretzky selected him to Team Canada for the World Cup of Hockey, Marleau had his best outing of the series.
"It's definitely a boost of confidence, seeing your name up there with all those guys," Marleau said.
Jarome Iginla and Simon scored for the Flames, who lost their composure and defensive focus in the second period.
Miikka Kiprusoff, the Flames' playoff leader in the early rounds and in a 49-save performance in Game 1, made just 12 saves and allowed two terrible goals before giving way to Roman Turek in the third period.
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