Evgeni Nabokov's stinginess has the San Jose Sharks one win away from their first trip to the conference finals.
Nabokov stopped 33 shots for his second shutout of the playoffs and Vincent Damphousse banked in a shot off Colorado goalie David Aebischer midway through the third period, helping the Sharks beat the Avalanche 1-0 Monday night and take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
PHOTO: REUTERS
San Jose fought off Colorado's early rush, stuck to its puck-control offense and continued to ride Nabokov's playoff-long hot streak to set up a possible sweep Wednesday in Denver.
The Avalanche were much better defensively, limiting San Jose's chances and cutting down on the miscues that left Aebischer helpless at times in the first two games.
Colorado held San Jose to 16 shots -- four in the third period -- but continued to struggle finding the net against the stingy Sharks. The Avalanche have three goals against San Jose after scoring 19 in five games against Dallas in the first round.
San Jose didn't have a shot in the third period until Damphousse knocked in his own rebound off Aebischer's back with 11:01 left.
After being outworked and outhustled the first two games in San Jose, Colorado was intent on making sure that trend didn't go on once the series shifted to Denver.
The Avalanche had an extra jump in their step early in front of the home crowd, flying into San Jose's zone, zipping crisp passes, and pounding the Sharks with hard checks every chance they got.
But Nabokov made sure Colorado's early rush didn't lead to any goals with several tough stops, including a glove save on Milan Hejduk after a nice drop pass from Peter Forsberg. Nabokov also got a break when John-Michael Liles' shot from the blue line hit the left post through traffic.
San Jose controlled the flow much better in the second period, keeping the puck in Colorado's end a good chunk of the time. The Sharks just didn't get many good scoring chances out of it, with just six shots.
Colorado added 12 more shots in the second period, but still couldn't solve Nabokov. He got a piece of Hejduk's open shot from the slot on a power play midway through, then dived back to cover after the puck ricocheted between him and Colorado's Dan Hinote on a rebound in the closing seconds.
Nabokov also had 10 saves in the third period, including a sprawling stop on Teemu Selanne midway through, to finish off his third career playoff shutout.
Flyers 2, Maple Leafs 1
Robert Esche made 26 saves and Alexei Zhamnov scored the game-winner in the third period, helping the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Sunday for a 2-0 series lead.
After going winless in his last four regular-season starts, Esche has elevated his play in the NHL postseason, winning six of seven in the playoffs, while allowing just 11 goals on 205 shots.
In the other Eastern Conference semifinal, Tampa Bay beat Montreal 3-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Despite getting captain Mats Sundin back, the Leafs couldn't generate much offense, getting their only goal from Tie Domi.
With a two-day layoff before Wednesday's Game 3, the Maple Leafs have time to rest and regroup. They'll need it, as the Flyers have never lost a best-of-seven series in which they won the first two games, going 16-0.
Donald Brashear also scored for the Flyers.
Zhamnov put the Flyers ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal with 11:35 remaining. His shot from the side of the net trickled between Ed Belfour's legs.
A 12-year veteran acquired in a deal on Feb. 19, Zhamnov has four goals and six assists in seven playoff games, tripling his career playoff point total.
Esche made several outstanding saves, especially in the second period when the Flyers were outshot 11-1. He preserved the lead by stoning Clarke Wilm on a point-blank breakaway shot late in the third period.
In the second period, Esche fell to the ice into a seated position and robbed Chad Kilger with a glove save. Esche kept it at 1-all with a kick save on a one-timer by Alexei Ponikarovsky early in the third period.
Lightning 3, Canadiens 1
At Tampa, Florida, Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 26 shots and Vincent Lecavalier scored two goals for the second straight game for the Lightning.
Khabibulin improved to 6-1 in the playoffs, and the top-seeded Lightning took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Fredrik Modin also scored for Tampa Bay, which won its fifth straight game.
Saku Koivu scored Montreal's first goal of the series in the second period.
Game 3 is in Montreal today.
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