Steve Montador scored 18:43 into overtime, and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 49 shots in the Calgary Flames' 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday.
Alex Korolyuk scored with 3:21 left in regulation to force overtime for the Sharks, who set a franchise playoff record with 52 shots. But Kiprusoff, who became a star after the Sharks traded him to Calgary last November, turned aside nearly everything while winning a duel with Evgeni Nabokov, his longtime teammate.
"It's fun to be here against [the Sharks], but I don't think it makes any difference," Kiprusoff said. "It's the finals. That's enough."
Craig Conroy got two goals and Krzysztof Oliwa also scored for the Flames, who won for the fourth time in five overtime playoff games. Calgary followed its second-round upset of Detroit, which included two OT wins, by stealing home-ice advantage from the Sharks in the opener of the Flames' first trip to the conference finals since 1989.
"We've been able to steal games while they're all over us," Conroy said. "Kipper gave us a chance. We have a whole different kind of confidence with him back there."
The Sharks held Flames captain Jarome Iginla without a shot in regulation and dominated overtime, outshooting Calgary 12-5 -- but Iginla made the game-winning pass to Montador. The low-scoring, seldom-used defenseman skated untouched into the slot and beat Nabokov, who made 33 saves.
"I think the crowd was going, and I wanted to make sure that Jarome could hear me," Montador said. "I just said, `Thanks for listening.'"
Mike Ricci and Todd Harvey scored in the second period for the Sharks, who have lost two straight home playoff games after winning their first five to earn the franchise's first trip to the conference finals. Game 2 is tomorrow in San Jose.
"We've got more where that came from," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "It's disappointing to lose the game the way we did, on kind of a detail thing, a bad change. ... With 52 shots, I think we could have had 62 shots. We'll play the same way the next game, take our chances."
Both teams stuck to the strategies that propelled them into this unlikely matchup of two teams that missed the playoffs last season. San Jose rallied from 14th place in the conference last spring to the best season in franchise history, while the sixth-seeded Flames ended an eight-season playoff drought before upsetting Vancouver and Detroit.
"The bottom line is, I would bet it's easier to win the first game in this building than it would be Game 7," said Calgary coach Darryl Sutter, the Sharks' coach for five-and-a-half seasons before getting fired in December 2002.
The Sharks specialized in outstanding first-period efforts this season.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care