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Thornton's late goal rallies Sharks past Flames

Apr 16, 2008 - 6:34 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- Joe Thornton picked a fine time to score his first goal of this postseason.

The All-Star scored with 10 seconds remaining in the third period as the second-seeded San Jose Sharks evened their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series with the seventh-seeded Calgary Flames with a 3-2 triumph in Game Four on Tuesday.

Ryane Clowe scored his NHL-leading fourth goal of the playoffs and Jonathan Cheechoo also tallied for San Jose, which regained home-ice advantage in the series and hosts Game Five on Thursday.

"It's huge (that Cheechoo and Thornton scored). They were battling, and that's the key," Clowe said. "They were working hard, and while they didn't score in the first two periods, that says a lot for them and for the team. Eventually, when you work that hard, you get rewarded."

"It's nice to get home ice back," Sharks captain Patrick Marleau said. "The way the boys played tonight, we had lots of chances and it just came down to the last (10) seconds."

Captain Jarome Iginla and defenseman Dion Phaneuf scored and Miikka Kiprusoff made 29 saves for Calgary, which mustered only 10 shots on goal in this one.

"To be honest with you, their top guys produced tonight," Phaneuf said. "That's the bottom line."

"It started in the second period," Iginla said, referring to when the Sharks turned the game in their favor. "They came out with a big push and we were on our heels. We didn't compete as hard as we can and we got outworked, it's that plain and simple. It's not Xs and Os, we just got beat in more battles."

With time winding down in the third period, defenseman Doug Murray blasted a slap shot from just inside the blue line that Thornton deflected past Kiprusoff for his first goal of the playoffs.

"Doug Murray just made a great shot and I happened to get my stick and the big body in front," Thornton said. "But Dougie made the play, it was a pretty easy shot to make."

"Joe struggled mightily for two periods, but we hung in there," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "I thought that we played a tremendous game here on the road in a huge game when everything about you has been questioned and you give up 10 shots. I can't ask for anything more from our team, and Joe hung in there and found a way. I'm very proud of him."

The tally came less than five minutes after Cheechoo leveled the contest with his first goal of the series.

Cheechoo took advantage of a turnover by Daymond Langkow in the offensive zone and rifled a sharp-angle shot from just above the end line that sailed over Kiprusoff's left shoulder, knotting the game at 2-2 with 4:54 remaining.

"I had my glove up there, but I moved it at the wrong moment," Kiprusoff said. "He had a pretty good shot, but I have to play that with a little more patience and let it hit me."

Iginla opened the scoring just 3:19 into the first period, when he gathered a rebound and snapped a shot from the right faceoff circle that beat All-Star Evgeni Nabokov for his second goal in as many games.

Clowe forged a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal midway through the second period, deflecting Marleau's shot from just inside the blue line past Kiprusoff at 10:56.

Phaneuf regained the lead on just the Flames' sixth shot of the contest with 91 seconds remaining in the second period.

Iginla bested Thornton on a faceoff and slapped the puck back to Phaneuf. The All-Star defenseman skated along the blue line before wristing a shot through a myriad of players and past a screened Nabokov for his third goal of the postseason.

Although the Sharks trailed, 2-1, Clowe said his team never lost confidence.

"When a team has a one-goal lead in the third, it's human nature to sit back," he said. "That was our goal in the third, to get them back on their heels, and I think we thought they'd break if we could do that."

Kiprusoff, who surrendered three goals on five shots before being pulled early in Game Three, played much better in this one.