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Kiprusoff, Flames blank Sharks, force Game Seven

Apr 21, 2008 - 4:18 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- Miikka Kiprusoff put his best foot forward with his team's back against the wall.

The Finnish netminder stopped all 21 shots he faced to record his sixth career postseason shutout and Owen Nolan and Daymond Langkow both scored a goal as the seventh-seeded Calgary Flames evened their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series with the second-seeded San Jose Sharks at three games apiece with a 2-0 triumph in Game Six on Sunday.

All-Star Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for San Jose, which will host a Game Seven for the first time in its history on Tuesday.

"Winner moves on, loser goes home," Sharks captain Patrick Marleau said. "We have to come out with more desperation and intensity and be ready to play. ... It's (desperation) got to be there. Win or you're done. That's desperation right there."

While Marleau underscored desperation, Nolan expressed confidence on the winner's side.

"We're confident," Nolan said. "We were confident tonight. We really felt if we played the way we needed to play, we could win this game. We feel the same way about Game Seven. We have to be ready to work hard.

"We'll expect a better game out of them, they seemed to be a little flat-footed tonight."

Calgary coach Mike Keenan was proud of his team's consistent effort.

"I would say that's the most consistent effort as opposed to complete effort," Keenan said. "We have had some good efforts, but consistency has hurt us a little bit and that was the most consistent performance we have had to this point.

"I was pleased about the effort, but I was more pleased about the execution and the attention to detail. Small one-on-one battles for example, or the details along the boards, the board work and particularly our hard forecheck. I think that if you look after those details, we're a better team and we perform on a more consistent basis."

Kiprusoff stopped five shots in the first period, nine in the second and seven in the third to preserve the victory.

Rather than highlight his performances, Kiprusoff elected to credit his teammates for his success.

"I think they really paid the price, guys were blocking shots and we played a smart, strong game," Kiprusoff said. "I think they did a great job, both the defense and the forwards. They were all blocking shots and that's so much easier for me."

Nolan opened the scoring with 8:27 remaining in the first period.

Kristian Huselius backhanded a shot from the high slot which never made it to the net. Nolan collected the loose puck on the doorstep and slapped it past Nabokov for his second goal of the series and 20th of his postseason career.

A former captain of the Sharks, Nolan has excelled at the Pengrowth Saddledome in this series, recording two goals and two assists against the Sharks.

"It's just getting pucks to the net and whacking away," Nolan said. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"We know what it takes and when we play that way, we're effective. When we don't, we're in trouble."

Langkow doubled Calgary's advantage with just 57 seconds remaining in the second period after wristing a shot from the left faceoff circle which beat Nabokov just inside the left goalpost for his third goal of the series.

"I think guys are thinking about it (Game 7) right now," Langkow said. "It's been a back and forth series. We'll see what happens."