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Sharks hope to even series against Nolan, Flames

Apr 15, 2008 - 1:28 PM San Jose at Calgary 10:00 pm EDT Western Conference quarterfinals Flames lead, 2-1

CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) - The San Jose Sharks have their hands full right now, thanks in part to a former captain.

The Sharks will look to even the series at two wins apiece Tuesday when they visit Owen Nolan and the Calgary Flames in Game Four of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

A former Shark, Nolan snapped a tie with 3:45 remaining in the third period as seventh-seeded Calgary rallied from an early three-goal deficit to defeat second-seeded San Jose, 4-3, in Game Three on Sunday.

"We're too stubborn in here," Nolan said of the comeback. "We've got a lot of pride to sit back after the quick start that they had. We regrouped and got back to playing the way we wanted to play and just kept pressing the puck."

Captain Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow had power-play goals and defenseman Dion Phaneuf also tallied for Calgary, which leads the best-of-seven series two-games-to-one.

After starting goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff surrendered three goals on five shots, Curtis Joseph relieved the Finnish netminder and stopped all 22 shots he faced.

"It felt great coming back from 3-0," said Joseph, whose last playoff appearance was with the Detroit Red Wings, playing against the Flames on May 3, 2004. "It doesn't happen too many times in your career, especially in a playoff game. It was nice to see the boys really work hard."

"Curtis played exceptionally well," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said. "He was very composed, he looked like a veteran and steadied the game for us."

The Sharks, who went 18-2-2 to close the season, will have to avoid another meltdown if they hope to reach the next round.

"I guess we kind of got complacent a little bit," Ryan Clowe said. "You don't do that in the playoffs. Those power plays are key and you have to have that killer instinct. We have to put this one in the past."

"If we kept the foot on the gas and kept pushing the pace, it may be a different outcome," Patrick Marleau said. "We sat back and they came back at us."