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Sharks try to keep playoff hopes alive, again

May 2, 2008 - 1:31 PM Dallas at San Jose 10:00 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Stars lead, 3-1

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) - The San Jose Sharks avoided a sweep, but they still have a long way to go to get back in the Western Conference semifinals.

The second-seeded Sharks try to keep their playoff hopes alive on Friday when they host the fifth-seeded Dallas Stars for Game Five of their best-of-seven series.

Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek each scored a goal as the Sharks rallied from a two-goal deficit on Wednesday to claim a 2-1 victory over the Stars in Game Four.

Despite the thrilling victory, Marleau is making sure San Jose focuses on one game at a time.

"We can't get too far ahead of ourselves," Marleau said. "We're going home and feel pretty confident about ourselves. That being said, we still have a lot of work ahead of us."

Vezina Trophy finalist Evgeni Nabokov made 17 saves for the Sharks and Michalek believes the momentum is back with his team.

"Obviously, (the Stars) didn't want to go back (to San Jose), so we got the confidence now and they're going to be nervous now, so it's great for us," Michalek said. "We're going to go home and we're going to win at home now."

Only two teams in NHL history have come back from 3-0 series deficits in 150 instances and Sharks coach Ron Wilson praised his team for playing with a sense of desperation.

"We had nothing to lose," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "So we went out there and had fun. We'll embrace the challenge to make history in coming back from a 3-0 deficit."

Despite failing to close out the series on home ice, Stars goalie Marty Turco isn't worried, saying his team never expected to advance with four consecutive wins.

"After winning the first three, at home, you'd like to close it out," said Turco, who made 22 saves in Game Four. "We smelled the blood, we went after it. I don't think we ever thought we were going to win four straight in this series against these guys. Until (Game Three), we were always planning on going back to San Jose."