Thornton lifts Sharks at horn
Last-second goal helps knot series
Joe Thornton tipped Douglas Murray's shot from the point with 9.4 seconds left in regulation to give San Jose a 3-2 win in Calgary last night, evening the first-round series at two games apiece.
The Sharks' assistant captain, his team's leading goal-scorer during the regular season, had been under some scrutiny after failing to score in the first three games of the series.
"I was just waiting until there was under 10 seconds left in the game," Thornton said, joking. "Perfect time."
The Flames set a franchise low for shots on goal in a playoff game, mustering just 10 against the Sharks' Evgeni Nabokov. Their previous low was 15.
"Any time you get outshot, 32-10, at home, that means you didn't come to work and you didn't put in the effort," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "We carried some play early, but it was all San Jose after that. They completely outplayed us."
Ryane Clowe scored his fourth of the series and Jonathan Cheechoo had his first for the Sharks.
Flames captain Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist and Dion Phaneuf also scored. Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who was pulled just 3 1/2 minutes into Sunday's Game 3 after giving up three goals, stopped 29 shots.
Cheechoo deadlocked the score at 2 at 15:06 of the third period with a sharp-angled shot that found a hole between Kiprusoff's shoulder and the crossbar.
Avalanche 5, Wild 1 - Jose Theodore stopped 24 shots and Colorado used a three-goal first-period to rout visiting Minnesota, tying their first-round series at two games each.
The first three games of the series - as well as the last two when these teams met in the 2003 playoffs - all went into overtime and ended in 3-2 scores.
The teams gathered barely 21 hours after Game 3, the rare back-to-back in the playoffs necessitated by the NBA's Denver Nuggets having the court tonight for their regular-season finale.
Minnesota collected an astounding 111 minutes of penalty time, 24 by Derek Boogaard, who was ejected, and 35 by Stephane Veilleux, who received a 10-minute misconduct that was assessed at game's end. On the other side, Colorado collected 43 minutes of penalty time.
For the fourth straight time in this series, Theodore held Minnesota scoreless heading into the third period.
Flyers 6, Capitals 3 - Danny Briere scored two more goals and added an assist to lead Philadelphia to a victory over visiting Washington.
No player has more postseason points the past three years than Briere. His four goals and two assists are a huge reason the Flyers hold a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Brooks Laich beat Martin Biron with 4:34 left in the game to make it 4-3. The play was reviewed for several minutes to make sure the puck wasn't played with a high stick, but the goal stood.
Mike Richards scored on a penalty shot less than two minutes later to seal the win.
The Flyers even shut down likely MVP Alex Ovechkin after they lost defenseman Kimmo Timonen in the final minute of the second. Laich cross-checked Timonen into the net and he was slammed on his right arm. Timonen writhed in pain, was helped off the ice, and did not return.
Ducks 4, Stars 2 - Chris Pronger scored two power-play goals after assisting on Anaheim's first goal as the Ducks handed Dallas its seventh loss in eight home playoff games.
Anaheim, by finally playing like the Stanley Cup champs, cut its series deficit to 2-1.
Anaheim led, 4-0, before Stars captain Brenden Morrow scored two power-play goals 1:39 apart in the third period. But Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere (31 saves) held firm the rest of the way.
