Sharks, Flyers Win Playoff Series Game 3

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) _ With Evgeni Nabokov back on top of his game, the Calgary Flames' path to the Stanley Cup finals looks much more treacherous. <br/><br/>Nabokov made 34 saves for his third shutout

Monday, May 10th 2004, 5:53 am

By: News On 6

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) _ With Evgeni Nabokov back on top of his game, the Calgary Flames' path to the Stanley Cup finals looks much more treacherous.

Nabokov made 34 saves for his third shutout of the playoffs, and Alex Korolyuk had two goals and an assist in the Sharks' 3-0 victory over the Flames in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night.

After winning the first two games in San Jose, the sixth-seeded Flames seemed ready for a quick resolution and a chance at the franchise's first championship since 1989. Their fanatical fans certainly expected something big, packing the Saddledome and nearly grinding Calgary to a halt while everyone watched the game.

But Nabokov has bounced back quickly from nearly every poor performance this season, and he kept the Flames frustrated. On the other end, Korolyuk set up Vincent Damphousse's opening goal and scored one of his own on a breakaway _ the first of two goals in the final two minutes.

Facing near-certain elimination with a loss, the Sharks played with an appropriate mix of desperation and motivation.

``They had a big atmosphere and big expectations, but I think we came in and shut it down,'' Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren said. ``This was one we had to have, so we went out and got it.''

Game 4 is Sunday in Calgary, with Game 5 in San Jose on Monday night. The road team has won every game in the series.

In the Eastern Conference finals, Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia 4-1 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is Saturday.

Despite a few hair-raising rebounds, Nabokov didn't allow any of the Flames' 14 third-period shots to get past him during the fourth playoff shutout of his career. He was left unaided by San Jose defensive lapses on most of the eight goals he allowed in the first two games, but the Sharks were solid in Game 3.

``We played more of a patient game,'' Nabokov said. ``They've been doing a pretty good job for the whole three games. They were shooting the puck, and they were rushing the net. But today, we didn't have that many rushes against us, and that's why we were controlling the play in the defensive zone.''

Damphousse scored on a backhander midway through the second period. With 1:50 left in the third, Korolyuk slipped behind Calgary's defense during four-on-four play and scored on a breakaway.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 21 saves for the Flames, shut out for the first time in the playoffs. Despite the backing of the so-called ``Sea of Red,'' Calgary dropped to 3-4 at home in the postseason.

``We made a few more mistakes on defense, and they capitalized on two of them,'' Flames center Craig Conroy said. ``It's nothing we can't fix.''

But the Flames and their fans blew their cool in the final minutes, angry with the officiating and infuriated by a perceived slight from Korolyuk, who pulled up short of the empty net before scoring with 44 seconds left.

Calgary goon Chris Simon pounded San Jose's Mike Rathje in a fight while Flames fans littered the ice with everything from soft drinks to green hard hats.

Simon, who tried to fight the diminutive Korolyuk before Rathje intervened, got an instigator penalty and a game misconduct for his antics, while captain Jarome Iginla also was tossed for arguing with the referees.

``It's fun to grow a dislike for that team, and I'm sure they're growing one for us,'' Iginla said.

The Flames apparently thought Korolyuk showboated by pulling up short, though Korolyuk insisted he was only trying to pass to teammate Patrick Marleau.

``I just said, 'Why are you going to fight me?''' Korolyuk said.

``I don't think there's any reason for that to be in our sport,'' coach Ron Wilson said. ``You can have 59 1/2 minutes of great hockey, then you get a black eye at the end, literally. That's what Mike Rathje has right now, but that's also a black eye for the game.''

Lightning 4, Flyers 1

At Philadelphia, Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 24 shots. Cory Stillman, Ruslan Fedotenko, Vinny Lecavalier and Brad Richards scored for Tampa Bay, which improved to 5-0 on the road in the playoffs. The Flyers were 6-0 at home this postseason.

The Lightning quickly rebounded from a 6-2 loss in Game 2, scoring two goals in a span of 2:24 to take control in the first period.