Giguere makes milestone win against Sharks
03.03.05 22:42MST
Flames sink Sharks 2-1
Flames starterJ-S Giguere (pictured with his idol Patrick Roy) collected his 200th win against the San Jose Sharks in Calgary this evening before 19,000 fans. The netminder stopped 15 of 16 shots that came his way as the Flames continue their torrid run down the stretch, extending their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Opening the scoring was Flame Dean McAmmond who tipped a point shot from Toni Lydman at 4:28 of the first period. Glen Murray of San Jose later tied the game late in the Second Period with assists from Ekman and Cheechoo. Martin Gelinas iced the game at 13:43 of the Third Period with a goal from Cammalleri and Lydman.
"It feels good to get 200 wins in the NHL." Said the 27yr old netminder. "To be honest, it has flown by. I feel like I could win another 200."
With the win, Calgary has closed ground on 3rd place in the conference, occupied by the very same Sharks, making this an important victory for the team. "This was a tight game. We've been playing really well for about 3 weeks now and are getting really comfortable in these close games." Said Coach Fyvie. "We're comfortably in 4th place and we want 3rd place now." Calgary now sits one point back of the Sharks who have 74 points.
The team is also a remarkable 14-2-2 since the return of defenseman Zbynek Michalek. "He's really important. When he went down with that broken hand in early November, we knew we had to ride it out until he came back." Said Coach Fyvie.
The Flames outshot the Sharks 44-16 and 0-5 on the powerplay. San Jose went 0-4 with the man advantage.
The Flames next play the Stanley Cup Champs Blues March 5th in St.Louis. The Sharks return home to host the Boston Bruins March 6th. Both San Jose and Calgary have 16 games left to play before season's end.