Calgary Flames coach Mike Keenan stated before the game that someone was going to beat the Sharks in San Jose this season during regulation, and if someone was going to do it it might as well be his team. The Flames toughed it out in a close game to be the first team in the 2008-2009 season to do just that, as Calgary beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 with Dion Phaneuf's game winning goal coming with just 3 minutes left in the third period.
Similar to the past few games, San Jose jumped on the board early. A minute into the game, Ryane Clowe scored his 19th goal of the season and tied his previous career high in points as he took a pass from Dan Boyle and put it past Miikka Kiprusoff to make it 1-0. Since then, the Flames dug deep and the match became a hard hitting, fast paced physical battle throughout, a game most people had expected (but did not see) from the previous two meetings between these clubs. Momentum shifted towards Calgary near the end of the first period, and it carried over into the second. Two minutes into the period, David Moss and Craig Conroy outfought Christian Ehrhoff in front of the San Jose net and put the loose puck past a sprawling Evgeni Nabokov to make it 1-1. However, Joe Thorton took a pass off the boards from Devin Setoguchi, deked Phaneuf, and put the puck between Kiprusoff's legs to give the Sharks a lead again at 2-1. But Calgary scored again early on a power play after Douglas Murray failed to clear the puck out of the zone and was out of position, leaving Daymond Langkow alone in front of the San Jose net as he deflected a shot past Nabokov to tie the game again. The third period was an even match throughout, but Phaneuf finally got the final goal of the game as his shot deflected off San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's stick, and the shot squeezed past Nabokov and sealed the game 3-2.
The score could've been a lot higher, as both teams had quality scoring chances but did not get the lucky bounce. Patrick Marleau had Kiprusoff out of the net and tried to tuck the puck in, but a Calgary skate blocked entry of the puck. Both Calgary and San Jose thought they had scored when the puck rang off the post two different times, but the puck never crossed the line in either situation. San Jose also failed to convert 5 seperate power play attempts, including a 30 second 5 on 3 situation, although there were frequently loose pucks in front of Kiprusoff. The Sharks were also playing without defenseman Rob Blake for the majority of the game, as he took a shot into the face early in the first period and never returned from the locker room. Phaneuf's first goal in 26 games ended San Jose's undefeated in regulation streak, which lasted 11 months dating back to last season, where they went 28-0-3 at home, and was the second longest streak in the history of the NHL. The Sharks now have to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday to determine who is the best team in the Western Conference. With a win today, the Red Wings moved to within 1 point of San Jose for the top spot in the conference.
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