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Shark attack Blues ready for more rough stuff in Game 2
Posted: Saturday April 15, 2000 01:44 AM
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Chris Pronger took the San Jose Sharks' best shots, picked up a few teeth, and kept smiling. The St. Louis Blues' captain is expecting more roughhouse tactics, like Tony Granato's stick to the mouth, in Game 2 of the Western Conference series Saturday. It's just part of playoff hockey. "I'm sure I've got a target on my back, and they're going to try to get me to take some penalties," Pronger said. "It's no different from any playoff series we've been in." Besides, he gives as well as he receives. The Blues complained a bit about the Sharks' physical strategy after winning the opener 5-3, but only a bit. "Let's not forget Chris Pronger is the first guy getting in everybody else's face," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said. "That's his game." The Sharks' game is to try to throw off the durable Pronger, who led the NHL with 30-plus minutes played during the regular season and logged 30:30 in the opener. Sutter put grinding winger Dave Lowry on the first line with Owen Nolan solely to occupy Pronger and create space for his linemates. "Apparently, he's my shadow," Pronger said. "He's out there to annoy me." Lowry, who played only 32 games in the regular season, knew his role. His game-opening goal at the 46-second mark was an unexpected bonus. "He's a huge player on their team," Lowry said. "You have to play hard against him and limit his space, and that's all we're trying to do." Pronger's job is to neutralize Nolan, who led the Sharks with 44 goals in the regular season, as much as possible. Whenever Nolan is on the ice, it's a good bet Pronger will be out there, too. He's also doing his best to turn the other cheek as often as possible so he can stay out and control play with his large wingspan. He's an MVP candidate after leading the NHL with a plus-52 and finishing second among defensemen in scoring with 62 points, and he also scored on a rebound in the third period of Game 1. "You've got to have extra discipline and try to bite your lip or squeeze your stick a little bit harder to not do anything," Pronger said. "But you know what they're trying to do out there, so you just grin and bear it." Lowry goaded Pronger into one coincidental minor penalty in Game 1, and Pronger doesn't want it to happen again. "He's feisty, and we want him on the ice," Blues center Craig Conroy said. "One time he and Lowry took a penalty and those two guys, it's not a good tradeoff for us." The Blues' offense will have right wing Scott Young, who missed the opener with a dislocated right shoulder, back for Game 2. Young had 24 goals in the regular season and rejoins Pierre Turgeon on the first line. "He and Turgeon work well together," coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's good to have him back." Turgeon looked fine in practice Friday after what Quenneville called "resting" on Thursday. Turgeon had one shot and was minus-2 in the opener. "It happens during the year and I'm feeling great today," Turgeon said. "I didn't do anything -- no bike, no weights, nothing." Sharks left wing Jeff Friesen also returned to practice after missing Game 1, likely with food poisoning. Friesen has played 130 consecutive regular-season games, third on the Sharks' career list, and had 26 goals and 61 points in the regular season. "It was just unbelievable timing," Friesen said. "The body just shut down. I'm back to normal now."
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