The slimmest of margins

Evenly matched teams resulted in a series for the ages

These two teams remain as evenly matched as you can get. How do you gain an edge then?

Both coaches opted to take the long-term view in a game of finality. Avalanche coach Bob Hartley played his fourth line and third defensive pairing much more in this game than in previous outings. Likewise, Sharks coach Darryl Sutter used all of his personnel. Also of interest, both bench bosses were content to let the established matchups ride top lines going head-to-head, right on through to the fourth lines.

That mindset made for a high-energy, rugged affair. Bone-jarring bodychecks on the forecheck and the resulting scoring chances kept the atmosphere tense. Not surprisingly, the goaltenders were critical, especially on Teemu Selanne -- the best offensive player for San Jose -- and Chris Drury, the most dangerous Avalanche attacker.

Patrick Roy and Evgeni Nabokov, respectively, snuffed out their efforts, as the teams took turns in applying pressure and getting pucks and traffic to the net. Selanne had a chance to change the course of this contest early in the first when he banked a wraparound attempt off the far post, while Roy was down and out of the net. Drury, too, had an open net, but passed instead, not realizing Nabokov was struggling to move left to right.

Back and forth they went in slugfest fashion, with subtlety seemingly had no place. Nevertheless, as the second period wore on, Hartley tinkered with his top two lines. First, he showed the obvious move, putting Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic together for a shift. Then he got creative, flip-flopping Steven Reinprecht and Alex Tanguay on the Sakic and Forsberg lines.

The tinkering paid immediate dividends in the open ice, with Forsberg cashing in on a beautiful give-and-go with Tanguay, as Drury drove the lane and backed of the weakside defender. Sutter recognized his top threat was Selanne, reinserting the speedy Marco Sturm on that line, replacing Adam Graves, who had played with Selanne and Marleau for the past three games. With Sturm, that trio gives the Sharks an open-ice threat in transition, the one offensive area they lag behind the Avs.

The intensity reached the boiling point in the third, first with a Selanne two-hander on Forsberg. The tensions continued when Owen Nolan and Adam Foote traded punches of frustration. With four-on-four action and the game and series outcome being uncertain, the line combinations became unrecognizable. Shifts were short, the pace furious.

Suddenly, it was over. The breath-taking action simply ceased. Colorado to the conference finals; San Jose to the sidelines, with an entire summer to wonder what might have been had Selanne scored on that original wraparound. Regardless, what a game. What a series.

Three Stars

1. Roy: Two Game 7 shutouts in successive series. Is this guy for real, or what?

2. Nabokov: He couldn’t quite match Roy’s perfection, but the second-year netminder came pretty darn close.

3. Forsberg: Forsberg scores the game-winner for the second straight game. Unbelievable.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason for CNNSI.com.

 

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