Nolan’s goal sparks Sharks to big Game 7 victory in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS >> You could rightfully call it the Shot Heard ‘Round the World without overselling its impact on Game 7 of the Sharks’ firstround playoff series against the Blues.
As Owen Nolan wound up from just inside the red line Tuesday night, the final seconds of the first period were ticking away. The Sharks led 1-0. But it seemed a paper-thin 1-0.
The Sharks scored early, Ronnie Stern poking home the rebound of a wild shot by Marcus Ragnarsson just 2:51 into the contest. Less than a minute later, they went on a power play which yielded several glorious chances to make it 2-0.
But no. Roman Turek, the Blues’ goalie, stopped them all, and the game remained 1-0.
Not only that, but the pace grew faster and faster as the period unfolded, and you know how a fast-paced style favors the Sharks — like a white belt with matching loafers.
Not that you want to turn your nose up at a 1-0 lead after one period of a Game 7 on the road. Still, it had all the earmarks of a Peggy Lee period: Is that all there is? Twenty minutes of mostly dominant hockey for this puny payoff?
This was the scenario as Nolan wound up and let fly. It was a mighty shot, but not what you would consider a great scoring chance. There seemed too much ice between Nolan and Turek. Turek appeared
to have plenty of time to size it up. It seemed more an act of defiance on Nolan’s part.
Then an incredible thing happened. The puck, sailing high, glanced off Turek and deflected into the net. With 10.2 seconds to play in the first period, the Sharks had their elusive second goal and a 2-0 lead.
“The way fluky goals have been going in this series, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it,” said Nolan, who didn’t even see it go in. “I was going to the bench for a (line) change and I heard everybody start yelling.”
As we reflect upon the Sharks’ stunning 3-1 win and their pulsating elimination of the Blues, we can see that Nolan’s goal only changed everything.
It altered the style of play. It changed the mindset of both teams. “I’m sure it impacted them more than it did us,” Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said.
It gave sharper definition to the final 40 minutes. It made it a Sharks-style game instead of a Blues-style game.
“It’s hard to come back from two goals, especially if you’re playing a team that’s playing well defensively,” Nolan said. “That was our plan, to get ahead and then play well around (goalie) Steve (Shields).”
The Sharks produced too many nice plays and big efforts to recount here, but Shields deserves special mention. Benched after allowing six goals in two periods in Game 6 on Sunday, he was alternately steady and brilliant Tuesday.
But Nolan’s shot was the one that set the tone for everything that followed. And maybe everything that follows Game 7. For years the Sharks have been, at best, a gritty team of modest means trying to do every little thing right to make up for the fact they rarely do any one thing really big.
Along the way they’ve had their Arturs Irbes, their Jamie Bakers and their Ray Whitneys, even a younger Owen Nolan on the come.
This was the first time they had a big-time player make a big-time play in a big-time game. Make that plays, plural. Nolan seemed to be everywhere, making a shrewd pass, delivering a crunching hit to stifle a Blues rush, killing penalties. You could say it was a coming of age of sorts.
Nolan has tantalized, as he did with his hat trick in the 1997 All-Star game. He has disappointed, as he did with his 19goal season a year ago. He has confounded, as he did when he riled the Colorado Avalanche with comments on the eve of last year’s first round.
Now here he was coming full circle, making the plays a playmaker should.
“Hey, he scored six goals, he was a physical force, he showed great leadership and he played a ton of minutes,” Sutter said, assessing Nolan’s series.
It wasn’t just his booming goal from halfway across Kiel Center. There was subtlety and grit to his game. When Stephane Matteau was called for a brutally unintelligent four-minute highsticking penalty early in the third period, Nolan got part of it back with a hustle play that drew a holding penalty from the Blues’ Al MacInnis.
Then Vincent Damphousse followed that with a high-sticking penalty of his own, and it appeared the third period might dissolve into a chaotic fire drill that would breathe life into the Blues. For four agonizing minutes, the Sharks skated 4-on-5, 4-on-4, 3-on-4, 3-on-5, 4-on-5 before finally killing the penalties with Nolan leading the charge. More than 13 minutes still remained. But in the peculiar ebb and flow of hockey, in which teams so often gain momentum by having something to lose and then avoiding losing it, the Sharks were back in control.
And it won because its big player made the big play that leaders often do.