Saturday, Apr. 21 3:00pm ET
Turek settles score with Sharks
RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Roman Turek spent the final seconds in
full panic mode. He scrambled and scratched, diving from post to
post. When the puck was finally cleared and the buzzer sounded, he
took a breath.
|  | | Blues defenseman Chris Pronger, top, hugs goalie Roman Turek after the Blues advanced by beating the Sharks. |
That's when St. Louis captain Chris Pronger joyously tackled him
in an embrace celebrating Turek's redemption and the Blues'
revenge.
Turek stopped 30 shots, and the Blues broke open a scoreless
game with two second-period goals in 52 seconds as St. Louis
advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 2-1 victory
over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Cory Stillman and Pavol Demitra struck for quick scores late in
the second, but the Blues owed the victory to team defense and to
Turek, who finally erased the memories of his crash-and-burn
performance against the Sharks in last season's playoffs.
"It got haywire in the dying seconds, (but) Roman was great. I
was happy Roman got the win and won the series," St. Louis coach
Joel Quenneville said. "He had to answer the critics all year
long, and I think he had the best answer he could ever give."
A year ago, St. Louis had the league's best regular-season
record but lost a seven-game series to San Jose, and most of the
blame landed on Turek. Owen Nolan's goal from mid-ice in Game 7 was
the series' enduring image, a symbol of a talented team let down by
its goalie.
During a rocky regular season that included a brief demotion in
favor of Brent Johnson, Turek took the criticism and didn't deflect
the blame. He simply waited for the chance to prove everyone wrong.
A year after their shocking loss, with a less glossy
regular-season record but much more playoff determination, the
Blues earned payback with a 4-2 series victory.
"Whatever happened last year, it's over," Turek said. "It
doesn't matter what happened back then. We're here now, and we're
going to the second round."
The Sharks pulled to 2-1 when Brad Stuart one-timed Mike Ricci's
pass from behind the net past Turek with 7:29 to play. The frantic
final minute included two San Jose shots that skittered through the
crease, as well as a point-blank chance blocked by center Mike
Eastwood, but the Blues held on.
"We had six goalies out there," Pronger said. "Everybody was
trying to stop everything."
St. Louis reached the second round for the third time in four
seasons while sending the Sharks to an early summer. San Jose had
the best regular season in franchise history and acquired
high-scoring wing Teemu Selanne for the playoff push, but ran into
an opponent even more determined.
"Their weaknesses were questions about Roman Turek, but he made
the saves when he had to," Sharks defenseman Jeff Norton said.
Turek was in control through most of the series. He wasn't
forced to make many big saves Saturday until the third period, when
his sparkling stop of Patrick Marleau's point-blank chance with
16:30 left was the first of several gems.
"Everybody was questioning our goaltender," said Keith
Tkachuk, who made the second round of the playoffs for the first
time in his career. "Today, all those questions were answered. He
got us this win."
Evgeni Nabokov, the prohibitive favorite for the Rookie of the
Year award, returned to the Sharks' goal after a two-game injury
absence. He played well, making 28 saves, but defensive mistakes by
his teammates left Nabokov helpless on both of the Blues' goals.
Instead, San Jose's offense must take the blame. The Sharks
managed just 11 goals in the six-game series, with Nolan scoring
just one goal and Selanne none.
"I can't say those guys were better than us, but they won the
series," said Selanne, who revealed he played most of the series
with a broken thumb. "I felt useless the whole series. You don't
feel the puck. I tried to do what I could do. It was tough."
The Sharks were short-handed when they got a great scoring
chance late in the second period. After Al MacInnis turned the puck
over, Nolan's wraparound and Scott Hannan's rebound shot were
stopped in the crease, with Hannan's chance blocked by MacInnis'
skate.
Seconds later, the Blues scored the game's first goal. The
Sharks' penalty-killers got confused when Jochen Hecht took the
puck behind the net and passed in front to Stillman, who popped
home his second goal of the series with 4:40 left in the period.
Less than a minute later, San Jose made another defensive
blunder that allowed Demitra to walk in alone on Nabokov. Demitra,
who had been silenced by San Jose's checkers in the series' first
five games, fired a low shot that banked off a post and in for his
first goal of the series.
Game notes
Selanne was limited to two assists in the six-game series.
He had a scoring chance in the closing seconds, but couldn't get
his shot over a prone Turek. ... D Bryan Marchment returned to the
Sharks' lineup after missing Game 5, while D Gary Suter missed the
series' final five games with a concussion. Suter's absence was
largely responsible for San Jose's 0-for-23 series mark on the
power play.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
San Jose Clubhouse
Sharks-Blues Series Page
RECAPS
Buffalo 8
Philadelphia 0
Los Angeles 3
Detroit 2
St. Louis 2
San Jose 1
Pittsburgh 2
Washington 1
Dallas 3
Edmonton 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jochen Hecht finds Cory Stillman in front of the net for a power-play goal.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
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San Jose's Mike Ricci sets up Brad Stuart for a third period goal.
avi: 1146 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Pavol Demitra takes San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov for a ride.
avi: 986 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
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