Sharks fall 1-0 in overtime Sakic sends series back to San Jose By Victor Chi- San Jose Mercury News Denver- Sudden death became sudden life for the Colorado Avalanche. Joe Sakic's goal gave the Avalanche a 1-0 overtime victory Wednesday over the Sharks in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Sharks had been poised to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time with their first ever sweep. Instead Colorado held off elimination, cutting the Sharks' series lead to 3-1. Game 5 is Saturday in San Jose. Sakic struck 5:15 into overtime. Colorado, which played without defenseman Rob Blake, is hoping to be the third team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit. Colorado opened overtime with 2:45 of power-play time on the clock. Alexander Korolyuk received a double minor for high-sticking Teemu Selanne at 18:46 of the third period. Evgeni Nabokov had 30 saves through regulation for the Sharks while David Aebischer had 26 for Colorado. As they had done for good portions of the second period, the Avalanche continued to stalk the Sharks early in the third as Jason Marshall was sanctioned for tripping Peter Forsberg at 3:55. On the ensuing power play, rookie Marek Svatos his the pipe with a shot from the high slot. The Sharks began to chisel at the momentum as strong shifts by Wayne Primeau, Mike Ricci, and Jonathan Cheechoo forced Aebischer to be sharp. Then with just under six minutes left in the third, Milan Hejduk his the post with his shot after entering the zone with speed and driving the net. With less than two minutes left, Nabokov missed his attempt to cover up a puck, which gave Steve Konawalchuk a super chance but he shot wide. Just as they did in Game 3, the Sharks and Avalanche headed into the third period scoreless. The difference? While the Sharks were content to grind it out in Game 3 because of an injury-depleted bench, both sides were interested in pressing the issue from the get-go. Scoring chances for both sides came at even strength, on the power play and while short-handed. Colorado had a two-on-one break 5 1/2 minutes into the match but Alex Tanguay had trouble fielding Selanne's cross-slot feed. Scott Hannan took possession and the Sharks escaped trouble. Posted on Wed, Apr. 28, 2004 |