Shark attack!
By Rick Anderson
March 15, 2000
What is wrong with Dominik Hasek? He allowed six goals Wednesday night in San Jose as the Sharks came back from a two goal deficit in the third period to tie and eventually win the game in overtime 6-5. Hasek's problems in goal have been well documented as of late and were one of the main reasons the Sabres lost a game they had in the bank.
With only 30 seconds left in regulation and Buffalo up 5-4, Vaclav Varada could not get the puck out of the Sabres' zone with Steve Shields pulled in favor of the extra attacker and Vincent Damphousse put it behind Hasek with a backhand shot to tie it up. The goal came with only 28 seconds separating the Sabres and victory.
"Once I got the puck, I didn't even look before I shot," commented Damphousse. "I just turned and slapped the puck the way I practice it. It's an unusual shot, and it's tough for the goalie to pick up because he can't see your eyes or head before you shoot."
When Hasek came back from his 4-month groin injury, he didn't miss a step as he came up with several spectacular performances. However, the past eight games, Hasek has not even resembled the old "Dominator." Case in point were the two weekend games which the Sabres split. Against the Canadiens, he only faced 17 shots, but allowed 3 goals. He had an even easier time of it against the hapless Islanders where he was barely kept awake with 16 shots on net. The Isles were able to poke two behind him. That equates to a .848 save percentage. Against the Sharks, it dropped even lower. San Jose put 26 shots on Hasek and he was able to stop only 20 of them for a .769 save percentage. Do the math and Hasek's save percentage is .814 in three games. Something is drastically wrong here! You have the proclaimed best goaltender in hockey today that is defenseless against shots that he normally would stop without a sweat.
"You have to be concerned if you look at his goals-against average the last five or six games," Lindy Ruff remarked. "We say he's inhuman when he goes one way, he's human right now. He's fighting it."
"I tried hard, it's all I can do," Hasek asserted. "I hope if I get another chance, I can play better."
It all started when Mike Rathje went off for holding at the 4:48 mark of the first period and the Sabres went on a power play. Half a minute into the power play, Owen Nolan broke down on a two-on-one and took a shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Hasek. A minute and 9 seconds later, while the Sabres were still on the power play, the Sharks stole the puck again and Damphousse fed Marco Strum, who poked it in through Hasek's legs. Everyone knew that the Sabres power play was bad, but not this bad! Two shorthanded goals on the same penalty is downright atrocious.
When it appeared as if the Sabres were going to get their heads handed to them, lightning struck in San Jose. Four minutes after the Sturm goal, Maxim Afinogenov shot the puck from the right faceoff circle that Doug Gilmour tipped in for his first goal as a Sabre. Then, Geoff Sanderson stole the puck at the blue line and raced in alone on ex-Sabre Steve Shields and beat him with a wrist shot to tie the game up. Those two goals came only 9 seconds apart! Gilmour's came during a power play while Sanderson's was unassisted.
From this point on, the game turned into a semi-shootout. At the start of the second period, the Sabres struck again when Vladimir Tsyplakov got his 11th of the season. He took a shot 15 feet out and it beat Shields, putting the Sabres in the lead for the first time.
Alexander Korolyuk tied it up at 3-3 with around 4 minutes remaining in the second when he took a slap shot from the top of the left circle and another puck got past Hasek.
Three minutes to the second after Brown's goal, Tony Granato shot the puck while falling to the ice and it beat Hasek from 12 feet out. Now it was a one goal game and the Sabres had to bear down if they wanted the win. During the last minute of play, the Sharks swarmed around Hasek with only one objective in mind - to mangle his pride even more with the tying goal. Sabre-killer Damphousse did the dirty work with 28 ticks on the clock and the game went into overtime.
The Sabres opened up play in the sudden-death period, but Shields was strong in the San Jose nets. Then with three minutes gone, the Sharks devoured Hasek once again. Niklas Sundstrom got the puck behind Hasek and passed out in front to Friesen, who one-timed his shot from the left faceoff circle. The puck glanced off Hasek's glove and into the net. Game over!
"I'm not sure how it went in,"an elated Friesen remarked about his game-winning shot. "Niklas Sundstrom made a great pass, and I just tried to get the shot away as quickly as I could. Obviously, it's big. They all get bigger as we go. So I've just got to keep it in my mind that I've got to score and help this team win."
Even though the Sabres lost, they still gain a point as a result of the new overtime format in the NHL this season. There is a four-way deadlock in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Rangers, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Montreal at 70 points each. The Sabres are in the 11th spot one point back of the crowd.
"It's tough when you give one away," a distraught Lindy Ruff said, "especially when every point is crucial like it is toward the end of a season. This is the best we've skated all year, but it seemed like every mistake we made resulted in a goal for them."
"Every game is a playoff type. Every point is crucial and to give one away hurts. You've got to put it behind you because we have another game tomorrow night in Vancouver."
"We played our most emotional hockey and we're getting ready for the playoffs," said Granato, who scored the Sharks fourth goal. "That's what the last two games have been like in here."
The Sabres play their second night in a row against Vancouver Thursday in that British Columbia city. It is expected that Martin Biron will get his first chance to play in over a week.
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With Hasek mutilated by the sudden Shark attack, the Sharks could taste blood. They went on a frenzy in the overtime and finally were able to take the game with a goal by Jeff Friesen with 2:04 left in the overtime.
Maxim Afinogenov bursts through a hole and leaves Niklas Sundstrom, (bottom) and Scott Hannan (top) in his wake.
[AP Photo/John Todd]
The Sabres struck early again in the third period when James Patrick was set up by Gilmour one minute into the period. Then Curtis Brown scored his 17th of the season 8:48 into the third and it appeared as if the Sabres would be able to pull out a big win against the Sharks. However, the Sharks had the taste of Hasek blood and were about to go for the kill.
Erik Rasmussen gets the hook from Sharks' Brad Stuart
during the first period.
[AP Photo/John Todd]
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