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 Two More Teams Sent To Golf Courses
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Flames GM
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The  managed to repeat last years first round by winn there series 4-1 over the  . And as suspected, the  almost had no problem in their series at all and beat the  4-1 in their series. | QUOTE |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -The Nashville Predators spent the past year improving themselves over a season ago. So did the San Jose Sharks.
So the result of the opening round of the playoffs was the same.
Patrick Marleau scored his second goal with 4:21 left, and the Sharks grabbed a berth in their third straight Western Conference semifinals, beating Nashville 3-2 Friday night.
Marleau tied the game with a power-play goal late in the second period, and Ryane Clowe also scored as the Sharks closed out Nashville with a Game 5 win on the Predators' home ice for a second straight year.
"I certainly coming into this series didn't expect us to win again in five," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "It's almost a carbon copy of last year. They took a lot of penalties. The difference was our power play wasn't great. Our five-on-five play was great. Very tight series."
The difference in this series?
A total of two goals and the Sharks keeping their cool. They were at their best in closing out the series. They had seven penalties, but Nashville got only four power plays.
Jason Arnott scored a power-play goal, and Vernon Fiddler also had a goal as Nashville blew a 2-1 lead in a penalty-filled second period. The Predators totaled 19 of 29 penalty minutes and that sapped their energy, particularly during a 5-minute major during which Marleau tied the game.
"We kept putting our fingers on the stove, and we got burnt by it," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz, whose future now is in question after three straight quarterfinals losses.
Wilson gambled late in the second period and switched up lines, teaming Marleau with Joe Thornton and Bill Guerin - the veteran forward the Sharks traded for in February. Wilson kept that combination into the third, and Thornton passed to Marleau from behind the net for the winning goal.
"He found me open like he always does," said Marleau, who also scored the clinching goal against Nashville in last year in the playoffs.
The Predators had two full power-play chances in the third period and had the man advantage for the final 24.1 seconds. But it didn't help, and the Sharks ended the series by clearing the puck with 10 seconds left.
"It's too bad one team had to lose," Thornton said. "They had a good chance to go all the way. They played hard. We just outworked them, I think, during the five games."
The Predators lost for the third season immediately when facing elimination, and this one hurt the most for a franchise that stocked up on talent, signing Arnott, J.P. Dumont and then trading for Peter Forsberg in February in a deal costing two players and two draft picks.
This may have been Forsberg's final game after injuries and foot problems limited him to 57 matches this season. He finished off the final seconds in the penalty box.
"I don't even know if I'm going to play next year," Forsberg said. "I have to take my time off. I struggled so much all year. Coming here though, I had a lot of fun. It's a great group of guys. It's just sad we had to leave and go out so early."
They finished third in the NHL in points with 110, but couldn't beat out Detroit in the Central Division, forcing Nashville into a repeat of last year's quarterfinals.
San Jose controlled the first period and led 1-0 after Clowe tapped in the puck off a rebound of Steve Bernier's shot. The Sharks dominated as they outshot Nashville, kept the puck in front of goalie Tomas Vokoun most of the period and broke up passes to frustrate the Predators' offense.
The Predators took a 2-1 lead by scoring twice in 39 seconds of the second period, finally getting their only power play through the first 40 minutes. Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan tried to clear Shea Weber's shot as it bounced toward the line, only to see Arnott tap it in at 3:47.
Fiddler scored his first of this postseason from the right circle off a pass from Forsberg.
But unlike San Jose, staying out of the penalty box was the Predators' problem in this series, robbing Forsberg, Paul Kariya and Arnott of ice time as they killed off repeated penalties. It happened again in the second period, where the Sharks kept their poise and had five power plays, including 38 seconds of a 5-on-3.
Vokoun did his best to stop the Sharks until Scott Nichol picked up a 5-minute major and game misconduct for slashing Hannan after being knocked down twice. Hannan also went to the box for interference.
Marleau tied it at 2 when Guerin found him with a pass at the right post. Marleau kicked the puck to his stick, then scored at 17:46.
Notes: Officials reviewed two potential goals for the Sharks only to rule no goal, including one that bounced off the left post. ... This was San Jose's 100th all-time postseason game. The Sharks are 49-51 and 8-9 in elimination games. ... Nashville goalie Chris Mason turned 31 Friday.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -When in doubt, panic.
It worked for Ryan Miller, whose blind glove save in the final seconds was enough to solidify the Buffalo Sabres' trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"I panicked," Miller said, describing his stop that prevented Miroslav Satan from rallying the New York Islanders from a three-goal, third-period deficit. "And luckily I got a hold of it."
Miller's save was the difference in allowing the Sabres to hang on for a 4-3 victory on Friday night and win their best-of-seven first-round series in five games.
The save came with 12 seconds left and with the Sabres reeling, barely hanging on after nearly squandering a 4-1 lead in the final 13 minutes.
"It was the save of the series," Satan said. "I don't know how he saved it."
With the Islanders' net empty, Satan got in behind the defense, streaking across the top of the crease from the right circle. Getting Miller to make the first move, Satan deftly cut around the sprawled goalie and was looking at a wide-open side before Miller thrust out his glove in desperation to deflect the puck just wide.
Miller then scrambled back into position to prevent Alexei Yashin from poking in the rebound.
"At that point, we were holding on and I didn't want this to be a turning point in the series," said Miller, who stopped 30 shots. "We fought for everything we got."
Maxim Afinogenov had a goal and assist. His goal, set up by Thomas Vanek's drop pass on a transition rush, was the difference, giving Buffalo a 4-1 lead 6:38 into the third period.
The Sabres advanced to the second round for the second straight year and will face either the New York Rangers or Tampa Bay, should the Lightning get past New Jersey. The Rangers have already advanced after sweeping Atlanta, while New Jersey is up 3-2 in its series.
Satan and Chris Campoli had a goal and assist each for the Islanders.
It was a wild and fitting end to a series that was much more competitive than anticipated. The top-seeded Sabres entered as the prohibitive favorites against an opponent that sneaked into the postseason by winning its final four games.
"We should be proud of ourselves," Islanders forward Jason Blake said. "For the last month, every game we played was like a Game 7."
If only the Islanders had been more consistent, or gotten some breaks.
New York entered the game already unhappy after disputed goals went against it in each of the past two games - including a potential tying goal disallowed in a 4-2 loss in Game 4.
Then the Isles learned hours before Friday's game they'd be without Sean Hill. The veteran defenseman was hit with a 20-game suspension by the NHL for violating the league's drug policy.
"I don't even want to think about that," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said, referring to the timing of Hill's suspension. "I fully concentrated on this game. We just came up a little short."
The Sabres appeared to take control when Jason Pominville, set up after Daniel Briere stripped Satan, scored 39 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0, and Derek Roy scored 11 minutes later.
Back came the Islanders.
Down 4-1, Trent Hunter converted a rebound in front with 10:17 remaining. Campoli scored 3:24 later, also converting a rebound after Miller foiled Richard Park's shot from the slot.
Miller, however, recovered, stopping the final nine shots he faced.
"It was tense for everybody, but Ryan was huge again," Sabres co-captain Chris Drury said. "The last five to six minutes, he was unbelievable."
Drew Stafford also scored for the Sabres.
New York lost its fifth consecutive first-round playoff series, and hasn't advanced since reaching the conference finals in 1993.
"We didn't compete in the first two periods and that cost us," said Ryan Smyth, acquired at the trade deadline in February and eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. "We battled hard in the third period, but by then it was too late. It's frustrating and disappointing. It's tough to swallow right now."
Notes: Isles rookie D Drew Fata made his playoff debut in place of Hill. Fata had one goal in three regular-season games. ... Briere extended his points streak to five games. He had a goal and four assists. ... The Sabres clinched a playoff series at home for only the 10th time in franchise history, and first since beating Philadelphia in Game 6 of a 2001 first-round series.
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