Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff helps see Calgary Flames to Stanley Cup Finals

Depending on results and injuries, there could be five Finns on the ice in the finals

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Finnish goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 18 saves and helped the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 win over San Jose Sharks in the sixth game of their NHL Western Conference Finals on Wednesday. The Flames go forward to the Stanley Cup Final by 4-2. Kiprusoff, whose contribution has been significant throughtout the campaign, will become the first Finnish goalie to reach the last stages of the NHL play-offs.
      All of the five previous games between the Flames and the Sharks had ended in home defeats, but as if to ward off this bad omen, the Calgary players spent Tuesday night in a local hotel, to simulate being on the road.
      It worked, as Calgary dominated the opening stages. Jarome Iginla scored on the power play at the end of the first period, notching up his 10th play-off goal this season. Martin Gelinas grabbed a second mid-way through the second period, but San Jose reduced the arrears three minutes later.
      In the final period, the Sharks fought desperately to get on terms, but Kiprusoff kept everything out. This was a fairy-tale series for him: he was traded by the Sharks in November of last year, and with the exception of a meltdown in the 4th game (which Calgary lost 4-2), he has been outstanding between the posts.
      In the dying seconds, the Sharks removed their goalie and laid siege to the Calgary goal, but the end when it came was a little embarrassing: an intended pass from behind the goal line to the area in front of the net missed all the waiting San Jose sticks and glided gently down the ice and into the wrong goal. The score was charitably given the the Flames’ Robyn Regehr, who was the last home player to touch the puck.
     
Calgary were last in the Stanley Cup finals in 1989, when they also went on to win the trophy. It is ten years since any Canadian team (Vancouver Canucks were the last) competed for the coveted prize. One year before, the Montreal Canadiens were crowned champions.
      Calgary’s win on Wednesday means that the list of Finns who have played at this level will rise to at least 11. Calgary defenseman Toni Lydman, currently on the injured roster, could make it 12 if he recovers from concussion in time.
     
It is even possible that there will be as many as five Finns on the ice in this year’s finals, if the Philadelphia Flyers can beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in their seventh and decisive play-off encounter. Philadelphia have Sami Kapanen and rookie defenseman Joni Pitkänen on their roster. Kapanen was a scorer in Philadelphia’s 5-4 overtime victory in the sixth game on Thursday night.
      Sami Kapanen (Carolina 2002) and Calgary’s aggressive winger Ville Nieminen (Colorado 2001) have both played in Stanley Cup finals with their previous clubs.
     
They nevertheless both have a long way to go to catch the most experienced Finnish Stanley Cup veteran, Jari Kurri, who appeared in no fewer than seven finals during his 17-year NHL career. Right-winger Kurri was a member of the legendary Edmonton Oilers team, featuring Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, which dominated proceedings during the 1980s. Esa Tikkanen, another Oilers stalwart, managed six appearances.


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