DETROIT (AP) -- When Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff made the final
save of his shutout against the Detroit Red Wings, he held the puck
above his head as the game-ending blue light went on behind him.
"It was so loud, I didn't know if it was over right away,"
Kiprusoff said. "Then, I looked up and saw the score and held my
glove high. That was a great feeling."
The scoreboard hanging over center ice read: Calgary 1, Red
Wings 0.
Craig Conroy scored with 3:53 left in the second period and
Kiprusoff made 31 saves to lead the Flames over Detroit in Game 5
on Saturday.
Calgary leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference
semifinal series, and can eliminate the star-studded Red Wings with
a win at home Monday night. If necessary, Game 7 will be in Detroit
on Wednesday.
"We don't want to come back," said Flames captain Jarome
Iginla, who had the only assist on the game's lone goal.
Kiprusoff's second shutout of the playoffs was the first against
the Red Wings in Detroit since 1997, 52 postseason games ago.
The Red Wings pulled goaltender Curtis Joseph with 48 seconds
left, put pressure on Kiprusoff, but could not get a shot past him.
"He made the saves. I don't know if he saw every one of them,"
Detroit coach Dave Lewis said. "He made some big saves against a
team with big-time goal scorers."
About four minutes before Conroy scored, Red Wings captain Steve
Yzerman left the game with an injury.
Detroit's Mathieu Schneider fired a shot that ricocheted in
front of Kiprusoff and hit Yzerman squarely in the face as he stood
to the left of the net.
Yzerman, who doesn't wear a face shield, immediately dropped to
the ice and kicked his legs in pain as he was sprawled out. After
being down for a couple minutes, with the crowd watching in stunned
silence, Yzerman was helped to the dressing room as a towel was
held near his left eye.
"I think everybody on the bench was stunned," Lewis said.
Yzerman went to a hospital for X-rays, and the Red Wings are
expected to update his condition after they practice in Detroit on
Sunday.
Joe Louis Arena was quiet for a different reason when the game
ended.
Before the playoffs started, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Red
Wings were favored to win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in
eight years. But they are now one loss away from an early exit.
"It's not impossible to win in Calgary," Detroit defenseman
Mathieu Dandenault said. "We've done it before (in Game 4) and I
know this team can do it again, and I know we can win this
series."
The Flames, in the playoffs for the first time since 1996, are
in the second round for the first time since winning the Cup in
1989.
"It's a performance that you can say on a scale of 1-10, of
what we put in, that's a 10," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said.
Kiprusoff, a Vezina Trophy finalist, had the first postseason
shutout of his career in the first round on April 13 against
Vancouver.
"He's been like this all year," Iginla said. "He's been the
best goalie in the NHL. He doesn't ever get rattled."
All Kiprusoff needed was Conroy's goal.
Conroy passed the puck from the right boards to Iginla in the
corner, then skated to the right circle where his wrist shot went
over Joseph's left shoulder. Joseph made 20 saves.
Both teams started the game without a key player.
Calgary forward Ville Nieminen was suspended for one game by the
NHL for charging Joseph with four seconds left in Game 4 on
Thursday night in Calgary. Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios
missed his third straight playoff game because of an undisclosed
injury.
Game notes
The last time the Red Wings were shut out at home, St.
Louis' Grant Fuhr led the Blues to a 2-0 victory on March 16, 1997.
... Calgary D Rhett Warrener played for the first time since Game 2
when he was struck in the right eye by Yzerman's stick. ... Iginla
is among NHL leaders with 11 points in the playoffs.