SHARKS QUESTION NASH'S ROUGH TACTICS
NORTON CALLS BLUES' WINGER A "TURTLE" FOR INSTIGATING FIGHTS, THEN
COVERING UP
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA)
April 24, 2000
ST. LOUIS - Tyson Nash scored his first goal of the playoffs
during the St. Louis Blues' second-period onslaught against the
Sharks on Sunday. But he'd accomplished his mission in Game 6 long
before that.
Just ask Sharks defenseman Jeff Norton.
"If he's gonna play that way, he better be ready to stand up,"
Norton said. "He stirs things up, but he turtles up quick. I haven't
seen anybody ever turtle up as quick. He's gonna get his, one of
these days. He's gonna get it."
Nash spent the afternoon annoying the Sharks like a swarm of
gnats. He shoved. He elbowed. He flopped. Simply, he got under the
Sharks' skin. Nash helped draw three penalties during the Blues' 6-2
victory.
"They were taking a few liberties and trying to make guys sore
for Game 7," Nash said of the Sharks. "Coach (Joel Quenneville) was
not gonna throw out (Blues center Pierre) Turgeon and all those
other top stars."
So it was left to Nash to help dish out punishment. But when it
came time to absorb it, Norton said, Nash was too quick to turn
tail.
"That's B.S.," Norton said of Nash's tactics. "If he wants to do
that, then stand up and be a man. Hockey's a man's game, so be a
man."
Nash earned 12 penalty minutes, all in the third period. He was
called for slashing Ron Stern at 2:44, then earned a five-minute
major for fighting Norton at 10:47. At 17:21, he received another
five-minute major for fighting Stern. After the second fight, Stern
placed his hands over his face in a mock gesture at Nash.
"We weathered the storm," Nash said. "And we're feeling pretty
good about ourselves."
Stern sighting
Sharks coach Darryl Sutter inserted Stern into the lineup for the
first time during the series, placing him on the fourth line and
scratching Alex Korolyuk. Stern hadn't played since an April 1 game
at Calgary. He missed the last four games of the regular season.
Sutter said he made the decision because he wanted to match the
Blues' physical fourth line, which includes Nash and wing Jamal
Mayers.
"The first two shifts, I had some tight breathing," he said. "I
did as much as I could to stay as in as good a shape as I could. I
just tried to contribute and do what I know I can do."
Stern played 13 shifts and received 8:06 of ice time. He recorded
five hits and earned nine penalty minutes.
Close, no cigar
Center Vincent Damphousse nearly got the Sharks on the board a
minute into the second period, when his shot from the right of the
crease hit off St. Louis goalie Roman Turek's foot and trickled
across the crease, inches in front of the goal line. Damphousse
raced to the other side to try to stuff in a rebound, but Turek made
a stick save before covering up the puck.
"It maybe would've been a change in the game," Damphousse said of
the near-miss, which would've cut St. Louis' lead to 2-1. "It
could've made a difference."
One-timers
Owen Nolan and Bryan Marchment scored for the Sharks. Nolan has
five goals in the playoffs. Marchment, who had one career playoff
goal entering the series, has two. ... St. Louis' five second-period
goals were the most ever allowed by the Sharks in a period during a
home game in the playoffs. The six goals allowed were three fewer
than the club mark, set in a 9-2 home loss to Calgary in Game 3 of
that first-round series in 1995. ... The Sharks are 1-5 lifetime in
Game 6 and have been outscored 26-14. ... The Sharks will show Game
7 on the video board at San Jose Arena. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the
game starts at 6 p.m. Parking and admission are free.
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