SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jeremy Roenick didn’t come out of semi-retirement for just one playoff round.
The veteran San Jose center is only interested in a long run at the Stanley Cup, and he carried the Sharks one step closer Tuesday night.
Roenick had two goals and two assists, including the tying and go-ahead scores midway through the Sharks’ four-goal second period in a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 7, finishing their first-round playoff series.
Evgeni Nabokov made 19 saves for second-seeded San Jose in front of a deafening crowd at the first Game 7 in Shark Tank history.
After the Sharks fell behind 2-1 early in the second period, San Jose’s formidable talent finally overwhelmed the Flames with four goals in less than nine minutes, chasing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.
The Sharks earned their fourth straight trip to the second round, where they will face the Dallas Stars.
Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and rookie Devin Setoguchi also scored for the Sharks, who took 41 shots while thoroughly controlling most of the final two periods. Owen Nolan, captain Jarome Iginla and Wayne Primeau scored for the seventh-seeded Flames.
After 18 NHL seasons without a championship, Roenick was ready to retire to his dream home in Arizona last summer when Sharks general manager Doug Wilson persuaded him to add veteran grit to a team that has lacked it for years. After an outstanding season as a role player that included his 500th career goal, Roenick went scoreless in the first five games against Calgary, and coach Ron Wilson benched him for Game 6.
Instead of blasting his coach, as the gregarious forward might have done earlier in his career, Roenick unloaded on Calgary with arguably the most spectacular playoff performance in San Jose’s short history. Roenick tied the franchise record for points in a playoff game, sparking the Sharks offense with his typically relentless play in the decisive second period.
