Stanley Cup Notebook : Flames Will Try to Win First Cup With Cup First

In the long and esteemed history of the Montreal Canadiens, the team has never lost the Stanley Cup at home.

Upon hearing that, Calgary Coach Terry Crisp--the guy who “ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” who says home-ice advantage is a maligned and over-used phrase, who says his team always plays well in Montreal, who puts no stock in odds and percentages--spit out a phrase akin to “Oh, shoot!”

“Now I’m nervous,” Crisp said. “I’ve never heard of that statistic.”

But Crisp and his Calgary Flames are going to make a run at it tonight when they go into Game 6 of the Stanley Cup series with a three-games-to-two lead.

A victory by Montreal would tie the series and send it to Calgary for Game 7 on Sunday. A victory by Calgary would give the Flames their first Stanley Cup and end the streak that lends itself to talk of ghosts and mystique.

“Well,” Crisp said. “If it has to happen, we’d like to be the team to do it.”

The Flames won Game 4 here Sunday night, coming back after a double-overtime loss at the Forum in Game 3. And then the Flames won a second consecutive game in Calgary Tuesday to tie the series. A victory in Game 6 to win the Cup would be the Flames’ third consecutive victory over the Canadiens.

The Canadiens haven’t lost three in a row this season.

Crisp chose rest over practice for his team on the travel day, making the announcement shortly after saying that the Flames’ performance in Game 5 was their worst of the series.

When Montreal Coach Pat Burns was asked after the game Tuesday night what his game plan will be tonight, he said: “We are going to win. There is nothing else we can do. The only thing to do on Thursday is win the game.”

Said Montreal’s Bobby Smith: “It’s gonna be a great Game 6 at the Montreal Forum. The Stanley Cup finals! We have a lot of momentum on our side coming off the last 40 or 50 minutes of Game 5.”

Among the many complaints the Canadiens had about the way the game was officiated Tuesday was this from Bobby Smith, commenting on an interference call on him that negated a Montreal power play: “Yes, I bumped him. But I’ve bumped my wife harder trying to get past her in the kitchen.”

Calgary’s Al MacInnis on the fact that both teams use four lines: “Bobby Smith said earlier that we’re the first team that they’ve played this season with four lines. It is a big part of both clubs. You can run into injuries when players get tired. And you have more fresh guys out there, so it’s a real advantage.”

Commenting on how well right winger Joey Mullen has been playing, Crisp said: “He’s a throwback. I’ve been saying this all year. He’s a throwback to Gordie Howe and Glenn Hall. No hoopla or big banners. Just put your jersey on and play. I keep seeing things from Joey Mullen. When it comes to athe third or fourth effort, Joey keeps coming up with a new twist.”