Nabokov Is Dazzling Again in Shark Victory

Evgeni Nabokov could be on his way to becoming this season’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Nabokov stifled Colorado’s lineup of high-priced All-Stars for the third consecutive game, stopping 33 shots Monday night to help the San Jose Sharks beat the Avalanche, 1-0, and move within one game of their first trip to the Western Conference finals.

“I think Nabokov was great,” said Vincent Damphousse, who scored the only goal. “He stole the win for us. You need that to go far in the playoffs.”

Giguere did just that in 2003 when he helped the Mighty Ducks reach the Stanley Cup finals.

San Jose fought off Colorado’s early rush and got an improbable goal by Damphousse off the back of Colorado goalie David Aebischer midway through the third period to set up a possible sweep in the best-of-seven series Wednesday in Denver.

It wouldn’t have been possible without Nabokov.

He was solid with 31 wins and a team-record nine shutouts during the regular season, but it would have been hard to predict he’d be this good in the playoffs.

Nabokov is 7-1 with two shutouts so far, and his goals-against average is a minuscule 1.30. In this series, he has given up three goals in three games against a team that features high-scoring forwards Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk.

It’s even more impressive considering Nabokov was 8-8 with a 2.59 average in his previous two trips to the playoffs.

“I just try to do my job, to take everything that comes to me,” Nabokov said. “Without the guys’ help, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

The Avalanche held San Jose to 17 shots but has only three goals in the series after scoring 19 in five games against Dallas.

“The only thing we can worry about is the next game,” Avalanche Coach Tony Granato said. “I know it will be our best game, and we will battle like crazy.”