ST. LOUIS -- Before St. Louis right winger Doug Wickenheiser could score in overtime to complete yet another Blues rally this playoff season, a rather unlikely chain of events unfolded Monday night.
As a result, the Blues defeated the Calgary Flames 6-5 and forced a decisive seventh game in their Stanley Cup semifinal.
After a scoreless first period, the Flames outscored the Blues 4-1. The Blues in turn, outscored the Flames 4-1 in the third to force overtime, with the tying goal the most unbelieveable of all.
Greg Paslawski stole the puck and scored with 1:08 remaining in regulation.
Game 7 is set for Wednesday in Calgary.
After rookie goalie Mike Vernon left the goal to retrieve the puck, he fed defenseman Jamie Macoun, who started up ice. Macoun was surprised by Paslawski who darted just to the right of the Flames goal, lifted Macoun's stick and in the same motion, spun around to put a wrist shot past Vernon.
The goal, Paslawski's 10th, gave him a share of the league playoff lead with former teammate and Flame Joe Mullen.
'I just spun around and boom, it went in,' Paslawski said. 'I never looked. I just pushed it in.
'I think he (Macoun) got a little confused and Vernon was coming out. Vernon was talking. I just turned around and shot. I'm very happy about it.'
Calgary coach Bob Johnson said the lax play cost the Flames.
'All he (Macoun) had to do was clear the puck,' Johnson said. 'The pressure was on. We had enough trouble getting the puck in their zone.'
Vernon said: 'We had a few mental errors by some people out there. You can't have those in playoff hockey.'
The goal was Paslawski's second of the game. He had also scored at 15:49 of the third period to cut the Flames lead to 5-4.
The Paslawski-Brian Sutter-Doug Gilmour line scored three goals in the period and took 14 of the Blues' 19 shots in the period.
'We work well together,' Paslawski said. 'It's seems like we had it going in the third period. We just didn't want to lose.' Blues coach Jacques Demers said Paslawski made a great play to notch the tying goal.
'It was a great goal,' Demers said. 'He just didn't quit on it. There may have been some confusion on the play between Vernon and the defenseman.
'But Paslawski made a superb, hustling play.
'It's tough being down 4-1 in the playoffs,' Demers said. 'But this team won't die.
'They believe in each other and play winning hockey. That's why we're one game away from the Stanley Cup final.'
