earned their second-straight playoff berth and again reached the second round. Ray Whitney scored a goal in double overtime of Game 7 of the Conference Quarter-finals against the Calgary Flames. Key Sharks players included goaltender Arturs Irbe, defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov. Despite their success against Calgary, round two would prove to be a disaster for the Sharks, when they lost in a four-game sweep to Detroit (in a rematch of the previous year) without even holding a single lead in all four games. However, the 1995 season also saw the only rainout in the history of the NHL, when the Guadalupe River flooded its banks in March 1995, making it impossible for anyone to get into the San Jose Arena for a game between the Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings. In 1995–96, the Sharks finished last in the Pacific Division and failed to make the playoffs. The team also underwent major changes: during the season, they traded Ozolinsh and Larionov, and Irbe, who had suffered an off-ice injury, was released at the end of the season. The team began rebuilding, acquiring forward Owen Nolan from the Colorado Avalanche, as well as several other players. Constantine was fired midway through the season and replaced by interim coach Jim Wiley. Dean Lombardi era (1996–2003) During the 1996 off-season, Dean Lombardi was hired as general manager. The next season was no better under Al Sims, with the Sharks again finishing last and winning only 27 games. Their standing would help them draft Patrick Marleau in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The Sharks returned to the playoffs in 1997–98 with goaltender Mike Vernon, whom they acquired from the Red Wings, and new head coach Darryl Sutter. For the next two years, the Sharks made the playoffs, yet never advanced past the first round. In 1999, San Jose acquired former Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens star Vincent Damphousse. San Jose's luck changed in the 1999–2000 season, when the Sharks finished with their first-ever winning record. In an upset on par with the one they had pulled on Detroit six years earlier, the Sharks managed to eliminate the St. Louis Blues, who had finished first overall in the league that year, in seven games. However, the Sharks were defeated in the second round of the playoffs by the Dallas Stars. It was their second time losing to Dallas.