EASTERN QUARTER-FINALS
GAME SUMMARIES
GAME 4:
#1 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs #8 BUFFALO SABRES
Philadelphia leads 3-1
Next Game: Thursday April 20th, 2000 7:30pm at Philadelphia
When Stu Barnes lifted his shot over goalie Brian Boucher's shoulder, he raised the hopes of the Buffalo Sabres, too.
Barnes scored on an off-balance shot 4:42 into overtime as the Sabres averted playoff elimination with a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. "You just react at that point," Barnes said. "I can't say I even picked the corner. I just tried to get it on net, and fortunately it went where the goalie wasn't.
"It's been a close series up to this point, we've just tried to stay positive going into these games, just go out and give it our best."
The Sabres, down 3-1 in the best-of-7 opening-round series, will play Game 5 Thursday at Philadelphia.
"All we can do is get one at a time," Barnes said. "We got one, hopefully Thursday night we get another."
Curtis Brown and Miroslav Satan each had a goal and assist for the Sabres, who won despite blowing a 2-0 lead and also overcoming yet another disputed goal.
Rick Tocchet and Keith Primeau scored and Mark Recchi had two assists for the Flyers, who have lost eight straight overtime playoff games. Their last overtime win in the postseason came in the 1995 conference finals against New Jersey.
"It's disappointing anytime you have a chance to win the series," Flyers' forward John LeClair said. "It's not the end of the world. And nobody said we were going to beat these guys four straight.
"We're still in this series. You can't let something like that stop what's been going on."
Only two teams -- the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs -- have rallied from a 3-0 deficit in NHL playoff history.
James Patrick set up the game-winning play when he kept the puck in at the right point. He fed a bouncing pass to Barnes, who was parked in the slot. Turning towards the net, and falling down, Barnes wristed a shot that went into the top right corner.
Down 2-0, the Flyers got on the board when Tocchet deflected Recchi's point shot through Dominik Hasek's legs 13:55 into the second period. It was Philadelphia's sixth power-play goal of the series.
Primeau tied it with 1:35 left in the second. Recchi got a weak, bouncing shot off and Hasek couldn't control the rebound. Recchi then swiped the puck into the slot where Primeau chipped it in.
The Sabres got off to a great start despite having another call go against them. Vladimir Tsyplakov had a goal taken away when referee Dan Marouelli prematurely blew his whistle 28 seconds in.
Boucher reached out for a loose puck to the left of his net following a Vaclav Varada shot. Instead of grabbing the puck, Boucher pushed it further away, allowing Tsyplakov to chip a shot over his shoulder.
Marouelli, standing on the opposite side of the net, lost sight of the puck and blew the play dead, right before Tsyplakov scored.
The Sabres have been snake-bitten, as the call came after LeClair shot a puck through the side of the mesh in the Flyers' 2-1 victory in Game 2.
That goal was allowed to stand because play resumed before a conclusive replay was shown.
Tuesday, the Sabres were not deterred. Buffalo scored two minutes later, capitalizing on a two-man power-play when Brown deflected Satan's point shot through Boucher's legs. It was the first goal Boucher allowed in 111:59, after he shut out the Sabres 2-0 on Sunday.
Satan made it 2-0 one minute into the second period.
Boucher, a rookie, tried to take his first career playoff loss in stride.
"They seemed to throw everything tonight. You could tell they were playing desperate," said Boucher, whose Flyers were outshot 34-28. "This was a game we wanted, but we're still up 3-1 and we need to gather ourselves, go home and give it our best."
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff wondered when his team would finally be able to pull a game out against the defensively-sound Flyers. Now, he thinks his Sabres have a chance.
"I've always said when you're losing, you never know when you're going to win again," Ruff said. "And when you win a game, you think you can win them all again."
The Sabres snapped a five-game winless streak (0-4-1), going back to the regular season.
The status of sidelined deposed Flyers captain Eric Lindros remains uncertain because of lingering headaches. Lindros, recovering from a Grade 2 concussion, is in Philadelphia where he consulted by phone with his neurologist Dr. James Kelly of Chicago.
"We don't know when he'll return," Flyers spokesman Zack Hill said. "He's supposed to go to Chicago when he's symptom free. And he is not symptom free."
#2 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs #7 PITTSBURGH PENQUINS
Pittsburgh leads 3-1
Next Game: Friday April 21st, 2000 7pm at Washington
Goalie Ron Tugnutt swung his stick flush into Richard Zednik's thigh, opening the way for the Washington Capitals to stay alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tugnutt's slashing penalty behind the net led to rookie Jeff Halpern's game-winning, power-play goal with 7:05 to play as the Capitals prevented a series sweep with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
"I retaliated," Tugnutt said. "I'm not happy that I did it, but I'm going to put it behind me and look forward to the next game. He just slashed me over the elbow, and I just kind of gave him a shot back and hit his pads -- and he goes down like he'd been shot."
Tugnutt had a rough night, giving up two rebounds goals and surviving two disallowed goals as his consistent failure to make clean saves finally cost the Penguins.
Tugnutt had survived the Capitals' assaults despite similar play in the first three games, but this time Chris Simon, Steve Konowalchuk and Halpern all scored.
"Two of our goals were rebounds we hadn't gotten to earlier in the series," Washington coach Ron Wilson said. "You're not going to score on rebounds unless you have people grinding to the net."
Halpern got the game-winner by converting the rebound off Ken Klee's shot from the slot, sending Capitals part-owner Michael Jordan and the sellout crowd to their feet cheering for the Jordan-like heroics.
Under the unusual schedule for the series, Friday's Game 5 will also be held at Washington's MCI Center. The Capitals are trying to become only the third team in NHL history to rally from 3-0 down to win a series.
"We didn't have a choice -- if we weren't positive, we'd be playing golf tomorrow," Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig said. "We didn't want the whole season of hard work to go down the tubes."
Jaromir Jagr and John Slaney scored for the Penguins, who led 2-1 after the first period. According to Jagr, that's when his teammates got complacent. Pittsburgh was outshot 23-13 the rest of the game.
"We just kind of relaxed," Jagr said. "Probably we relaxed too early. We were up 2-1 and I thought you got everything under control, they felt like it's over. Now they won it, they can smell the chance and that's what we didn't want to happen.
"You've got to have that killing instinct, and we just didn't have it tonight. Or this team doesn't have it. This team doesn't know how to do it. We've got to learn." The Penguins were missing center Jan Hrdina, who has four goals and three assists in the series and is day-to-day with a muscle strain. The Capitals played without defenseman Brendan Witt, who has a strained groin.
For a change, Washington didn't allow Pittsburgh to play its finesse, open-ice game, except perhaps on Jagr's wraparound goal with 21 seconds left in the first period. The Penguins dumped and chased more than they wanted.
"We were more organized in the neutral zone," Wilson said. "No team is going to dump the puck if it's in a 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 situation. We pretty much cut down on those types of outnumbered attacks."
With the score tied 2-2 with 12:22 remaining, the Capitals had a goal disallowed when the video replay official ruled that Joe Sacco played the puck with a high stick. Terry Yake took the original shot, which popped high into the air off Tugnutt's glove. Sacco batted it away from Tugnutt, and Trent Whitfield poked the puck in the net.
The first period was almost a game in itself -- a long, eventful and sometimes painful frame that took nearly an hour to play. The Capitals failed to score on two breakaways and failed even to get a shot off during a 44-second 5-on-3 power play. The Penguins kept giving the puck away in their own zone and were whistled for too many men on the ice. Meanwhile, Tugnutt kept things exciting by dropping nearly every save to create one mad crease scramble after another.
Tugnutt stopped Calle Johansson on a short-handed breakaway two minutes into the game, then blocked Peter Bondra's solo run 3� minutes later. The save wasn't clean, however, and Zednik kicked the puck across the goal line as he crashed into the net. The red light went on, but officials ruled no goal because of an early whistle. The Capitals wasted a 5-on-4 followed by a 5-on-3 -- 86 total seconds -- without taking a shot, then scored their first short-handed goal at home all season. It came on a 2-on-1 that nearly went haywire: Konowalchuk had to do a 360-degree spin after taking Halpern's pass before getting off a shot that went between Tugnutt's legs and barely trickled into the net at 9:57. The Capitals have scored the first goal three games in a row. Just 21 seconds later, the Penguins tied it on the power play. Slaney's slap shot deflected off defenseman Ken Klee's stick, throwing off Kolzig and beating him glove side.
After Jagr made it 2-1, the Capitals finally got a rebound goal off Tugnutt in the second period. Tugnutt stopped Johansson's slap shot with his midsection, but Simon was there to convert at the 13:39 mark.
The Capitals outshot the Penguins 37-23.
"The favorite role has switched to Pittsburgh because they've got a 3-1 lead," Wilson said. "They're supposed to win the series now. We're underdogs and we're relaxed."
#3 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs #6 OTTAWA SENATORS
Series tied 2-2
Next Game: Saturday April 22nd, 2000 7pm at Toronto
The Ottawa Senators tied its series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and gained some confidence in doing so.
Andreas Dackell scored twice as the Senators beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Wednesday night to tie their first-round Eastern Conference best-of-seven series at 2-2.
"Our confidence is a little better now than after our first two games," said Dackell, who scored his first two goals of the series on nearly identical 2-on-1 breaks.
Game 5 will be Saturday night in Toronto.
"It's a new series now," Dackell said. "It will be a great battle on Saturday. We know they play better at home. It will be a great series now."
Sergei Berezin scored with 3:50 remaining for the Leafs, who outshot the Senators 32-22 but were stymied by goalie Tom Barrasso.
The Leafs looked dominant in taking the opening two games at home, but the tables were turned in Ottawa. Still, they hit three goalposts in each game, coming within inches of a possible sweep.
"I thought we had a chance to win both games here," Leafs captain Mats Sundin said. "We didn't play that badly tonight. We just had two turnovers that cost us.
"What worries me is that when we're down a goal or two, we don't have that momentum that was our strength all year to keep coming at them."
It was another shaky night for Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph, who accidentally knocked down referee Mick McGeough in Game 3 on Monday while protesting interference on Rob Zamuner's winning goal.
With the capacity crowd of 18,500 chanting "Cujo, Cujo," the Toronto goalie had only a minor outburst this time, when he left the net to tackle Vaclav Prospal after Prospal entered the crease in the third period.
"I was just trying to retrieve my stick," Joseph said innocently. "Some guy shot it away."
The Senators were written off by many after the opening two games, but the Maple Leafs expected a tough time in Ottawa, where they are 1-4 this season.
"We were the last ones to think we'd win in four," said Leafs forward Kris King, who saw his first action replacing injured center Nik Antropov. "This is no surprise to us.
"We just have to go home and use what we worked for all season -- home ice advantage."
Dackell had only 10 goals in 82 games this season, but elected to shoot on both 2-on-1 breaks with more accomplished scorers -- Daniel Alfredsson and Joe Juneau.
Dackell opened the scoring 8:15 into the second period. He kept the puck, stopped suddenly to let defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev fall, and fired a wrist shot that trickled through Joseph's pads.
With the Leafs pressing in the third, Cory Cross fanned on a bouncing puck at the blue line, sending Dackell in. Again, he elected to shoot, beating Joseph to the short side.
After a brawl and a few late shoving matches, Berezin broke in on the right side and blasted his second of the series past Barrasso.
Barrasso deflected praise for his stellar performance afterwards.
"Individual performances are vastly overrated," he said. "Playoff hockey is about winning games as a team. We played the way the Ottawa Senators are supposed to play."
Ottawa's tight checking frustrated the Maple Leafs most of the game.
"That's really this team's bread and butter," Barrasso said.
#4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs #5 FLORIDA PANTHERS
New Jersey wins 4-0
Next Game: New Jersey advances to the second round.
One by one, the New Jersey Devils patted, slapped -- and thanked -- goaltender Martin Brodeur. He stopped 35 shots Thursday night, holding Florida to one goal for the third straight game and ending the Devils' first-round playoffs woes with a 4-1 victory over the Panthers.
Sergei Nemchinov scored twice in the final four minutes to seal New Jersey's sweep in the best-of-seven series.
After the game, which advanced the Devils to the second round for the first time since 1997, Brodeur's teammates surrounded him near the goal. They pounded him atop his mask and pads, showing their appreciation.
"That's the Marty we've seen in the past," center Bobby Holik said. "What else do I say? What do I say? You saw it, I saw it. He was awesome."
The Panthers, 1-12 in their last 13 playoff games, continued to struggle offensively in Game 4 despite getting their most scoring opportunities of the series.
They just couldn't find a way to get the puck under, over, around or through Brodeur.
"Brodeur was the best player on the ice tonight," Panthers coach Terry Murray said. "That is the reason they won. We failed to score throughout the series."
Florida scored first for the third consecutive game, snapping an 0-for-10 drought on the power play with a goal in the first period. But also for the third consecutive game, it would be the Panthers' lone score.
Pavel Bure beat Brodeur with a slap shot from just outside the left circle to give Florida a 1-0 lead at 5:19. Bure slipped the shot under sliding Ken Daneyko and between Brodeur and the right post.
It was Bure's first goal of the playoffs. The Russian Rocket led the league with 58 goals during the season, but the Devils, primarily using Scott Stevens to shadow Bure, limited his shots and open skating space.
"Scott Stevens did a great job on Pavel, and Marty Brodeur did the rest," Panthers left wing Ray Whitney said. "We certainly would need more than one goal to beat the New Jersey Devils."
Mike Vernon kept the Panthers ahead in the opening period, stopping 17 shots, including one-on-one saves against Jason Arnott and Claude Lemieux.
New Jersey scored twice in the second, tying the game at 4:26 and taking a 2-1 lead at 15:02.
Patrik Elias tied it, beating Vernon high on a precise centering pass from Jason Arnott.
The Panthers had plenty of chances to regain the lead, getting 14 shots in the second period, but again struggled against the Devils' smothering defense and Brodeur.
"They had a lot of chances in the second period. I was really lucky out there," Brodeur said.
New Jersey took the lead when Scott Niedermayer scored his second goal since returning from a 10-game suspension for hitting Florida's Peter Worrell over the head with his stick March 19.
Niedermayer's wrist shot floated past Vernon.
Nemchinov put the Devils up 3-1 with 3:48 to play and added his second goal of the night with 1:57 remaining.
But the overwhelming sentiment of the Devils was that the series sweep was just the beginning.
"None of us are going to be satisfied with this," Holik said. "This team has more to accomplish."
The Devils lost in the first round of the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed the last two seasons. Ottawa beat them 4-2 in 1998 and Pittsburgh beat them 4-3 last year.
"It's special. It's been real tough the last few years," Daneyko said. "I don't know if we got the monkey off our backs. We're still not where we want to be. It's only one round, so we want to keep it in perspective. We have much bigger plans along the way."