EASTERN QUARTER-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 4:
#1 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs #8 BUFFALO SABRES
Philadelphia leads 3-0
Game time: Tuesday April 18th, 2000 7:30pm at Buffalo
The Philadelphia Flyers go for the four-game sweep of the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night as the teams meet in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Philadelphia grabbed a stranglehold on the series with a 2-0 victory over the Buffalo on Sunday, moving within a win of taking its first series since the 1997 Eastern Conference finals. Rookie Brian Boucher stopped 17 shots for his first playoff shutout.
The Flyers will be looking for their first four-game sweep since eliminating the New York Rangers in the 1995 Eastern semifinals. The Sabres were last swept by Montreal in 1993.
A native of Rhode Island, the 23-year-old Boucher has a 109 minute, 20-second shutout string, dating to Game 2, after posting the first playoff whitewash by a rookie since Buffalo's Steve Shields in 1997. Boucher took over the starting role from former Stanley Cup finalist goalie John Vanbiesbrouck two-thirds of the way through the season.
John LeClair scored his second goal of the series, 33rd in the postseason and 26th in the playoffs with the Flyers. He had seven with the Montreal Canadiens, including two overtime winners.
Buffalo's season is likely all but over. Only two teams have rallied from 3-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven series -- the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 New York Islanders.
Dominik Hasek was his typical sensational self at times on Sunday, even stopping Eric Desjardins penalty shot, but Buffalo's offense sustained little pressure against a stifling defense. The Sabres recorded no more than six shots in a period and kept their series goal total at three.
The Sabres have scored fewer than three goals in eight straight playoff games, dating to last year's Stanley Cup Finals against the Dallas Stars.
The Flyers were 1-for-6 with the man advantage on Sunday and are 5-for-17 in the series. Buffalo, which boasted the second-worst power -play unit during the regular season, is 1-for-10 after an 0-for-3 performance.
#2 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs #7 PITTSBURGH PENQUINS
Pittsburgh leads 3-0
Game time: Wednesday April 19th, 2000 7:30pm at Washington
The Washington Capitals have to do their "Superman" impersonation to win their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. At least Wednesday night they are returning to the "Phone Booth." The second-seeded Capitals are behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series with Monday night's 4-3 road loss, their seventh straight in the postseason.
But tonight, the Caps return to the MCI Center, also known as the "Phone Booth," where they went a conference-best 26-7-8 during the regular season.
Only two teams have rebounded from 3-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven series -- the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 New York Islanders. The Capitals suffered a 7-0 home loss on Thursday in the series opener. Despite being the higher seed, the Caps played the following two contests on the road because of a scheduling conflict at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh moved within a win of its second straight conference semifinal appearance on Monday night as defenseman Jiri Slegr scored the game-winner with 4:32 to play in a 4-3 victory.
Superstar right wing Jaromir Jagr has eight points in three games for the Penguins and fellow Czech Jan Hrdina has four goals and three assists. Hrdina scored twice on Monday.
The Penguins, who lost to Toronto last year in the East semis, are seeking their first series sweep since 1992, when they defeated Chicago for their second straight Stanley Cup title.
The Caps have lost seven postseason games in a row, dating to a Stanley Cup sweep at the hands of Detroit in 1998.
#3 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs #6 OTTAWA SENATORS
Toronto leads 2-1
Game time: Wednesday April 19th, 2000 7pm at Ottawa
The Ottawa Senators look to even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Toronto Maple Leafs at two games apiece Wednesday night. The Corel Centre was more like comedy central on Monday night, when a laughable tirade by Toronto goaltender Curtis Joseph highlighted Ottawa's 4-3 victory.
With 5:43 remaining, Rob Zamuner scored his second goal of the game to give the Senators a decisive 4-2 lead. Immediately after the goal, Joseph complained to referee Mick McGeough that he was interfered with before it was scored.
Joseph lost his cool, shedding his stick and catching glove before tossing his blocker and charging from the net. He pursued McGeough into the corner but lost his balance and ended up submarining the referee, who fell onto Joseph.
The All-Star goaltender, known as "Cujo," joked about the incident after the game but will not be in a laughing mood tonight as his team tries to take back the momentum.
Toronto outscored the Senators 7-1 at the Air Canada Center in the first two games of the series and outshot them 36-15 in Game Three, but Joseph made only 11 saves.
Tom Barrasso came up big for Ottawa, stopping 33 shots and earning his 60th career playoff victory. He won his previous 56 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, for whom he helped win two Stanley Cups.
This season, he is trying to help the Senators to the second series win in franchise history. They upset New Jersey in the 1998 Eastern quarterfinals.
The Leafs, who won their last of 11 Stanley Cups in 1967, made it to the conference finals last year before losing to Buffalo in five games.
#4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs #5 FLORIDA PANTHERS
New Jersey leads 3-0
Game time: Thursday April 20th, 2000 7:30pm at Florida
The New Jersey Devils have a chance to finally break their first-round hex Thursday night as they go for the series sweep against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. New Jersey is one win away from reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997 after rallying for a 2-1 victory at Florida on Tuesday. The Devils, who were eliminated by Pittsburgh and Ottawa in previous seasons, have won three straight one-goal decisions after going 19-8 in such games during the season.
The Devils tied a team record by allowing just one shot in the second period on Tuesday. They also yielded one shot against Boston in the third period of a Game 1 loss in the 1994 Eastern Conference quarterfinals and against Detroit in the third period of the clinching win in the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals.
Defensemen have accounted for half of the Devils' eight goals in the series. Scott Stevens has two, including the winner in Game Two on Sunday, while Scott Niedermayer and rookie Brian Rafalski have the others. Martin Brodeur handled only seven shots over the first two periods, but stopped all 15 in the third to extend his unbeaten streak against Florida to 11 games (8-0-3). Brodeur has stopped 63 of 68 shots in the series while trying to recapture his reputation as a prominent postseason player.
Sergei Brylin missed Game 3 for the Devils with a bruised right knee and was replaced by Steve Kelly, while rookie defenseman Colin White is questionable after he took a hard hit from Peter Worrell on Tuesday. Devils center Jason Arnott has been playing with an injured wrist.
If the Panthers are to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, they must become the third team in NHL history to rally from a three games to none deficit. The others were the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Florida sniper Pavel Bure, who led the league with 58 goals, has been held to three assists and eight shots in this series. Trading-deadline acquisition Mike Sillinger has been the main offensive weapon, recording two goals and an assist in the series.
Florida was 0-for-3 on the power play Tuesday, falling to 0-for-10 in the series.