EASTERN SEMI-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 2:
#1 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs #7 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Pittsburgh leads 1-0
Game time: Saturday April 29th, 2000 3pm at Philadelphia
The Pittsburgh Penguins try to take a surprising two games to none lead today as they battle the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Penguins picked a good time to finally win in Philadelphia as Ron Tugnutt made 28 saves and Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka scored in a 2-0 victory over the Flyers in Thursday's series opener.
It was Pittsburgh's first win in Philadelphia since current Penguins owner Mario Lemieux scored two goals in a 3-0 victory at the Spectrum on February 13, 1994. Including three games in the 1997 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the Penguins had lost 16 straight games in Philadelphia.
The Penguins had not won a playoff game in Philadelphia since April 21, 1989, when Jagr was 17 and playing in his native country, then known as Czechoslovakia.
Tugnutt, acquired from Ottawa before the trade deadline, recorded his third career playoff shutout and improved to just 2-7-2 lifetime against the Flyers. He had 10 saves in the third period, including two on Keith Primeau with just under four minutes remaining.
Jagr has been a man on a mission in the playoffs, saying he hoped to duplicate Lemieux's feat of bringing the Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia rookie Brian Boucher, who outplayed five-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek with a shutout and a 1.58 goals-against average in the first-round victory over Buffalo, made just 12 saves on Thursday.
The Flyers, who had the league's second-best power-play in the regular season, had just two opportunities with the man advantage. They also allowed Pittsburgh five power-play opportunities, although the Penguins did not sustain their typical pressure.
Winning in the second round has not been as easy for the Penguins, whose last trip to the conference finals came in 1996.
Hockey's "Battle of Pennsylvania" has been lopsided. The Flyers have won both previous playoff meetings and were 4-0-1 against the Pens during the regular season.
#3 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs #4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Toronto leads 1-0
Game time: Saturday April 29th, 2000 7pm at Toronto
The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to continue their dominance of the New Jersey Devils and take a commanding two games to none lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight when the teams meet in Game Two.
Darcy Tucker scored the winning goal 1:18 into the final period and goaltender Curtis Joseph made it stand up with 32 saves as the Maple Leafs hung on for a 2-1 triumph over the Devils in Thursday's series opener.
New Jersey was victimized by bad luck, hitting the post at least three times and saw both of Toronto's scoring plays bounce off a Devils player.
Joseph, who was 3-0-1 against the Devils during the regular season, kept the lead intact with game-saving stops on Jason Arnott and Claude Lemieux early in the third period.
Petr Sykora scored the lone goal for New Jersey, which lost for the first time in this postseason. The club swept Florida in the opening round to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1997, when it was eliminated by the New York Rangers.
Toronto remained undefeated in the Air Canada Centre during the postseason, but has been outshot in all five of its playoffs wins.
Tucker continues to pay dividends since coming over from lowly Tampa Bay in February. He tallied his third game-winner of the postseason and his 17th in 57 games with the Maple Leafs.
Before the series started, Toronto coach Pat Quinn accused New Jersey of throwing the first punch, then looking for the retaliation from the opposition. In addition, the Devils were visited by NHL supervisor of officials John D'Amico, who warned the club against such tatics.
After Game One, Devils coach Larry Robinson talked about the Leafs being notorious for holding the stick.
Toronto went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game One and it has scored just twice in 28 chances in the postseason. New Jersey was 0-for-3 on the power play in Game One and is just 2-for-19 with the man advantage in the playoffs.
Wendel Clark had an assist for Toronto, moving into fourth in scoring on the club's all-time list with 61. He passed Ted Kennedy, George Armstrong and Frank Mahovlich and is just four points behind Darryl Sittler in third.
The Maple Leafs have yet to score a goal in the first period during the postseason.
The two teams have never met in the playoffs and the Devils are opening a series on the road for the first time since sweeping the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit.