EASTERN QUARTER-FINALS
GAME SUMMARIES
GAME 1:
#1 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs #8 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
New Jersey leads 1-0
Next Game: Saturday April 24th, 1999 2pm at New Jersey
Petr Sykora led the New Jersey Devils in scoring in the regular season and he picked up right where he left off in the playoffs -- playing against his idol. Sykora scored twice and the Devils started making amends for recent playoff failures by beating Jaromir Jagr and the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Thursday night.
"I feel pretty good about this team," said Sykora, who led the team in scoring with 72 points. "I feel pretty good about myself. I feel pretty good about what I am doing on the ice. I don't feel like a star. We don't have a star on this hockey team. We are stars as a team."
A lot of them contributed as the Devils took the lead in the best-of-7 series with Game 2 on tap Saturday afternoon.
Martin Brodeur had 24 saves, Patrik Elias set up two goals and Jay Pandolfo scored into an empty net as the Devils struggled more than expected against the eighth-seeded Penguins, who probably had more good scoring chances than New Jersey.
"We don't want to prove we can compete, we want to win the series," Penguins forward Matthew Barnaby said. "We still think we can win the series. We thought it going in."
Jan Hrdina was the only Penguin to beat Brodeur, but the Devils' goaltender had to come up with at least seven good stops to prevent Pittsburgh from tying the game at 2-2. His best were glove saves against Jagr late in the second, another on Kip Miller with 3:27 to play and a pad save with 2:07 left on a shot by Jagr in full stride.
"You have to make some big saves to win some big games in the playoffs," Brodeur said. "I was pretty fortunate to get lucky on a few of them."
It was what the Devils needed to prevent doubts from starting to creep in again in the postseason. New Jersey, which has been the conference's best team in the regular season the last three years, was eliminated by Ottawa in the first round last year and by the New York Rangers in the second round two years ago.
"It was very important for all of us. We're feeling very good about it," said Sykora, who referred to Jagr as his "hero." "It was a very tough game."
The Devils got off on the right foot this time because Sykora continued his great play. He led the team with 29 goals in the regular season and he continued to lead them Thursday night.
"He's a very good player," Jagr said of Sykora, a fellow Czech. "He scores goals. He's also playing with very good players. They are playing together well and they are dangerous with their speed and skill."
Sykora, who only played in two games in last year's opening-round loss with Jacques Lemaire in charge, was in the right spot at the right time on the game winner. It was a play on which the Devils kept the puck in the Penguins' zone and got a little lucky. Elias' pass from behind the net deflected off a Penguins defender to Devils defenseman Sheldon Souray at the right point. He skated toward the goal and took a shot into a group of players in front of the net. The puck hit off someone and bounced to a wide-open Sykora, who backhanded the puck past Tom Barrasso, who faced 22 shots.
Hrdina got the first goal of the series at 7:20 of the first period, but it was Jagr who did all the work. The NHL's leading scorer took a pass from Jiri Slegr at center ice, split the Devils' defense only to be stopped by Brodeur. Hrdina put the rebound into an open net.
Elias set up Sykora's first goal just 15 seconds later, stopping a Penguins pass at the left point. Elias took a stride toward the middle and then caught Barrasso out of position by passing the puck to Sykora above the right circle. His shot found the upper corner of the net.
Pandolfo scored with 31 seconds to play.
Jagr left the ice after the goal but he insisted he was not upset and that he was not injured. He had a groin injury late in the season.
The Penguins played without Alexei Kovalev, a 23-goal scorer who sprained his right wrist in the season finale Sunday.
#2 OTTAWA SENATORS vs #7 BUFFALO SABRES
Dallas leads 1-0
Next game: Friday April 23rd, 1999 7pm at Ottawa
If anyone needed a reminder why goaltender Dominik Hasek has been the NHL's most valuable player the last two years, they got it Wednesday night.
The acrobatic Hasek made 40 saves and Curtis Brown scored the game-winner on a second-period power play to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a series-opening 2-1 playoff victory over the Ottawa Senators.
"They had a lot of good chances," Hasek said. "A couple of times, I was lucky.
"I was on top tonight, but you don't know what will happen tomorrow. That's why you don't want to get too high when you win."
The Sabres lead the best-of-7 Eastern Conference quarterfinal 1-0 with Game 2 set for Friday night in Ottawa.
Michael Peca scored in the first period for the Sabres, who were outshot 41-15 overall but made the most of their rare chances on shaky Ottawa goaltender Ron Tugnutt.
Wade Redden was the only Senator to beat Hasek. His score came on a power-play blast from the high slot in the first period.
"I should have made that save," Hasek said. "I could see the puck. He was out by the blue line. My job is to make that save."
Hasek did more than his job with a flurry of spectacular saves in the third period, when the Sabres were outshot 17-6, including a behind-the-back stick save on Alexei Yashin's shot at the side of the crease.
"We knew Hasek would be a big factor," said Redden. "We just have to find a way to beat him.
"We've scored on him before. I don't think we were frustrated. We have to keep playing the same way. We'll get goals."
The Senators came into the series as the favorites after finishing second in the conference. They lost for only the second time in their last 13 meetings with the Sabres.
But this one was lost on Hasek's goaltending and their own inability to capitalize on five second-period power plays awarded to them by the referee tandem of Denis Larue and Kerry Fraser -- including a two-man advantage for 1:42.
Several players, including Hasek, called the five-on-three the game's turning point.
"The bottom line was that we didn't win the special teams," said Ottawa coach Jacques Martin.
Buffalo captain Peca, who shadowed Yashin and held his Ottawa counterpart off the scoresheet although Yashin had eight shots on goal, said the Sabres are used to winning while being outshot.
The Sabres like to say that opponents pile up shot totals with shots from far out, but the truth is the Senators shot from everywhere, only to see Hasek make the saves.
"We'd like to play better," said Peca. "We'd like to narrow the margin -- I mean, outshoot them. We want to come out Friday and play with a little more savvy and control the puck more."
A chanting, sellout crowd of 18,500 waving white towels greeted the Senators, but from the outset it appeared that Ottawa's worst nightmare -- being shut down by Hasek -- might be realized.
While Hasek made big saves early, the Sabres scored on their second shot on goal.
Peca partially fanned on a backhand shot from the slot and the puck rolled past a startled Tugnutt for a 1-0 Buffalo lead at 4:32.
"I'd like to have that one back," Tugnutt said.
Ottawa outshot the Sabres 16-4 in the period and Redden tied it on a power play at 14:46.
Bruce Gardiner was off for slashing when, after a point shot by Alexei Zhitnik went wide, Peca slipped the puck to Brown all alone in front of Tugnutt. His high shot from in close gave Buffalo the winner 11:24 into the second.
The Senators lost a good chance to tie it in the opening minute of the third, when Bonk batted a rebound toward an open net, only to see the puck hit Peca's skates.
#3 CAROLINA HURRICANES vs #6 BOSTON BRUINS
Boston leads 1-0
Next Game: Saturday April 24th, 1999 7:30pm at Carolina
Boston's game has been patience all season. The Bruins won the waiting game again Thursday night in their playoff opener against the Carolina Hurricanes. Unlikely scorers Rob DiMaio and Ken Belanger netted third-period goals as the Bruins defeated Carolina 2-0 in the Hurricane franchise's first NHL playoff game since 1992.
"You've got to wait for a team to break down, you've got to play physical and hard and then you've got to pounce on your opportunities," said Belanger.
DiMaio had seven goals during the regular season and Belanger had two, but the pair scored 5:47 apart to break a scoreless tie and give the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference series.
"You don't get too high after one win and you don't get too low after one loss," said Boston's Pat Burns, coaching in his 19th playoff series. "It has always been that way. We just have to make sure we keep our emotions in check and get ready for the next game."
Meanwhile, Byron Dafoe, who led the league with 10 shutouts, stopped all 19 shots by the Southeast Conference champion Hurricanes.
"Our objective was to weather the storm, which we pretty much did," Dafoe said.
Carolina, which moved from Hartford two seasons ago, played most of its first playoff game in North Carolina without veteran Ron Francis.
Francis, the team's hottest player in the second half of the season who appeared in all 82 games, injured his right ankle midway through the first period and skated only one shift from the second period on.
"If there is a point in this game where we're deflated at all is when we lost Ronnie," said Carolina captain Keith Primeau. "He led our team in minutes played, so when you lose your leading guy, somebody has to step up there and play those minutes and it's a tough task."
Carolina also went without playoff veteran Paul Coffey, who missed the game with a hamstring injury.
The teams combined for only 17 goals in the regular-season series that was even at 2-2-1, and this one went into the third period tied 0-0 as the hitting between the two teams was intense.
But Carolina center Jeff O'Neill, who had Carolina's best offensive chances all night, gave the puck away deep in the zone and the Bruins made the Hurricanes pay.
DiMaio stripped a falling O'Neill of the puck at the top of the right circle and beat Arturs Irbe up high 1:50 into the third. Belanger then got one by Irbe on a wraparound shot minutes later as Boston took command of the game.
"Robbie keeps his game simple and that's why he got a big goal for us," Burns said.
Carolina coach Paul Maurice said O'Neill lost control of the puck and was trying to get into a defensive posture when he fell down.
"It wasn't the prettiest of goals," Maurice said.
The Hurricanes dominated the early going, not allowing the Bruins a shot on goal for the opening nine minutes. Meanwhile, Primeau had a chance in close on Dafoe 25 seconds into the game and O'Neill missed a wraparound attempt six minutes later with Dafoe out of the net.
"A lot of teams try to run us out of the building and it hasn't worked all year long," Burns said. "This is a team that is confident, a team that is patient. This isn't the first team to try this against us."
O'Neill also had Carolina's other top scoring chance, but Dafoe made a sliding pad save on the young Carolina center midway through the second period to keep the game scoreless.
Francis, who won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh in the early '90s and is the eighth leading scorer in NHL history, didn't miss a shift after Steve Heinze fell on his right leg behind the Carolina net midway through the first period. But he left the ice with 5:22 left in the period and skated only one shift in the second before retiring for the night.
X-rays of Francis' ankle were negative late Thursday night and he was scheduled for an MRI in Raleigh on Friday, a team official said.
#4 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs #5 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Philadelphia leads 1-0
Game time: Saturday April 24th, 1999 7:30pm at Toronto
The Philadelphia Flyers played with poise and patience, while the Toronto Maple Leafs played as if in a panic to impress in their first playoff appearance in three years.
It was easy for the Maple Leafs to get frustrated, too, given the play of Flyers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.
Vanbiesbrouck stopped all 25 Toronto shots -- including a penalty shot by Mats Sundin. At the other end, Valeri Zelepukin, John LeClair and Eric Desjardins scored as the Flyers opened the first-round playoff series with a 3-0 victory Thursday night.
"It's only one game but it's a great start for us," said LeClair. "Hopefully, we can build off of it. We have to do a lot better. They had some really good scoring chances. We can't rely on Beezer to that magnitude every night."
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference series is Saturday.
The Game 1 turning point came early.
Toronto had a two-man advantage for two full minutes in the 11th minute of the first period and could not score. Vanbiesbrouck robbed Steve Thomas with a glove save. Then, shortly after returning to full strength, the Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead on Zelepukin's goal.
"We just didn't score on our chances," said Sundin. "We created a lot of stuff but weren't able to capitalize."
The Maple Leafs had planned to beat the Flyers with superior speed, but bad passes and persistent Flyers checking ruined Toronto's offensive flow. The giveaways at game's end had Toronto on the high end of a dubious 24-10 count.
"They tried more," said LeClair. "When you try to open it up like that, you're going to have more giveaways. Part of it, too, is that we played well in the neutral zone."
LeClair's power-play goal at 11:32 of the second period made it 2-0. The Maple Leafs were two men short when LeClair, open in front of Joseph, banged in Rod Brind'Amour's pass.
Vanbiesbrouck stopped Sundin's penalty shot 51 seconds into the third by getting his left forearm in the way of a wrist shot. Toronto got the free shot when Steve Duchesne grabbed the puck in his team's crease.
"Anytime a goaltender does that for a team, it's a big lift," LeClair said. "Everybody got a big boost on that penalty shot."
The Maple Leafs' attempt at a late rally fizzled in the face of the Flyers' disciplined positional play. Desjardins scored with 16.5 seconds remaining with Joseph on the bench for an extra attacker.
The Flyers were in the Stanley Cup finals two years ago and their edge in postseason experience showed.
"It helps in certain situations," LeClair said. "Nobody got frazzled, especially on the early five-on-three, then on the penalty shot. And it helps when Beezer is making big saves like that."
Flyers coach Roger Neilson said being on the road helped his team.
"Sometimes it's hard playing the first game at home," Neilson said. "That's why in the first series it's often good to start on the road."
The Maple Leafs were generally satisfied with their effort.
"During the regular season, they probably would have fell in," Derek King said of the Maple Leafs' scoring chances. "Tonight it didn't happen that way.
"But I felt we worked hard and kept coming at them. We didn't quit when they got up 2-0. I think it's good. Everybody's got a little taste of playoff hockey again. It's been a while. We've got a job ahead of us, but we knew that coming into it."
Joseph made 21 saves.
"I thought we played well," he said. "It was just one of those games where it didn't go in for us."
Coach Pat Quinn said the Maple Leafs dumped the puck into Philadelphia's zone too often. His players should have carried it in more, he said.
"We somehow decided we were going to be a shoot-the-puck-in hockey team," he said. "We didn't get to a puck we shot in all night.
"We were pretty easy to play early in the game."
His players were not demoralized.
"We had a solid effort from everybody," said Sundin. "It just wasn't our night. I think we should be satisfied with the effort we had, but at the same time capitalize on the chances we get next time."