EASTERN QUARTER-FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 4:
#1 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs #8 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Pittsburgh leads 2-1
Game time: Tuesday April 27th 7:30pm at Pittsburgh
With or without Jaromir Jagr, the Pittsburgh Penguins will attempt to put a stranglehold on the top-seeded New Jersey Devils when they host Game Four of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Jagr missed the second and third games of the series with an injured quadricep muscle in his right leg and his status likely will be a game-time decision once again. But the eighth-seeded Penguins have been remarkably efficient without their superstar and the odds-on favorite for the Hart Trophy as the leagues most valuable player, posting a 4-1 win in New Jersey on Saturday and a 4-2 triumph at home Sunday.
Jagr's Czech countryman, Martin Straka, has picked up the slack with four goals in the series, including his first career playoff hat trick on Sunday. He also has been helped by the combination of a mobile defense and goaltender Tom Barrasso, who have worked in tandem to reduce the quality of New Jersey's scoring chances.
The task for the Pittsburgh offense might not be difficult considering a recent trend by the Devils. The last 11 times Martin Brodeur has allowed more than one goal in the playoffs, New Jersey has lost. Brodeur, who backstopped New Jersey to the 1995 Stanley Cup, is a dismal 4-10 in his last 14 playoff games.
Should Jagr return, it might actually wake up the listless Devils, who were 3-1 winners in the only game in which Jagr played this series. New Jersey is in danger of adding to an already questionable postseason resume as the three-time defending Eastern Conference regular-season champions have been upset in each of the last two postseason. They lost in five game in the second round to the New York Rangers in 1997 and were stunned in six by eighth-seeded Ottawa last season.
If the Penguins win, they can clinch the series Friday in New Jersey. If New Jersey wins, it would force at least a sixth game, which would be Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
#2 OTTAWA SENATORS vs #7 BUFFALO SABRES
Buffalo leads 3-0
Game time: Tuesday April 27th, 1999 7pm at Buffalo
Dominik Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres look to finish off the second-seeded Ottawa Senators tonight in Game Four of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Hasek made 31 saves but was rarely tested en route to his fourth career playoff shutout as the Sabres pushed the Senators to the brink of elimination with a 3-0 victory on Sunday. Hasek matched Bob Sauve's team record with four postseason shutouts and has stopped 116 of 119 shots in this series for a remarkable .975 save percentage.
A win tonight will give Buffalo its second postseason sweep in as many years. The Sabres swept Montreal in the 1998 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Captain Michael Peca leads Buffalo with four points and Miroslav Satan and Brian Holzinger each have two goals.
The Sabres have gotten production from their power play unit in the series, going 3-for-15 through three games. The penalty killers have surrendered all three goals scored by Ottawa but have killed 19 opportunities.
Ottawa is on the brink of being eliminated by the Sabres in the postseason for the second time in three years. The frustration must be building for Senators captain Alexei Yashin, who collected a career-high 94 points in the regular season but has gone five straight playoff games without a point dating back to 1998.
Nelson Emerson leads Ottawa with three points while Wade Redden, Shawn McEachern and Daniel Alfredsson are the only Senators who have been able to solve Hasek thus far.
Should the Senators win tonight, Game Five is Thursday in Ottawa.
#3 CAROLINA HURRICANES vs #6 BOSTON BRUINS
Carolina leads 2-1
Game time: Wednesday April 28th, 1999 7pm at Boston
The Carolina Hurricanes look to continue their success in Boston tonight when they face off against the Bruins in Game Four of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Andrei Kovalenko scored a fluke goal 2:54 into the third period and Arturs Irbe held on down the stretch as the Hurricanes rallied for a 3-2 victory Monday to grab a two games to one lead on the Bruins.
Carolina is unbeaten at Boston this season (2-0-1) and 6-1-2 there over the last three seasons.
The Hurricanes lost the series opener with veteran center Ron Francis in the lineup but have won both games since the franchise's all-time leading scorer went down with a sprained right ankle. Robert Kron, who was inserted into the lineup for Game Two in place of Francis, has two points in two games.
Right wing Ray Sheppard leads Carolina with three points -- all goals -- and four others are tied with two points. Irbe has been in net all three games, allowing six goals on 85 shots for a .924 save percentage.
Since Byron Dafoe posted a 2-0 shutout in the series opener last Thursday, the Bruins have dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions.
Center Jason Allison leads Boston with three points but is still searching for his first goal, while Sergei Samsonov has two goals. Dafoe has been in net the whole series, yielding six goals on 76 shots for a .914 save percentage.
Boston is 1-for-10 on the power play thus far while allowing one goal in 12 shorthanded situations.
Game Five is Friday in Carolina.
#4 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs #5 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Toronto leads 2-1
Game time: Wednesday April 28th, 1999 7pm at Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Flyers hope to avoid heading back to Toronto in a hole and even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series tonight in Game Four against the Maple Leafs.
This series did not get off to a good start for the Maple Leafs, who were blanked at home by John Vanbiesbrouck in the opener, 3-0. But Toronto rallied for a 2-1 victory in Game Two on Saturday and edged the Flyers, 2-1 on Monday.
After a sub-par performance in the opener, Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph, who has been excellent in the past two postseasons with Edmonton, has stopped 64 of 66 shots in the last two contests. Overall, "Cujo" has a stellar .955 save percentage.
After a resurgent regular season, veteran right wing Steve Thomas has continued his solid play in the postseason with a team-best two goals. Center Steve Sullivan and defenseman Bryan Berard each have two points.
The Flyers have struggled to score goals with captain Eric Lindros still recovering from a collapsed lung. He is likely out for the playoffs. No Flyer has more than one tally and center Rod Brind'Amour leads the team with two points.
Philadelphia is just 1-for-14 on the power play through three games but has allowed just one tally in 17 shorthanded chances.
Game Five is Friday at Toronto.