Wednesday April 22nd 7:30pm The best team in the Eastern Conference -- the New Jersey Devils -- open their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators tonight. On paper, this series looks like a mismatch between the Devils, who give up precious few goals, and the Senators, who don't score that many. But the Devils limped into the playoffs, thanks to late-season injuries to center Doug Gilmour and right wing Randy McKay, uncharacteristic defensive lapses down the stretch and some shaky play by All-Star goaltender Martin Brodeur.
Despite finishing with three wins in their final 10 games, New Jersey battled Dallas for the Presidents' Trophy until the final day of the regular season, secured its second straight Jennings Trophy as the NHL's top defensive team and established franchise records for wins and points.
The Devils also will have home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, a factor which becomes key, since New Jersey boasts the best home record in the NHL at 29-10-2. Up front, Bobby Holik posted career highs with 29 goals and 65 points, but did not score a goal after March 10th and struggled with Gilmour and McKay out of the lineup. Rookie Patrik Elias had 18 goals -- six game-winners -- and was a plus-18, but coach Jacques Lemaire needs more production from players like Dave Andreychuk, Petr Sykora, Jason Arnott and Brian Rolston.
Brodeur became the first goaltender in four decades to post a goals-against average under 2.00 in consecutive seasons. He also has owned Ottawa in his career, going 12-3-2 against the Senators with four shutouts, including back-to-back blankings in February.
Brodeur's counterpart likely will be Damian Rhodes, who reversed his fortunes late this season by dying his hair platinum blond. He played all four games against New Jersey this year, allowing seven goals. The alternative is Ron Tugnutt, who was last season's playoff netminder.
The Senators boast two bona fide superstars in center Alexei Yashin and right wing Daniel Alfredsson. They also have the experience of playing in the postseason after last year's heartbreaking seven-game loss to Buffalo in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Shawn McEachern, who contributed 24 goals, could pose problems for the Devils with his speed, but Yashin figures to carry the burden of providing Ottawa's offense. He assisted on four of the Senators' seven goals against New Jersey in the season series.
Igor Kravchuk is the best of a mediocre corps of defensemen for Ottawa, which was 22nd on the power play and 17th in penalty killing. On the blue line, Ottawa also has youngsters Wade Redden and Chris Phillips.
The teams split four games during the regular season but Brodeur recorded shutouts in both of New Jersey's wins.
#2 PITTSBURGH PEGUINS vs #7 MONTREAL CANADIENS
Thursday April 23rd 7:30pm
Two teams who limped to the finish line in the regular season face each other in the playoffs for the first time as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Montreal Canadiens in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Before winning their final three games, the Penguins suffered through a 1-5-4 stretch that included an 0-2-3 spell at home. Worse, there was talk of dissension after first-year coach Kevin Constantine moved Jaromir Jagr, the NHL's only 100-point scorer, off the team's top forward line.
The Penguins top line is a formidable one with Jagr, center Ron Francis and winger Stu Barnes. Jagr is as talented an offensive player as there is in the league. While his 35 goals were his lowest total in four years, he led the league with 67 assists. Francis remains one of the NHL's most underrated players and was fourth with 62 assists. Barnes posted career highs in all offensive categories with 30 goals and 35 assists.
Tom Barrasso bounced back spectacularly from another injury-marred season, finishing third in goals-against average (2.07), sixth in wins (31), second in save percentage (.922) and sixth in shutouts (7). Although veteran Andy Moog and young Jocelyn Thibault spit the goaltending duties during the regular season, expect Montreal coach Alain Vigneault to go with the much more experienced Moog, who has a 64-52 career mark in the playoffs.
Like Pittsburgh, the Canadiens finished unimpressively at 2-2-3, costing them any shot at home-ice advantage in the East quarterfinals. Montreal also will be missing its top player as center Saku Koivu is recovering from a broken left hand.
The Canadiens have plenty of veteran skill and firepower up front. Right wing Mark Recchi again played all 82 games and led Montreal in scoring with 32 goals and 42 assists. Center Vincent Damphousse had his worst offensive season in a non-lockout campaign since 1988. And he's got to show it was a fluke in last year's playoffs, when he was held without a point in five games against New Jersey.
The Canadiens were third in the NHL on the power play at 18.3 percent but only 16th in penalty-killing, an area in which the Penguins ranked eighth.
Pittsburgh went 3-2-1 against Montreal during the regular season. Francis led the Penguins with eight points, while four Canadiens had four points apiece.
#3 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs #6 BUFFALO SABERS
Wednesday April 22nd 7:30pm
Because they have to go up against arguably the best goaltender in the game in the Buffalo Sabre's Dominik Hasek, the Philadelphia Flyers may have the most unenviable task of any team in the playoffs.
Before this series even begins, Philadelphia may be thinking it takes a perfect shot to beat Hasek. An early setback also could leave the Flyers thinking about last year's sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Flyers feature excellent depth up front and a strong, mobile defensive unit, but all that could amount to nothing if Hasek is at the top of his game, like he was for the Czech Republic in a gold-medal performance throughout the Nagano Olympics.
Although he does not receive nearly the publicity directed at Eric Lindros and John LeClair, Rod Brind'Amour enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career with 36 goals and 38 assists in 82 games. If Michael Peca's line shadows Lindros' unit, it will be imperative for Brind'Amour and his wingers to produce. Flyers general manager Bob Clarke swung a series of deals during the season, improving his defense by landing Dan McGillis and ancient Dave Babych. He also got goaltender Sean Burke and stole Mike Sillinger, who shattered his career high with 21 goals.
Neilson proclaimed Burke his starter for the series opener, although Burke has not seen postseason action in eight years and has not won a playoff game in 10. Veteran Ron Hextall is waiting in the wings should Burke falter. Hextall is much-maligned by the Philadelphia fans and media, but he and Garth Snow did take this team into the finals last year.
Hasek, who is a candidate to win his second straight Vezina and Hart trophies, has never backstopped his team to a playoff series victory. His questionable knee injury during last year's Eastern Conference quarterfinals touched off a firestorm of controversy, and kept Hasek sidelined during the Eastern semifinals, when Philadelphia dusted the Sabres, behind Steve Shields, in five games.
The Sabres will go as far as Hasek takes them. His 13 regular-season shutouts were two short of the modern-day record, but his career playoff mark is a dismal 6-11.
Buffalo could be without Peca, the team captain, at least for the series opener. The 1997 Selke Trophy winner is listed as day-to-day with a sprained knee. If healthy, coach Lindy Ruff plans to use Peca's unit to check the Flyers' top line, which includes Lindros and LeClair.
The Flyers won the season series, 2-1-1.
#4 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs #5 BOSTON BRUINS
Wednesday April 22nd 7pm One season after finishing with the league's worst record, the Boston Bruins are back in the playoffs once again and will face off against the Washington Capitals in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. These two teams should be very familiar with one another. The Capitals and Bruins pulled off a blockbuster six-player trade in March 1997 that sent forwards Adam Oates and Rick Tocchet and goaltender Bill Ranford to Washington for forwards Jason Allison and Anson Carter and goaltender Jim Carey. Oates and Allison were major contributors for their teams, which return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.
Both teams have excelled under first-year coaches. Washington's Ron Wilson engineered a 17-point turnaround, while Pat Burns brought a no-nonsense approach to Boston, which gained 30 points from the 1996-97 season, when it was the league's worst team.
The Capitals, who have won only one playoff series since 1991, secured home-ice advantage for this matchup by winning their final four regular-season games and going 8-2-1 down the stretch. Washington's offensive hopes rely heavily on Peter Bondra, who shared the league lead and tied a career high with 52 goals. He also added five shorthanded tallies and scored an astounding 13 game-winners.
Both Washington's Olaf Kolzig and Boston's Byron Dafoe -- who are best friends -- enjoyed excellent regular seasons, but neither is playoff-tested.
Allison was a revelation for Boston, exploding for 33 goals and 50 assists after entering the season with 10 goals and 31 assists in 105 NHL games. Two more former Capitals, Dimitri Khristich and Carter, were second and sixth, respectively, on the team in scoring.
As the season wound down, Sergei Samsonov appeared to clinch the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie. The Boston winger had 22 goals and 25 assists and was one of only two 1997 first-round picks who spent the entire season on an NHL roster.
In their only other postseason meeting, the Bruins swept Washington in the 1990 Wales Conference finals.
Boston went 2-1-1 against Washington during the regular season. Game Two is Friday in Washington.
