Saturday May 9 7pm
WASHINGTON -- Hair today, gone tomorrow.
Damian Rhodes' blond ambition tour in the playoffs came to an abrupt end yesterday when Senators coach Jacques Martin declared goaltender Ron Tugnutt will start tonight against the Washington Capitals.
Down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference semi-final after a 4-2 loss Thursday night, Martin didn't waste any time putting his peroxide-haired star back on the bench after Rhodes allowed four goals on only 17 shots.
Tugnutt, who has been a Capitals killer the last two seasons by going 7-1-0 with three shutouts, will make his first start since April 16
The Senators are hoping he can recapture his playoff magic of one year ago, when his solid play helped the Senators earn a playoff berth and continued through a seven-game series against Buffalo.
"If it was anybody other than the Washington Capitals, I'm not sure this would be the case," said Tugnutt. "This is a team I've had a lot of success against and I feel confident going in there that I can the job done.
"I feel relaxed and I feel like I'm ready to go. It felt good to go in there and play (Thursday after Rhodes was pulled) but we were trailing 4-1 and there wasn't a lot of pressure. In no way was that loss Damian Rhodes' fault. Not one bit."
For his part, Rhodes is trying to take the news in stride.
The two have shared the duties all season and many believed that sooner or later Tugnutt would get a chance in the post-season.
"I hope (Tugnutt) runs with it. If he runs with it, that means we're winning," said Rhodes.
Still, the Senators have to play better in front of Tugnutt than they did in Game 1 in front of Rhodes if they're going to stand a chance of winning this series. Ottawa made too many defensive mistakes, and with Rhodes unable to bail them out, the Capitals walked away with a game in which they really didn't outplay the Senators.
Changing the goaltender shouldn't affect the way a team plays, but the Senators seem to play differently in front of Tugnutt. They rallied around him last year down the stretch and now need to do it again.
"I don't think we play any differently in front of either goalie," said centre Bruce Gardiner. "There's no way we can be down on Rhodes at all. He was a big part in us winning that New Jersey series because of the way he was playing.
"We let him down a lot. We didn't play the way we're capable of playing. You can't give a team like that offensive chances because they're going to kill you. It doesn't matter who is playing goal, we have to do a better job."
The Senators are looking forward to getting back to the Corel Centre for Monday night's Game 3, but they'd like to come home tied 1-1 and holding the upper hand.
That would also serve to juice up the sellout crowd of 18,500 who'll be jammed into the Corel Centre.
"I think when you go on the road for the first two games you're looking for a split. If you can win two games it's a bonus, but if you're down 2-0 then it can be disappointing. We just want the split," said Tugnutt.
Which means the pressure is on in Game 2 tonight. Tugnutt, with last year's playoff experience and his record against the Capitals to draw upon, hopes he's equal to the task.
#6 BUFFALO SABERS vs #7 MONTREAL CANADIENS
Sunday May 10 2pm
The Buffalo Sabres can head to Canada with a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series if they can defeat the the Montreal Canadiens in Game Two today.
Geoff Sanderson scored his second goal of the game 2:37 into overtime as Buffalo averted a disheartening collapse and ended Montreal's record playoff overtime winning streak with a 3-2 victory in Game One on Thursday. Prior to the setback, Montreal had not lost in overtime in the playoffs since Game One of the 1993 Adams Division semifinals.
Buffalo has won its last four playoff games despite beng outshot by an average of 15 shots per game. Goaltender Dominik Hasek has been instrumental in keeping the Sabres alive, stopping 156-of-162 shots during the four games.
Donald Audette and Brian Holzinger are the only Sabres who currently have point streaks. Audette has a goal and three assists in three games and Holzinger has three goals and four assists during a four-game points streak.
Vincent Damphousse and Turner Stevenson scored for the Canadiens in their Game One loss. Stevenson has a goal and three assists during a four-game points streak.
A key for the Canadiens will be their continued success on the power play. Montreal has killed off 15 of 16 shorthanded situations over the last three games.
Games Three and Four will be played at the Molson Centre in Montreal. Game Three is slated for Tuesday and Game Four is on Thursday.
