GAME DAY PREVIEWS
Updated: Wednesday December 29, 1999 11:09PM EST
Wednesday December 29, 1999 Toronto at Ny Islanders 7:30pm
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to win their sixth straight game tonight when they meet the New York Islanders. The Maple Leafs matched a season high with their fifth straight win Thursday, rallying past New Jersey, 4-1. They have not won more than five in a row since a 10-game run in 1993-94.
At 22-11-4 with two overtime losses, the Leafs are three points ahead of Philadelphia and four in front of New Jersey and Florida for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jonas Hoglund, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason, is leading the team with 18 goals, while captain Mats Sundin is pacing the club with 31 points and four game-winning tallies.
Rookie center Nik Antropov is starting to make a name for himself in the NHL. He scored the game-winning goal against the Devils, giving him four goals in the last three games and five on the season.
Toronto came away with a 5-1 victory on December 15 behind Hoglund's two goals and has won the last four meetings of the series. The Maple Leafs also won both games at the Nassau Coliseum last season.
The Islanders have played well recenttly, winning three of their last four games after Monday's 3-0 home triumph against Boston. They have a chance to move past expansion Atlanta and out of the NHL cellar. The teams are tied with 23 points.
The key to New York's recent success has been its goaltending. Rookie Roberto Luongo stopped all 34 shots Monday to improve to 3-4-1 with a 2.24 goals-against average. Backup Kevin Weekes, acquired from Vancouver on December 19, was impressive in his only Islanders start, recording 36 saves in a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday.
Mariusz Czerkawski leads New York with 12 goals and 22 points, while Brad Isbister is also off to a solid start with 11 goals and 21 points.
Thursday December 23, 1999 New Jersey at Toronto 7:30pm
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to match their season-high five-game winning streak tonight and regain a share of first place in the NHL standings when they host the New Jersey Devils. Toronto extended its winning streak to four games with Tuesday's 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Maple Leafs reeled off five straight wins from October 23-November 3.
Toronto enters tonight with 48 points, best in the Eastern Conference and two behind Detroit for the overall lead.
The Maple Leafs have played a league-high 22 games at home this season and have posted an impressive 16-4-2 mark at the Air Canada Centre.
Mats Sundin leads the team with 30 points and Jonas Hoglund paces the club with 17 goals.
New Jersey is coming off an emotional 3-2 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday that moved it within two points of the Flyers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
The Devils have won four of their last five games, only falling to the New York Islanders on Sunday during that stretch.
The Devils have gotten tremendous production out of the line of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora. Elias recorded his second two-goal effort in three games on Wednesday, Arnott scored his ninth goal and Sykora tied a career high with three assists.
The teams skated to a 3-3 tie at New Jersey on November 6, but Toronto is 2-1-2 in the last five meetings.
Tuesday December 21, 1999 Toronto at Tampa 7:30pm
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to maintain the lead in the Eastern Conference when they battle the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.
Toronto scored four unanswered goals in the third period in Monday's 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Florida. The win moved the Maple Leafs into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Philadelphia.
Rookie Nik Antropov scored his first career hat trick on Monday, scoring the game-winning and insurance goals in the third period.
Mats Sundin scored on Monday, giving him two goals and five assists during his six-game points streak, and leads the team with 30 points. Jonas Hoglund is pacing the club with 17 goals.
Tampa Bay has lost two straight games and is winless in its last three after Sunday's 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Rangers. Tampa Bay sits in fourth place in the Southeast Division, two points behind Washington for third.
Nine different players have reached double-digit points this season, led by Chris Gratton's 25. Vincent Lecavalier and Mike Sillinger are tied for the club lead with 10 goals.
Toronto has won seven in a row over Tampa Bay, dating to a 7-4 loss at Maple Leaf Gardens on October 12, 1996.
Monday December 20, 1999 Toronto at Florida 7:30pm
The Florida Panthers attempt to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games Monday night when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs, winners of two straight.Pavel Bure recorded two goals and an assist and Jaroslav Spacek added a goal and two helpers for the Panthers in a 5-2 triumph at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Viktor Kozlov scored and added an assist as Florida improved to 6-1 in its last seven games.
Bure has been the story for the Panthers lately with seven tallies during a four-game goals streak and he also owns a seven-game points streak. Bure leads the team with 20 goals and 30 points.
Florida has not won five straight since the final three games last season and the first two this campaign.
Toronto won its second straight Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Montreal. Dimitri Yushkevich scored his first goal in 31 games and Sergei Berezin tallied with 3:42 remaining for the win.
Mats Sundin added an assist to extend his points streak to five games and Steve Thomas has a four-game run for Toronto, which has outscored its opponents, 7-2, over the last two games.
Jonas Hoglund leads the Leafs with 17 goals and Sundin is tops with 29 points.
Yanic Perreault scored and added an assist as Toronto recorded a 3-2 victory ovcer Florida on October 13. Bure and Sundin both missed the game due to injuries, while Perreault remains sidelined with a broken forearm.
Saturday December 18, 1999 Montreal at Toronto 7pm
One of the oldest rivalries in the NHL resumes tonight when the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs host the last-place Montreal Canadiens in a Northeast Division battle. The Maple Leafs, who lead the Northeast Division, are coming off a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Jonas Hoglund stayed hot with two goals and an assist, giving him six points in his last three games.
Defenseman Bryan Berard awoke from his offensive slumber and added a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who own the league's best home record at 15-4-2. Toronto has played 21 of its 33 games at home. On the road the Maple Leafs are just 3-7-2.
Montreal is coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to New Jersey on Thursday. The Devils' Randy McKay scored the winning goal with 21 seconds remaining.
"Two goals by New Jersey were our fault. We played badly in our zone," Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault said. "We have to improve our game against the better teams in this league. It was a bad ending for the game, especially since my guys played their guts out. It hurts very bad to lose in the last minute, but we will have to learn from it."
The Canadiens, who have scored just four goals in their last three games, have fared much better on the road than at home. Montreal is 7-9-0 on the road compared to 4-10-2 at the Molson Centre.
The Leafs have won both meetings this season, 4-1 in the season opener and 3-2 on October 23. The Canadiens hold a 309-247-84 edge in the all-time series.
Wednesday December 15, 1999 Ny Islanders at Toronto 7:30pm
The best team in the Eastern Conference meets the worst tonight as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New York Islanders. The Maple Leafs lost the battle of the top two teams in the Northeast Division on Monday, falling to the Ottawa Senators, 3-1. Toronto's lead in the division was cut to five points, but the Maple Leafs have a one-point lead over Philadelphia for the best record in the conference.
Jonas Hoglund and Mats Sundin have scored 15 and 14 goals, respectively, for the Leafs, while Sundin paces the club in scoring with 27 points and is a plus-13.
Despite Monday's loss, the Leafs are a league-best 14-4-2 at home this season.
The Islanders have a league-low 16 points and their winless streak reached seven games with Tuesday's 4-2 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
Marius Czerkawski has been the Islanders' only offensive spark recently. He has scored in four of the last five games and leads the team with 12 goals and 20 points, while defenseman Kenny Jonsson is the Islanders' assist leader with 13.
With rookie Roberto Luongo playing Tuesday, former Leaf Felix Potvin could may get another crack at beating his former team tonight. Potvin, who is 5-13-2 with a 3.19 goals-against average, suffered a 3-2 loss in Toronto on April 14 of last season.
The Leafs won three of four games with New York last season and are 6-2 over the last eight meetings.
Monday December 13, 1999 Ottawa at Toronto 7:30pm
First place in the Northeast Division battles second place Monday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs look to continue their strong play against the Ottawa Senators.The Leafs improved to 5-1-1 over their last seven games with a 6-4 triumph over Philadelphia on Saturday. Gary Valk scored twice as Toronto increased its lead over Ottawa in the division to seven points.
Tomas Kaberle has a four-game points streak with a goal and three assists and Mats Sundin leads the Leafs with 26 points. Sundin and Jonas Hoglund are tied with 14 goals apiece.
The Senators are just 1-3-3 over their last seven following Saturday's 1-1 tie with the New York Islanders. Magnus Arvedson scored the tying goal for Ottawa with 5:17 remaining in the third period.
The Senators are winless in their last four contests (0-2-2) and have scored just two goals in their last three outings.
Marian Hossa leads the Senators with 12 goals while Radek Bonk paces the club in scoring with 28 points.
Wade Redden's power-play goal with 11:11 to play snapped a tie and Ottawa a 4-3 victory over Toronto on October 9. After the final buzzer, there was a scrap in the corner involving Maple Leafs winger Steve Thomas and Senators defenseman Jason York, who was bleeding when he was pulled away from the scrum.
The Leafs have won their last three games against the Senators in Toronto
Saturday December 11, 1999 Philadelphia at Toronto 7pm
The Philadelphia Flyers visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight in their first game since learning on Friday that coach Roger Neilson has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. However, the 65-year-old Neilson will be behind the Flyers bench tonight and expects to miss no games because of the early detection.
"I believe God has a plan for my life and this happens to be part of it," he said. "I know it's there for a reason and if the plan is to beat it then I'm going to give it everything I've got to beat it. If that's not in the plans, then at least in the games up in heaven we won't have to put up with (Toronto's Kris King and Tie Domi."
The Flyers are looking to complete a home-and-home sweep of the Maple Leafs.
Eric Lindros scored on a blistering slap shot with 66 seconds left in the third period to cap his 11th career hat trick as the surging Flyers hung on to defeat the Maple Leafs, 4-2, to improve to 6-0-1 in their last seven games.
Philadelphia is 6-0-1 in their last seven games and 17-3-3 since an 0-5-1 start and pulled three points ahead of Toronto for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
In the first game of the series between 1999 first-round playoff opponents, Philadelphia got off to a quick 3-0 lead before holding on as Toronto rallied in the third period.
Thursday's loss snapped Toronto's five-game unbeaten streak, but the Leafs remain atop the Northeast Division with 38 points, six ahead of second-place Ottawa.
With center Yanic Perreault out at least six weeks with a broken left forearm, Mats Sundin has picked up the slack. Sundin scored his team-leading 14th goal on Thursday and is pacing the club with 25 points.
Toronto went 0-for-4 with the man advantage on Thursday and is 0-for-19 over its last four games.
Philadelphia, which lost to Toronto in the first round of last year's playoffs, has won both meetings this season, including a 3-2 overtime victory on November 26.
Thursday December 9, 1999 Toronto at Philadelphia 7:30pm
First place in the Eastern Conference Standings is on the line tonight as the Philadelphia Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Flyers' unbeaten streak reached six games (5-0-1) on Sunday with a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Philadelphia is 16-3-3 since an 0-5-1 start and pulled one point ahead of Toronto for the top spot in the conference.
John LeClair scored twice on Sunday, giving him three tallies in as many games. Mark Recchi added the other goal, giving him three in his last four games. Recchi leads the NHL with 25 assists and his 37 points rank fourth.
Toronto improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games after Tuesday's 3-2 overtime victory over division rival Buffalo. The Leafs have posted 3-2 overtime wins in their last two games, also defeating Pittsburgh on Saturday, and have gone into the extra session in their last three contests.
With center Yanic Perreault out at least six weeks with a broken left forearm, Mats Sundin will try to pick up the slack. Sundin is tied with Jonas Hoglund for the team lead with 13 goals and is pacing the club with 23 points and a plus-10 rating.
Toronto went 0-for-5 with the man advantage on Monday and is 0-for-15 over its last four games.
Philadelphia, which lost to Toronto in the first round of last year's playoffs, posted a 3-2 victory in overtime against the Leafs on November 26.
Monday December 6, 1999 Buffalo at Toronto 7:30pm
The first-place Toronto Maple Leafs begin life without Yanic Perreault, one of their top scorers, tonight as they host the slumping Buffalo Sabres in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals. Mats Sundin scored 27 seconds into overtime Saturday as the Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, to extend their unbeaten streak to four games.
But it was a costly victory as Perreault had his left forearm broken on a slash by Penguins and is expected to be out at least six weeks. The center has eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points, tied with Sundin for the team high.
Sundin tallied twice against Pittsburgh and tops the club with 13 goals.
Toronto enters tonight five points ahead of second-place Ottawa in the Northeast Division. The Maple Leafs are 3-0-1 since a 3-2 overtime loss at Philadelphia on November 26 and have not gone unbeaten in five games since a 5-0-1 run from October 20-November 3.
The Sabres, who ousted the Maple Leafs in five games before succumbing to Dallas in the Stanley Cup Finals last season, are winless in three straight and 1-3-1 in their last five contests.
Dwayne Roloson surrendered his lone goal of the game with 17:42 remaining in the third period as Buffalo settled for a 1-1 tie with the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Sabres are 1-for-18 on the power play over the last five games.
Michal Grosek and Stu Barnes share the team lead in scoring with 19 points while Miroslav Satan has a club-best 11 goals.
Saturday December 4, 1999 Pittsburgh at Toronto 7pm
The Toronto Maple Leafs try to stay at the top of the Eastern Conference tonight when they host Jaromir Jagr and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Maple Leafs are unbeaten in their last three games (2-0-1) after Thursday night's 2-2 tie in Carolina. They lead Philadelphia by one point atop the conference standings.
Jagr is on top of the NHL scoring list with 41 points, totaling a league-high 20 goals and 21 assists.
The Penguins continued their inconsistent play on Thursday with a 5-2 home loss to San Jose. They had won three of their previous four games but now are just 6-5 since a 2-7-3 start.
Pittsburgh also has struggled on the road, going 1-7-1 in its last nine games. Toronto is a league-best 11-3-2 at home.
Playing at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh defeated the Maple Leafs, 3-1, on November 23 in the first meeting between the teams this season.
Right wing Alexei Kovalev has complemented Jagr in the past two games, recording three goals and an assist. He is third on the team in points, behind Jagr and Robert Lang, with 10 goals and 21 points.
Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso has started three of four games since returning from an injury, going 2-1 while allowing six goals on 77 shots.
The Leafs are led by goaltender Curtis Joseph and star center Mats Sundin. Joseph has a league-best 1.88 goals-against average, is tied for the league lead in wins at 12-6-3 and has the second-best save percentage in the NHL at .929.
Sundin is second on the team with 11 goals and 20 points, despite missing nine games with a broken ankle. He had a seven-game points streak snapped on Thursday.
Thursday December 2, 1999 Toronto at Carolina 7:30pm
The first-place Toronto Maple Leafs look to end a five-game road winless streak tonight when they visit the surging Carolina Hurricanes.
Toronto is coming of a 3-1 home win against Washington on Monday, its second-straight victory, as Steve Thomas scored for the second straight game.
However, the Leafs, who lead the Ottawa Senators by two points in the Northeast Division, are 0-4-1 in their last five road games.
Star center Mats Sundin has fully recovered from an early season foot injury, totaling five goals and four assists during a seven-game points streak.
Toronto is 1-0-1 against Carolina this season, including a 6-0 blanking on November 3. Mike Johnson and Jonas Hoglund each scored twice and Sundin netted his 300th goal in his return from the injury.
Carolina rallied for a 4-3 victory against Calgary on Tuesday as Jeff O'Neill recorded four points to tie his career high. Paul Coffey added two assists, giving him 1,495 points to pass Mario Lemieux for eighth-place on the NHL's all-time scoring list.
Sami Kapanen has 23 points this season for the Hurricanes, who are 5-1-3 in their last nine games.