GAME DAY PREVIEWS
PLAYOFFS ROUND 1: EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINALS
Updated: Tuesday April 25, 2000 1:08AM EST
Monday April 24, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa 7pm
Toronto leads 3-2
Coming off a thrilling finish on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs look to close out their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Ottawa Senators when they clash Monday night in Game 6. Steve Thomas scored twice, including the game-winner 14:47 into overtime Saturday, as the Leafs took a three games to two lead with a 2-1 triumph. Thomas has scored an NHL-record 11 regular-season overtime goals, but this was his first such tally in the playoffs.
Mats Sundin added two assists for his second multi-point contest in the series for the Leafs, who have dropped their last four road playoff games.
Joe Juneau tallied for the Senators, who have gone 0-for-8 on the power play over the last two contests and are 0-3 all-time in elimination games.
Goaltender Curtis Joseph has been one of the main reasons for Toronto's success. He has a 1.53 goals-against average, third best in the playoffs, and owns a .941 save percentage. However, six of the eight goals Joseph allowed took place in the two losses the Leafs suffered here at the Corel Centre.
The team that has outshot its opponent fell to 0-5 in the series as Ottawa gained a 38-31 advantage on Saturday. The Senators had 37 shots combined in their two victories here.
Should the Maple Leafs win the series tonight, they will host the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Toronto beginning on Thursday. A Senators' victory forces a deciding seventh game Tuesday in Toronto.
Saturday April 22, 2000 Ottawa at Toronto 7pm
Series tied 2-2
With the home team winning each of the first four games, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators Saturday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Toronto grabbed the first two contests at the Air Canada Centre, but Ottawa rallied for two victories, including a 2-1 triumph on Wednesday. Andreas Dackell scored off a pair of odd-man rushes and Tom Barrasso made 31 saves.
The Senators had been outscored 7-1 over the first two contests, but gained a 6-4 advantage in the two games at the Corel Centre and reduced this series to a best-of-three affair.
Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle each had three points in the first two games in Toronto. But Sundin had just one point on the road and Kaberle was kept off the scoresheet in Ottawa. Sundin, Steve Thomas and Jonas Hoglund are tied for the team lead with four points for Toronto, which lost to Chicago in 1995 the last time it had a two games to none cushion.
In an ironic twist, the team with the edge in shots has lost all four games. Ottawa was outshot 36-15 in Game Three and 32-22 on Wednesday.
The Senators enjoyed a four-game winning streak to start the season and have not won three straight since March 4-9. The Maple Leafs have not dropped three in a row since March 18-23.
Game 6 is Monday at the Corel Centre and the winner of this series faces the fourth-seeded New Jersey Devils in the conference semifinals.
Wednesday April 19, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa 7pm
Toronto leads 2-1
The Ottawa Senators look to even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Toronto Maple Leafs at two games apiece Wednesday night. The Corel Centre was more like comedy central on Monday night, when a laughable tirade by Toronto goaltender Curtis Joseph highlighted Ottawa's 4-3 victory.
With 5:43 remaining, Rob Zamuner scored his second goal of the game to give the Senators a decisive 4-2 lead. Immediately after the goal, Joseph complained to referee Mick McGeough that he was interfered with before it was scored.
Joseph lost his cool, shedding his stick and catching glove before tossing his blocker and charging from the net. He pursued McGeough into the corner but lost his balance and ended up submarining the referee, who fell onto Joseph.
The All-Star goaltender, known as "Cujo," joked about the incident after the game but will not be in a laughing mood tonight as his team tries to take back the momentum.
Toronto outscored the Senators 7-1 at the Air Canada Center in the first two games of the series and outshot them 36-15 in Game Three, but Joseph made only 11 saves.
Tom Barrasso came up big for Ottawa, stopping 33 shots and earning his 60th career playoff victory. He won his previous 56 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, for whom he helped win two Stanley Cups.
This season, he is trying to help the Senators to the second series win in franchise history. They upset New Jersey in the 1998 Eastern quarterfinals.
The Leafs, who won their last of 11 Stanley Cups in 1967, made it to the conference finals last year before losing to Buffalo in five games.
Monday April 17, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa 7pm
Toronto leads 2-0
The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to take a commanding three games to none lead against the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals when the scene shifts to the Corel Centre tonight for Game Three. Steve Thomas scored twice in a four-goal second period and Curtis Joseph made 29 saves as Toronto rolled past Ottawa, 5-1, in Game Two on Saturday. After a 2-0 blanking in Game One, Joseph extended his shutout streak to 99 minutes, five seconds before Sami Salo scored in the second period.
Darcy Tucker and Mats Sundin also scored in the second period for Toronto, which got two assists apiece from Jonas Hoglund and Tomas Kaberle. Sergei Berezin tallied in the third period for the Maple Leafs.
Joseph is 11-8 in the playoffs with Toronto over the last two seasons and owns a .983 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average this season. Both totals are second only to Ron Tugnutt of Pittsburgh.
Sundin and Kaberle each have three points and a plus-4 rating in the two games for the Leafs.
This is the first time Toronto has enjoyed a 2-0 series lead since 1995, when it was eliminated in seven games by Chicago in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
Acquired from Pittsburgh to give Ottawa a lift in goal, Tom Barrasso has been anything but spectacular. He owned a 59-50 playoff record prior to this season, but has a dismal .848 save percentage this year.
The Senators have trailed 0-2 in a series on two previous occasions and lost each time. This occurred against Washington in the 1998 East semifinals and against Buffalo in last year's East quarterfinals.
Game Four is here on Wednesday.
Saturday April 15, 2000 Ottawa at Toronto 7pm
Toronto leads 1-0
The Toronto Maple Leafs have to rally around another devastating blow to their team tonight as they look to take a two games to none series lead over the Ottawa Senators in the "Battle of Ontario". The Maple Leafs, who already are without defenseman Bryan Berard dur to a career-ending eye injury, lost Yannic Perrault in a 2-0 victory in Game One on Wednesday.
Perreault suffered a left knee injury when checked into the boards by defenseman Jason York in the third period and the center could miss the rest of the postseason for the Leafs.
The injury soured a brilliant performance from goaltender Curtis Joseph, who stopped 30 shots for his ninth career shutout. Darcy Tucker, who was rescued from lowly Tampa Bay in February, scored his first playoff goal to break a scoreless tie in the second period. His last appearance in the playoffs came during his time with Montreal in 1997.
"I've come a long ways since my days in Montreal," Tucker said. "I played my heart out in Tampa Bay. I want to contribute to the hockey club any way I can. That makes me very proud inside."
The loss of Shawn McEachern and Wade Redden clearly slowed the Ottawa offense. Marian Hossa, who will have to come up big in this series if the Senators have a chance to win, was minus-1 with only two shots.
Goaltender Tom Barrasso played well, allowing only Tucker's goal, and finished with 19 saves for the Senators, who have lost their last eight postseason road games.
Toronto last enjoyed a two-game lead in a playoff series in the 1995 Western Conference Quarterfinals against Chicago. However, the Leafs lost the next three before bowing out in seven games.
Ottawa has fallen behind two games twice since re-entering the league in 1992-93 and has never recovered to win the series.
Wednesday April 12, 2000 Ottawa at Toronto 7pm
Series tied 0-0
The potentially-explosive "Battle of Ontario" kicks off tonight as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators in Game One of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Toronto is coming off the first 100-point season in its storied history and has reached the conference finals in three of its last five playoff appearances. However, the Maple Leafs have lost 11 of their last 12 postseason games against other teams from Canada.
Ottawa has lost three of four playoff series in team history, only upsetting top-seeded New Jersey in the 1998 Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
The bad blood between the Senators and Leafs is sure to surface as this series evolves. But the seeds of a spirited matchup already began during the regular season.
It was an inadvertent high stick by Ottawa right wing Marian Hossa on March 11 that cost Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan Berard the sight in his right eye. Five months earlier, a shot from Senators center Radek Bonk broke the ankle of Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin. Also, Ottawa goaltender Tom Barrasso was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in December when he slashed Yanic Perreault, breaking the left forearm of the Leafs center.
If Toronto defenseman Danny Markov returns following a foot injury, Berard will be the only regular missing from the lineup. The Senators, however, may be without top defenseman Wade Redden (foot) and leading goal-scorer Shawn McEachern (thumb).
Filling in for missing players is nothing new for Ottawa coach Jacques Martin, who guided his team back to the playoffs despite All-Star Alexei Yashin's potentially devastating holdout. In Yashin's absence, the Senators had a team-record five players with at least 50 points. Bonk led the way with 23 goals and 37 assists while serving as a top checking center. His line, with left wing Rob Zamuner and right wing Hossa, should be matched up with Toronto's top unit centered by Sundin.
Hossa matched McEachern's total with 29 goals, although he proved to be a streaky scorer.
In case Redden is unable to go, Ottawa recalled John Gruden from the IHL. But most of the playing time on defense will go to the likes of Igor Kravchuk, Jason York and Sami Salo.
The Senators took a big gamble at the March 14 trade deadline when they acquired Barrasso from Pittsburgh. He was 3-4 with a dismal .879 save percentage in seven games with Ottawa. While Barrasso backstopped the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 1990s, he's won just one playoff series in the last three years.
Goaltending is a strength for the Maple Leafs, who boast proven playoff performer Curtis Joseph between the pipes. He again was Toronto's most valuable player, finishing fourth in the league with 36 wins while recording a 2.49 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
Sundin is the Leafs' offensive leader with 32 goals and 41 assists in 73 games. Jonas Hoglund had a career season with 29 goals and nine of Steve Thomas' 26 tallies were game-winners. Sergei Berezin pitched in 26 goals, while hard-hitting center Darcy Tucker may prove to be one of the better trade deadline acquisitions after coming over from last-place Tampa Bay.
The teams' specialty units are virtual opposites. Toronto was sixth on the power play at 17.8 percent, while the Senators ranked 12th at 16.8. But the Maple Leafs were a dismal 20th in penalty-killing, a category in which Ottawa ranked third. In five regular-season meetings, Toronto was 2-for-13 with the extra man, while the Senators went 4-for-18.
Ottawa took the season series from Toronto for the second time in three season, taking this year's 3-1-1. Bonk lead the Senators with three goals and six points in the five games and Perreault paced the Leafs with the same amount.