GAME DAY PREVIEWS
PLAYOFFS ROUND 2: EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI FINALS
Updated: Monday May 17, 1999 11:05AM EST
Monday May 17, 1999 Toronto at Pittsburgh 7:30pm
Toronto leads 3-2
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to clinch their first conference finals appearance in five years tonight when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Sylvain Cote and Mike Johnson scored in the first period and Sergei Berezin had a goal and an assist as the Maple Leafs smothered the Penguins en route to a 4-1 victory on Saturday and a three games to two lead in their best-of-seven semifinal series.
Curtis Joseph enjoyed his easiest game of the playoffs, facing just six shots in each of the first two periods and four in the third. Joseph has only needed to make 27 saves over the last two games, both wins.
Toronto guns for its first conference finals appearance since 1994 when it fell to the Vancouver Canucks in the West.
Right wing Lonny Bohonos has been one of the surprise stories in this series for the Leafs. Bohonos, who will turn 26 on Thursday, has two goals and four assists over the last three games.
Facing elimination is nothing new for the Penguins. They trailed the New Jersey Devils in the first round three games to two before rallying to capture the series.
Martin Straka and Jaromir Jagr, both of which had three-game points streaks snapped in Game Five, need to get on track if the Penguins want to keep their season alive. Straka is second in league with 14 points while Jagr has recorded 10.
Pittsburgh could also be playing to keep its future alive. The team is in bankruptcy court and the NHL has already made plans to dissolve the franchise if no one is able to purchase the club.
Penguins right wing Alexei Kovalev sat out of his second straight game due to a foot injury and his status for tonight is unknown.
Game Seven, if necessary, is Wednesday in Toronto.
Saturday May 15, 1999 Pittsburgh at Toronto 7:30pm
Series tied 2-2
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs face off in the pivotal Game Five of their Eastern Conference
semifinal series tonight at the Air Canada Centre. There has been no home-ice advantage in this series with each
team splitting two games at home and on the road. The Maple Leafs are 3-2 at home this postseason while the
Penguins have split six road games. Toronto squared the best-of-seven series in Game Four on Thursday when
Sergei Berezin scored 2:18 into overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 win. The Leafs continued to get production
from their newly created top line of captain Mats Sundin, Lonny Bohonos and Steve Thomas. The trio has
combined for six goals and eight assists in the last three games. Sundin leads Toronto with four goals and seven
points. Toronto is just 1-for-14 on the power play in this series and 6-for-48 overall in the playoffs. Pittsburgh is
3-for-15 ith the man advantage against the Leafs and 7-for-41 overall. Despite a nagging groin injury, Penguins star
right wing Jaromir Jagr continues to produce. He scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in Game Four and has 10
points in seven games. Center Martin Straka leads the Pens with six goals and 13 points. Both teams have injury
problems. Pittsburgh played without left wing German Titov and right wings Alexei Kovalev and Alexei Morozov in
Game Four. Maple Leafs center Steve Sullivan missed his second straight game Thursday with back spasms. The
series shifts back to Pittsburgh for Game Six on Monday.
Thursday May 13, 1999 Toronto at Pittsburgh 7:30pm
Pittsburgh leads 2-1
Coming off a disappointing one-goal loss in Game Three, the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
Jaromir Jagr scored the tying goal midway through the third period and assisted on Jiri Slegr's game-winner 1:40 later as the Penguins rallied for a 4-3 victory in Game Three.
Despite a nagging groin injury, Jagr finished with three points, giving him nine in six playoff games. Center Martin Straka leads Pittsburgh with six goals and 13 points.
The Penguins have won three of four home playoff games while the Maple Leafs have split four road contests.
Toronto is led by captain Mats Sundin, who has six points. Center Steve Sullivan is tied for third on the team with four points but missed Game Two with back spasms.
Pittsburgh also was without a key player due to back spasms -- left wing German Titov, who has three goals and five assists in nine games.
The Leafs are 1-for-11 on the power play against the Penguins and 6-for-45 overall in the playoffs. Pittsburgh is 3-for-12 with the man advantage in this series and 7-for-38 in the postseason.
The series moves back to Toronto for Game Five on Saturday.
Tuesday May 11, 1999 Toronto at Pittsburgh 7:30pm
Series tied 1-1
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin hopes to build on a heroic performance when his club visits the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game Three of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Sundin broke out of a postseason scoring slump with two goals and two assists as the Maple Leafs posted a 4-2 victory over the Penguins on Sunday, evening the series at one game apiece.
Sundin, who led Toronto in scoring during the regular season, had amassed just two points in the Maple Leafs' seven previous playoff games.
The question heading into tonight's game is whether the league's leading scorer, Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr, is healthy enough to step back into the hero's role for his club.
Jagr missed four games in the conference quarterfinals against New Jersey with a nagging groin injury only to return to action and score the winning tally in Game Six as well as recording a pair of assists in the decisive seventh game.
Jagr has not tallied against Toronto and was slow getting up after a big hit from Sundin in the second period of Sunday's setback.
The Leafs scored more than two goals for the first time in these playoffs and rebounded from a Game One shutout loss for a second straight series.
Game Four will be played here on Thursday.
Sunday May 9, 1999 Pittsburgh at Toronto 7pm
Pittsburgh leads 1-0
The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to revive their sleeping offense tonight and even their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at one game apiece.
Toronto's offensive woes in the playoffs continued with a 2-0 loss in the series opener Friday as Tom Barrasso stopped 20 shots for his sixth postseason shutout.
The Maple Leafs led the league with 268 goals during the regular season, averaging 3.27 goals per game. But they have tallied just nine times in seven postseason contests, scoring the first goal only once.
One of the main culprits has been Toronto captain Mats Sundin, who has just one goal and one assist this postseason. He was the team's top scorer in the regular season with 83 points. Defenseman Bryan Berard leads the Leafs with five points.
The lack of scoring has placed an even larger burden on goaltender Curtis Joseph, but he has not disappointed. "Cujo" has allowed just 11 goals on 206 shots through seven games for a .949 save percentage. Joseph is 30-33 lifetime in the postseason.
Friday's victory was the third straight in the postseason for the Penguins, who have won three of five road games against New Jersey and Toronto.
Barrasso, who was hardly tested in Game One, has surrendered 17 goals on 216 shots in the playoffs for a .927 save percentage. He is 58-46 lifetime in the postseason.
Center Martin Straka leads Pittsburgh with six goals and 11 points. Right wing Alexei Kovalev is second with four goals and 10 points.
The series shifts to Pittsburgh for Game Three on Tuesday.
Friday May 7, 1999 Pittsburgh at Toronto 7pm
Series tied 0-0
There will be plenty of offensive skill on display tonight as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs open their Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Air Canada Centre.
The Penguins were just minutes away from elimination before rallying to win Game Six against New Jersey at home on Sunday. Pittsburgh pulled out a 4-2 victory on the road in Game Seven on Tuesday as the Penguins won a first-round playoff series for the first time since 1996.
The Maple Leafs, who did not make the playoffs last season, needed six games to eliminate Philadelphia in the quarterfinals. Toronto won four of the final five contests, including a 1-0 victory in Game Six on Sunday.
Despite leading the league with 268 goals during the regular season, the Leafs relied on defense and stellar goaltending from Curtis Joseph in the opening round. They scored just nine goals against the Flyers but "Cujo" posted a .952 save percentage.
With star right wing Jaromir Jagr injured, center Martin Straka picked up the slack, collecting a league-leading six goals and 11 points for the Pens. But Jagr returned for the final two games of the opening-round series.
Right wing Alexei Kovalev also played very well against the Devils, tallying four goals and six assists.
The Penguins were able to survive against New Jersey, despite getting outshot, 197-140. They will not be as fortunate against Toronto, which features a handful of highly skilled players, including captain Mats Sundin, Sergei Berezin, Steve Thomas, Steve Sullivan, Bryan Berard and Mike Johnson. Berard led the Leafs with five points in the quarterfinals.
Both teams were unspectacular on the power play in the first round, but Toronto ranked fourth in penalty-killing at nearly 89 percent.
These teams have met twice in the postseason, with the Maple Leafs winning best-of-three preliminary round series in 1976 and 1977. The only constant since then is Pittsburgh's Civic Arena, where Toronto has won only twice in its last 10 trips.
Game Two is Sunday at Toronto.