GAME SUMMARIES
Updated: Thursday January 21, 1999 9:07AM EST
Wednesday January 20, 1999 Toronto at Dallas
Defenseman Bryan Berard has played only three games with Toronto, yet already is a major contributor for the Maple Leafs. Berard had a goal and two assists as the Maple Leafs knocked off the second NHL power they've faced in the last three games with a 6-4 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
"He's something special, no doubt about it," said Maple Leafs center Mats Sundin. "He's the quarterback on the power play and also helps us 5-on-5. He's got a great shot and passes well from the point. He's been a great addition."
Berard, acquired from the New York Islanders on Jan. 9 in a trade for goalie Felix Potvin, made his debut for the Maple Leafs last Saturday in the Maple Leafs' 4-3 victory over Eastern Conference heavyweight Philadelphia.
Toronto has four power play goals in Berard's first three games, two against Dallas on Wednesday. Berard already has four points for Toronto.
"The team is playing well right now," Berard said after the Maple Leafs improved to 4-1-1 in their last six games. "We want to show what we can do against the top teams, and we're doing that."
Steve Thomas scored a key third-period goal and Steve Sullivan added an insurance goal with 2:40 to play as Toronto held off a Dallas rally.
Thomas' 17th goal, Toronto's second of the game on the power play, extended the Maple Leafs' lead to 5-2 before the Stars got two goals from Darryl Sydor over a span of 1:20.
Sydor's 12th goal, with Dallas on a power play, cut Toronto's advantage to 5-4 with 10:15 to play.
But Sullivan notched his sixth goal at 17:20 and the Stars lost their second straight at home for the first time this season.
"We played with a lot of grit and battled through a tough time in the third period," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "To get two points against a team like this in their building is good."
Dallas, 2-4-1 in its last seven games heading into the All-Star break, has only one other two-game losing streak, that coming on the road.
The Stars were undone by some loose defensive play and by mediocre performances by goalies Roman Turek and Ed Belfour.
"Defensively, we played with panic in our own end," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "And we needed better goaltending. That would have given us an opportunity to win."
Dallas began the night as the league's top defensive team and Toronto remains the NHL's most prolific scoring team.
Sergei Berezin, Igor Korolev and Sundin also had goals for the Maple Leafs. Curtis Joseph stopped 30 shots for Toronto.
Dave Reid and Brett Hull also scored for the Stars, who still have the league's best record with 61 points.
Dallas grabbed a 1-0 lead at 11:37 of the first period on Reid's third goal. But Toronto tied it at 1 with 3.5 seconds left in the opening period on Berezin's breakaway, his 15th goal.
Toronto took the lead for good at 4:00 of the second period on Sundin's rebound, his 16th, to make it 2-1. Korolev's 11th goal at 10:53 extended Toronto's advantage to 3-1. At that point, Hitchcock pulled Turek, the starter, and brought in Belfour after Turek had allowed three goals in 13 shots.
Belfour fared little better, however, as Berard scored his fifth goal on a power play slap shot at 11:46 to pad Toronto's advantage to 4-1.
Hull's 16th goal at 15:08 of the second period with the Stars on the power play narrowed the Maple Leafs' lead to 4-2.
Monday January 18, 1999 Toronto at Carolina
Gary Roberts returned last season following an 18-month retirement from the NHL expecting to be a 30-goal scorer again. So far, he's settled for being an emotional leader for the Carolina Hurricanes.
"I've had the opportunity to play with really good players over the course of my career and having an opportunity to produce on a regular basis, and when you don't produce it is frustrating," said Roberts, who broke out of his slump with a pair of second-period goals in a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.
"No matter if you're 22 or 32 or 35, when it's not happening for you it's tough," added Roberts, who scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season and played his usual physical game. "You say, `Ah, I've been through this before, I should be able to handle it,' but it's a tough situation."
Ron Francis added three assists as Carolina won the game between division leaders. The win by the Hurricanes and Buffalo's 4-0 victory over Florida gave Carolina a six-point lead over the Panthers.
"This is a pretty good hockey club here," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said of the Hurricanes. "They are a veteran team. They know how to play and they want to keep it simple."
Roberts, who also added an assist, had his first multi-goal game since his hat trick against the Maple Leafs on April 9 of last season as the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes broke Toronto's four-game unbeaten streak.
Meanwhile, Francis, struggling with point production after signing a $21 million free agent contract in the offseason, registered three assists for the second time in the last three games.
The Northeast Division-leading Maple Leafs, skating with a two-man advantage, tied it at 2-2 18 seconds into the second period on goal by Steve Thomas, his 16th.
But Carolina ended up outscoring the NHL's top scoring team as Roberts used his savvy in front of the net to give the Hurricanes the lead for good.
He tipped in a shot 5:41 into the second period after hanging around the crease, the puck just trickling past Curtis Joseph.
Roberts then chased a puck down behind the net near the end of the period, centering to Francis, who was tied up by two Toronto players. But Francis was able to tip a pass to Roberts, whose backhander beat a stunned Joseph with 7.3 seconds left.
Roberts is still hard on himself when he doesn't score, but realizes he's just lucky to be playing following a serious neck injury that almost ended his career.
"The key for me is to just feel good about my health and if my health is good and the neck feels good hopefully I will continue to produce," he said.
An apparent goal by Mike Johnson with 17:42 remaining that would have trimmed Carolina's lead to 4-3 was disallowed after a five-minute review showed Johnson directed the shot into the net with his glove.
Toronto fell to 0-4-1 in its last five road games against Carolina.
Mats Sundin scored his 15th goal 7:04 into the game after getting a perfect drop pass in the slot from Thomas.
Carolina, playing its third game in five days, picked up the pace later in the first period, scoring goals 48 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead.
Martin Gelinas scored his first goal in 16 games off a perfect centering pass from Keith Primeau, who seconds earlier had fallen down behind the net trying to check Sylvain Cote.
Less than a minute later, Francis set up Sami Kapanen on what amounted to an instant replay of the Gelinas goal. It was Kapanen's 13th of the season and fifth in his last seven games.
Saturday January 16, 1999 Toronto at Philadelphia
After John Vanbiesbrouck held opponents scoreless in his last three-plus games, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally figured out how to beat the goalie -- beat the Flyers' defensemen down the ice and shoot high.
Toronto's Derek King scored the game-winning with a blast from the left circle that whizzed past Vanbiesbrouck with 5:19 left in the third period to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 win and halting Philadelphia's unbeaten streak at 15 games.
"The thing couldn't have come off the boards any better to me. I think I caught Vanbiesbrouck off guard," said King, who scored his 16th after corraling a puck that had taken a long carom off the boards.
"It's like somebody passed me the puck from behind the net for a one-timer."
Scott Sullivan added two goals for Toronto.
Eric Lindros and John LeClair each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who lost for the first time since a 5-4 defeat to New Jersey on Dec. 10.
"The puck went off the boards and made a direct line to King," Vanbiesbrouck said of the game-winner. "I was surprised someone was there to receive the puck. It was somewhat surprising he was able to tee it up."
Also surprising was Vanbiesbrouck's subpar performance. He lost for the first time after being unbeaten in his last 12 games (8-0-4), and ended his franchise-record shutout streak at 218:42 over parts of five games.
Northeast-leading Toronto survived a shaky start by its own goalie, Curtis Joseph, to extend its unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1). Joseph allowed all three Flyers goals in the first period before settling down and stopping a furious Flyer rally in the game's final seconds.
"We probably didn't think about their streak. We were probably just thinking about stopping certain players on their team," said Joseph, who entered the game 1-8-0 with a 4.59 goals-against-average in his career against the Flyers.
"But (the Flyers') streak doesn't enter your mind. You're not thinking streak, streak, streak."
Sullivan's second goal of the night, his fifth, tied the score 3-3 at 12:57 of the second period. After stealing the puck from Flyers defenseman Dan McGillis in the Philadelphia zone, Sullivan wheeled around and fired a slap shot over Vanbiesbrouck's left shoulder.
"We knew what their team was like," LeClair said of Toronto's speedy forwards. "We knew that they have quick forwards and that they can skate."
After the Flyers took an early 1-0 lead on Rod Brind'Amour's goal, Vanbiesbrouck's shutout streak ended when Sullivan fired a shot from the right circle over the goalie's right shoulder and into the net.
The goal ended the Flyers' team shutout streak at 256:18 over four-plus games, and Toronto's goal-less streak against Philadelphia at 90:55 over parts of three games against the Flyers this season.
Still, appreciative fans at the First Union Center lavished Vanbiesbrouck with a 10-second standing ovation for his efforts.
"It was great, that ovation. It was for all of us," Vanbiesbrouck said. "By the same token, the puck went in. I wasn't too happy about that."
A power-play goal from the Maple Leafs' Sergei Berezin more than four minutes later silenced the crowd. Berezin fired a shot from the left circle past a frozen Vanbiesbrouck for his 14th.
It was the first power-play goal allowed by the Flyers after killing off 17 penalties.
Toronto's shot selection surprised Flyers defenseman Eric Desjardins.
"Sometimes, you don't expect them to shoot the puck like that and take chances," Desjardins said.
The Flyers regained momentum thanks to LeClair and Lindros.
Lindros' goal, his 24th, came after faking as if he was going to wrap around the Maple Leafs' net, then reversing direction and swatting the puck past Joseph.
LeClair, who entered the game as the NHL's top goal scorer, tallied his 27th on the power play when he put a rebound past Joseph to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead 15:13 into the first period.
Wednesday January 13, 1999 Toronto at Florida
Rob Niedermayer's deflection goal capped off a three-goal Panthers comeback in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Ray Whitney added a goal and an assist and Scott Mellanby had three assists to help Florida register its fifth comeback (1-0-4) in its last five games.
Steve Sullivan had an assist and scored a goal at 2:06 into the third period to help stake Toronto to a 3-0 lead before Whitney's rebound goal and Robert Svehla's power-play score cut the deficit to 3-2 with 11:49 left.
With the Panthers peppering Curtis Joseph with shots in the third period, Niedermayer deflected in Mellanby's slap shot with 5:07 remaining to cap the comeback. Ed Jovanovski, who barely kept the puck in the offensive zone, also received an assist on Florida's third goal within an 11-minute span.
In seven games against Florida, Joseph has allowed 12 goals and is 5-0-1 with a no decision. Joseph, who also played with Edmonton and St. Louis, had 30 saves. Joseph is 8-0-1 this season when recording 30 or more saves.
Burke, who is 6-2-5 in his last 13 games, had 34 saves.
Berezin's 13th goal of the season staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead at 16:38 of the first period. Sullivan fed Berezin at the top of the faceoff circle where his slap shot beat Burke.
Todd Warriner added a power-play goal in the second to give Toronto a 2-0 lead.
Sullivan was inadvertently handed the puck by Panthers defenseman Rhett Warrener. His slap shot from the right faceoff circle clanged off the crossbar and past Burke to make it 3-0 2:06 into the third.
Whitney's rebound goal at 4:01 of the third period, his 13th, made it 3-1 and snapped Joseph's shutout bid.
Toronto, which outshot Florida 37-33, is 19-0-2 when leading after two periods. Toronto is 3-0-3 in overtime, while Florida is 0-2-11.
Tuesday January 12, 1999 Toronto at Tampa Bay
Mats Sundin gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a good start on their road trip. Sundin scored the go-ahead goal with 8:08 left and the Maple Leafs began a seven-game trip with a 4-3 win Tuesday night over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sundin's power-play goal capped Toronto's comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Tampa Bay lost its sixth straight game.
"We have to be a lot sharper than we were," Sundin said. "They came out strong -- we talked about it before the game -- and had to scramble all night."
The Lightning took a 3-1 lead into the second period before Mike Johnson's second goal of the game midway through the middle session drew the Maple Leafs within a goal.
Yannick Tremblay, on an assist from Sundin, tied the game six minutes into the third period on a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.
Sundin's 14th goal also beat goaltender Bill Ranford from the right circle with a wrist shot. The center has 13 goals and 26 points in 15 games against Tampa Bay.
The loss prevented Lightning coach Jacques Demers from becoming the 11th coach in NHL history to win 400 games.
"There have been games like tonight we've lost and could have won," Demers said. "It hurts you to lose."
Wendel Clark, Sandy McCarthy and Benoit Hogue scored in the first period for Tampa Bay, which has the worst record in the NHL at 9-29-3.
Clark, selected to the North America All-Star team earlier in the day, put the Lightning up 1-0 at 41 seconds. The left wing's goal -- which gave Tampa Bay its first lead in four games -- was set up by 1998 No. 1 overall draft pick Vincent Lecavalier during a 2-on-1.
Johnson, who has five goals in five career games against Tampa Bay, tied the game at 1 with a power-play goal at 4:10.
"The pucks are bouncing my way right now," said Johnson, who has four goals in the past two games. "I'm trying to take the puck in deep and trying to make plays when I can."
The Lightning regained the lead on McCarthy's goal at 12:10 and Hogue made it 3-1 with his 200th career goal on the power-play at 18:31.
The three Lightning first-period goals came on just nine shots against Curtis Joseph. The Maple Leafs goalie did keep the game close by making a diving glove save -- after losing his stick -- on Chris Gratton midway through the second period.
Tampa Bay had a goal by Alex Selivanov disallowed at 15:04 of the second period after a video review determined Gratton illegally had a skate in the crease.
Tampa Bay, which dropped to 4-6-1 when leading after two periods, has not won a game in the month of January since Jan. 21, 1997 -- a span of 21 games (0-20-1).
The Maple Leafs won for the third time in 15 tries when trailing after 40 minutes.
Saturday January 9, 1999 Boston at Toronto
By the count of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they won both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday night. After acquiring defenseman Bryan Berard from the New York Islanders for goalie Felix Potvin earlier in the day, Toronto scored four first-period goals and coasted to a 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins. "There was a lot of electric going on in the building tonight," said Toronto coach Pat Quinn. "Thankfully we got the early goals and were able to hang on."
The Maple Leafs took advantage of a sloppy Boston defense -- the Bruins were without all-star defensemen Ray Bourque who didn't play because of a strained hip flexor -- and scored goals on their first three shots.
Derek King and Igor Korolev scored 33 seconds apart in the opening two minutes. Toronto didn't get another shot until more than eight minutes later, but Garry Valk's low slap shot made it 3-0.
After Sergei Berezin made it 4-0 at 14:00 of the first period, goalie Byron Dafoe was replaced by Robbie Tallas. Boston narrowed the margin to 4-2 before Mike Johnson scored twice in the third period for Toronto.
Shawn Bates, Joe Thornton and Kyle McLaren scored for Boston, which outshot Toronto in each of the first two periods and 32-23 for the game. The loss ended the Bruins' undefeated streak at three games. Boston won the first half of the home-and-home series 2-1 Thursday.
"Boston is a team that plays better with a lead so it was important that we get a quick jump," said Johnson, who added an assist for a three-point night. "When we got the lead, they became less patient and couldn't play their grinding game."
Berard flew in from Montreal during the game and was beaming during a post-game news conference. He was acquired for goalie Felix Potvin and a swap of sixth-round draft choices. Potvin walked out on the Maple Leafs earlier this season.
"I'm very excited to be here," Berard said. "Toronto's system fits my style. They play a wide-open game, which is where my strengths are. There's a lot of rich history playing in Toronto and I'm looking forward to it."
Berard has been nursing a strained groin since Dec. 18, but says he'll be ready to play Wednesday when the Maple Leafs are in Florida.
Goalie Curtis Joseph was sharp for Toronto as the Bruins attempted to mount a comeback in the second period. Moments after Toronto went ahead 2-0, Kris King took an interference penalty and the Bruins tested Joseph with four shots. He also robbed Boston's Andre Savage with a stabbing glove save in the second period. It was one of four shots in the period by Savage.
Dafoe entered the game with the league's second-best save percentage, but after giving up four goals on seven shots, his percentage fell from .931 to .927, which dropped him out of the league's top five.
The Bruins played without seven injured regulars. Along with Bourque, the other injured starters included defenseman Dave Ellett and Grant Ledyard and forwards Anson Carter, Tim Taylor, Chris Taylor and Peter Ferraro.
Thursday January 7, 1999 Toronto at Boston
The Boston Bruins got a top game from their top line for a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The effort of Jason Allison, Dmitri Khristich and Sergei Samsonov carried the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
Khristich backhanded Allison's rebound past Toronto goalie Glenn Healy into the right side of the net for his 17th at 7:13 in the third period to break a 1-1 tie.
Samsonov had the Bruins' first goal. Todd Warriner scored for Toronto.
"They had a good season last year and it has carried over this year," Burns said of his No. 1 line. "They made good plays and they know where to put the puck, where it needs to be, just like on the winning goal."
Boston goaltender Byron Dafoe had 26 saves, 14 in the second, giving up a first-period goal to Warriner at 18:31.
"We have lapses in the game, times when we take 10 minutes off, and it's my job to keep us in there," Dafoe said. "We're not Stanley Cup champs, we're not going to play 60 minutes every night."
Samsonov, last year's NHL rookie of the year, took a pass in front of the net, skated around Healy and pushed the puck into the left side of the goal for his fourth goal in five games at 3:26 in the second.
"They are all real smart," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said about the trio. "They can all make plays and they all can score."
Despite leading the NHL in scoring entering the game, Toronto managed one goal for only the third time in seven games.
"When you face Dafoe you know there won't be many goals," said Healy, who made 25 saves in only his third start since being called up from the IHL on Dec. 11.
Monday January 4, 1999 Tampa Bay at Toronto
Fredrik Modin helped the Toronto Maple Leafs save face Monday night.
Modin's deflection goal at 1:54 of overtime gave Toronto a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the last-place Tampa Bay Lightning, a team averaging barely two goals an outing coming into the game.
The Leafs were forced to mount a furious comeback to subdue the Lightning, who led 3-0 in the second period and 4-2 entering the third period.
"This was an absolute huge win for us," said Leafs' winger Steve Thomas, who had a goal and an assist. "We almost let this game get away. We have to start putting in more of an effort in the first period and make it difficult for teams to win in this building."
Sergei Berezin, Mats Sundin and Mike Johnson had the other goals for Toronto.
Darcy Tucker, Vincent Lecavalier, Alexander Selivanov and Mikael Andersson replied for Tampa Bay, which scored four goals in a game for only the second time in 24 games.
The last-place Lightning dominated the first period and held a 3-0 lead in the second period before the Maple Leafs came to life. After being outshot 13-6 in the first, Toronto outshot Tampa Bay 31-16 in the final 42 minutes.
Trailing 4-2 entering the third period, the Leafs pressed hard and narrowed the margin to one when Thomas converted a give-and-go with defenseman Tomas Kaberle at 4:24. It was his team-high 15th goal of the season.
Third-period goals by Thomas and Johnson forced overtime where Modin came away the hero.
Sundin won a faceoff in the Lightning zone and sent the puck back to defenseman Dimitri Yushkevich. His snap shot from the point was deflected by Modin past goaltender Bill Ranford into the top corner on the stick side. The assist was Sundin's third point of the night.
"It just hit the shaft of my stick and went in," Modin said. "We showed character in coming back. We worked hard and turned it around."
Tampa Bay coach-GM Jacques Demers called it a devastating loss.
"We keep finding ways to lose," Demers said. "Just like the Toronto Maple Leafs would have found a way to lose this last year, they found a way to win it this year. And we found a way to lose. It's a devastating loss when we played as hard as we did."
Tampa Bay's loss spoiled the return of former Maple Leaf Wendel Clark, who left the team as a free agent in the offseason. The first overall draft pick by Toronto in 1985 had three assists and was named the game's second star.
Cheered heartily by fans at the Gardens when the starting lineup was announced, Clark entered the game with 18 goals and just seven assists in 32 games. His goal total tied for seventh in the NHL. Against Toronto, however, he was brilliant in a set-up role.
"Three assists is nice, but a win would have felt a heck of a lot better," Clark said. "It's very disappointing twice giving up two-goal leads. We have to find a killer instinct."
Saturday January 2, 1999 Washington at Toronto
Brian Bellows got his 1,000th career point in front of family and friends.
Bellows, a native of nearby St. Catharines, Ont., had a goal and assist as the Washington Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 Saturday night.
Bellows got his milestone point when he set up Jeff Toms' third-period goal, making it 4-1. Bellows, a 17-year NHL veteran, has 474 goals and 526 assists in 1,147 games.
"It's a night I'll remember," he said. "It was gratifying that it came on a good play and not a second assist. And it's nice to do it with some friends and family in the stands."
Michal Pivonka, Jan Bulis and Calle Johansson also scored for the Capitals, who have won seven straight against the Maple Leafs dating back to Nov. 10, 1995.
Steve Thomas and Fredrik Modin scored for Toronto, which outshot Washington 31-27.
A year ago this time, Bellows was unwanted by NHL teams and playing pro hockey in Germany. The Capitals signed him as a free agent last February at the suggestion of coach Ron Wilson, who previously coached Bellows in Anaheim.
"I had decided that if nobody signed me by March, I would pack 'em up (and retire)," Bellows said. " It's great just to be playing. I've learned not to take a day in the NHL for granted."
Bellows scored his sixth goal of the season at 11:39 of the second period for a 2-1 lead. He shot into an open net from the slot after Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph chased a centering pass from Toms.
Bulis scored with two seconds remaining in the second period for a 3-1 lead. He swatted Dmitri Mironov's rebound past Joseph for a power-play goal.
The Maple Leafs opened the scoring on the first shift of the game as Thomas re-directed Alexander Karpovtsev's point shot past Kolzig at the 44-second mark.
"We didn't seem to work after that first goal," said Toronto coach Pat Quinn. "It's like we almost stopped playing. You're not going to win many games if you don't work."
Washington tied it at 1 early in the second period on the power play. Pivonka, playing just his sixth game of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery, fired a centering pass from the corner and watched as Toronto defenseman Jason Smith directed it past Joseph into his own net.