GAME SUMMARIES
Updated: Sunday January 31, 1999 12:10PM EST
Saturday January 30, 1999 Washington at Toronto
Steve Sullivan, Garry Valk and Sergei Berezin scored in a 2:36 span in the second period and the Toronto Maple Leafs held off the Washington Capitals 5-3 Saturday night.
The Capitals' rally in the third period fell short and they lost their fourth straight game. Toronto led 4-0 midway through the third period, but the Capitals struck for three goals in less than three minutes. Sergei Gonchar and Steve Konowalchuk scored on the power play, then Andrei Nikolishin added a goal at 14:30.
Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph held on the rest of the way and Mats Sundin scored an empty-net goal at 19:53.
Steve Thomas had the other goal for the Leafs.
Toronto won two days after its worst loss of the season, a 6-0 drubbing against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Thomas opened the scoring at 16:16 of the first period. He converted a behind-the-net pass from Sundin on the power play for his team-high 19th goal of the season.
Toronto's three-goal flurry in the second period began when Sullivan scored on the power play at 8:45. Sundin's assist on the goal was the 400th of his NHL career. Valk then scored at 9:06 and Berezin at 11:21 to cap the outburst.
A skirmish erupted at 12:46 of the second period, moments after Toronto went ahead 4-0. All 10 skaters on the ice dropped their sticks and gloves and paired up, but only Washington's Craig Berube and Toronto's Jason Smith received fighting majors.
Thursday January 28, 1999 Toronto at Pittsburgh
Jaromir Jagr looked around the locker room, assessed the Pittsburgh Penguins' three-game losing streak and quickly decided who had to end it. Jaromir Jagr. Jagr ran his NHL-leading scoring streak to 13 games with a shorthanded goal and three assists and the Penguins, losers of five of six, beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-0 Thursday night behind goaltender Peter Skudra.
"This was kind of a crucial game for us," said Jagr, who, as team captain called a pair of team meetings following consecutive home losses. "If we're going to make the playoffs, we have to win at home."
Skudra, beaten for four goals in the second period of Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Carolina, stopped 21 shots in his second shutout of Toronto this season to better Jeff Reese in a matchup of backup goaltenders.
Skudra has been either awful or outstanding against Toronto this season, shutting them out twice -- his only career shutouts -- but giving up 12 goals in his other two appearances against them.
"They embarrassed me twice, and I've kind of been up and down against them," said Skudra, who hadn't played in nearly a month until replacing an injured Tom Barrasso (strained groin) on Tuesday. "They had some chances, but nothing serious. The guys in front of me made all the plays."
The Penguins have dealt the Maple Leafs -- the NHL's highest scoring team -- two of their three shutout losses this season. Toronto was playing for the first time since breaking for the All-Star game on Jan. 21.
"They played two nights ago, so that was probably an advantage for them," said Reese, who made only his second start of the season.
Jagr set up goals by Jan Hrdina, Martin Straka and Miller while extending his NHL season-high scoring streak to 13 games (eight goals, 17 assists). Jagr's four-point night matched his season high on Dec. 1, a two-goal, two-assist night against Anaheim.
Constantine shuffled his top lines following consecutive home losses to the New York Islanders and Carolina and it worked as Kip Miller, playing alongside Jagr for the first time, added a goal and an assist.
"We switched the lines and I think it was a good time to do it," Jagr said. "It was different because those guys try to give me the puck all the time and I enjoy that. I want to have the puck on my stick as long as I can."
Miller said of Jagr, "He's pretty easy to play with. If you play with him, he tells you to get him the puck and let him make plays. The other team's worrying about him and not about us."
Constantine's line changes quickly paid off as Brad Werenka scored his fifth at 12:45 of the first period, taking Ian Moran's cross-ice pass to beat Reese inside the far post as the goaltender cut across the crease.
Hrdina swatted a backhander past Reese at 15:26 of the first. Jagr made it 3-0 at 1:30 of the second with his first shorthanded goal of the season, switching from his backhand to his forehand to easily beat Reese on a breakaway for his 18th goal.
"That's probably our worst game this year," Toronto's Mats Sundin said. "We didn't give him (Reese) a lot of help. It was just a poor effort."
Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph sat out the game with a strained groin. He must appear in 32 of the Maple Leafs' 35 remaining games to play in 70 games for a third consecutive season.
"Toronto is a great offensive team, and they depend on Curtis Joseph a lot," Constantine said. "They play a pretty wide-open game and that means you'll get your scoring chances."
Miller added his fifth at 5:17 of the second, and Alexei Kovalev (13th) and Straka (22nd) scored 1:08 apart in the third period. It was the first time in 10 games that Pittsburgh's top two scorers, Jagr and Straka, have scored goals in the same game.
Thursday January 21, 1999 Toronto at St. Louis
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't let an injury to All-Star goalie Curtis Joseph slow them down.
Steve Thomas and Todd Warriner each had a goal and an assist Thursday night as Toronto wound up a successful road trip with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Jeff Reese was effective in relief of Joseph, who suffered a mild groin strain late in the first period, as Toronto wrapped up a 4-1-1 trip before the All-Star break.
The Maple Leafs lead the Northeast Division and are third overall in the NHL with 57 points after failing to make the playoffs the last two seasons while totaling 69 and 68 points.
"We've had a pretty good run," coach Pat Quinn said. "I can't say I'm surprised because I really didn't have any expectation. I knew they missed the playoffs twice and had to be better."
Joseph left the game at 13:33 of the first period and probably won't be able to play for the North American squad in Sunday's All-Star game in Tampa, Fla.
"It is disappointing," Joseph said. "It would have been fun and a good time in Florida, but maybe the rest will do me good also."
Joseph said he was injured on the first shot of the game, when Al MacInnis hit the goal post on a drive from the point.
"I just stretched out and felt a little pop," Joseph said. "I tried it, but I couldn't get up very quick so I thought it was best that I come out."
The 35-year-old Thomas leads the Maple Leafs with 15 multipoint games, including the last three in a row. He has 18 goals, topping his total for each of the last two seasons. He played more of a checking role the previous two seasons in New Jersey.
"Steve's been a real bonus for us," Quinn said. "He had a couple years where he wasn't scoring much and it looked like maybe he was at the end."
Scott Young had a goal and an assist and Craig Conroy also scored for the Blues, who have lost five of six and enter the break a game under .500 at 16-17-9. A return home after five games on the road and an emotional pregame tribute to 1986 playoff hero Doug Wickenheiser, who died of cancer last week, in front of a sellout crowd failed to pull the Blues out of their slump.
"The sun will come up tomorrow -- unless it's foggy," Blues All-Star Chris Pronger said. "Hopefully we can use this break wisely and kind of clear our heads and come back refocused, because the last few games have kind of been embarrassing."
St. Louis has scored 10 goals in the last five games, and four came in the lone victory at Buffalo Jan. 13. The Blues are in the bottom third in the NHL in goals after leading the league last season.
"We have four or five days to find some solutions and think about what we can do to get out of this little mess we're in," coach Joel Quenneville said.
Reese gave up the game's first goal to Conroy 1:07 later, but was solid the rest of the way and also stopped a breakaway by Mike Eastwood at 5:15 of the third.
"I was a little shocked when they scored right away, but the team rallied behind me," Reese said. "It wasn't a bad goal so that helped me put it behind me."
Alexander Karpovtsev tied it 1-1 at 1:30 of the second with his second goal on a power play. Thomas, who got the first assist on that goal, gave Toronto a 2-1 lead with a one-timer off a setup across the crease from Mats Sundin at 7:27 of the second.
Warriner got his fifth goal at 1:06 of the third, popping in a loose puck in the crease off goalie Grant Fuhr's skate. Mike Johnson added a power play goal at 9:02 on a one-timer from point-blank range off a Warriner setup, a score that chased Fuhr -- who faced only 15 shots -- from the net.
Young scored on a power play with 32.7 seconds left.