GAME SUMMARIES
Updated: Tuesday March 21, 2000 8:19PM EST
Saturday March 18, 2000 Atlanta at Toronto
This time, the boos weren't directed at the Atlanta Thrashers.
Hnat Domenichelli had a goal and two assists as the Thrashers ended a 10-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in front of a disappointed sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.
Stephen Guolla, Donald Audette and Yannick Tremblay also scored for the Thrashers, who won for just the second time in 28 games.
"Tonight is one of the nights you hope for," Thrashers coach Curt Fraser said. "We got contributions from everybody, and we found a way to beat one of the best teams in the league by being patient. This is a huge win for our hockey club."
Igor Korolev scored for the Maple Leafs, who lost their second straight home game to a team out of the playoff picture. Toronto lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday before beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime Thursday in Detroit.
"You're going to have games like this," Leafs captain Mats Sundin said. "Overall, as a team, we didn't have a good game. Call it whatever you want. It goes to show if you don't have a good game, you're going to lose, no matter who you're playing."
It's the Thrashers' first win over the Leafs, who had beaten Atlanta 4-0 on two previous occasions.
Domenichelli opened the scoring 40 seconds into the game with his eighth goal of the season when he fired what appeared to be a harmless shot at the net. Defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Dmitri Yushkevich converged on him just inside the Leafs blue line, but the shot eluded Curtis Joseph.
"Clearly we weren't prepared," Leafs coach Pat Quinn said. "We had no semblance of order. We couldn't get much going. We finally got some chances and missed those. We took some stupid penalties and couldn't kill them. I'm disappointed because it's a missed opportunity to close the gap. We weren't good."
The Thrashers went ahead 2-0 on a power play early in the second, when Tremblay one-timed a shot past Joseph.
Korolev scored Toronto's lone goal 9:25 into the second, beating Damian Rhodes to the short side with a slap shot from the point.
Just over a minute later, Guolla put the Thrashers ahead 3-1 after he floated a centering pass from the left of Joseph and it ricocheted off Yushkevich and into the net.
Audette made it 4-1 with 3:11 left when he squirted a shot past Joseph during a goal-mouth scramble.
Despite four power plays in the first period, the Leafs managed just seven shots on net. Toronto finished 1-for-8 on the power play, while Atlanta was 2-for-10.
Rhodes, who made 27 saves against his former team, said the win may have been the biggest in the expansion franchise's short history.
"We played well tonight," Rhodes said. "I saw almost every shot and that makes a big difference. We were real loose coming into this game."
Leafs' right wing Garry Valk injured his knee when he crashed into the boards early in the first period. He did not return and is listed day-to-day with a bruised knee.
Toronto is playing without defenseman Bryan Berard, who was examined Friday by a retinal surgeon in New York. Berard, hit in the face by Marian Hossa's stick during a game in Ottawa on March 11, will undergo exploratory surgery Tuesday.
Thursday March 16, 2000 Toronto at Detroit
The Toronto Maple Leafs are beginning to realize that they have to persevere without injured defenseman Bryan Berard.
Mats Sundin scored on a power play 1:38 into overtime as Toronto beat Detroit 4-3, snapping the Red Wings' season-high eight-game unbeaten streak on Thursday night.
"We were a lot sharper tonight, right from the start," Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn said. "That could've been any number of reasons, but we had a lot of jump and fortunately we got a win."
Sergei Berezin, who had two goals and an assist, scored with 8.2 seconds left in the third to send it to OT. Dmitri Khristich also scored for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs have won six of their last seven games. The loss was a 5-2 setback Wednesday against Chicago in their first game since Berard suffered a sight-threatening injury when he was accidentally hit in the right eye with a stick last Saturday at Ottawa.
The Maple Leafs are all wearing Berard's number 34.
"I think a lot of us had Bryan on our minds," Sundin said. "On top of that, it was a big game for us. We showed character to win the game."
Steve Yzerman had two of three straight third-period goals that rallied Detroit from a 2-0 deficit. Brendan Shanahan also scored for the Red Wings, who are three points behind St. Louis in the battle for first place in the Central Division and the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Sundin scored the game-winner 46 seconds after Detroit's Chris Chelios took a double-minor for high sticking Igor Korolev in the first minute of overtime.
Steve Thomas started the play by making a pass to Tomas Kaberle, who broke in 2-on-1 and drew defenseman Larry Murphy to him before passing to Sundin for an easy score.
"When there's a 4-on-3, there's so much room for Sundin and Thomas," Yzerman said. "They create so many things, it's tough to kill penalties in that situation."
The Red Wings protested that defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was high-sticked by Sundin before his shot, but the goal stood.
"I wasn't sure what hit me," Lidstrom said. "I didn't know it was a high stick until I got back into the (dressing) room."
Detroit led 3-2 after Yzerman's second goal with 6:39 left in the third period.
But with the Maple Leafs skating 6-on-5 in the final seconds, Berezin slipped the puck past goalie Chris Osgood to end a wild scramble in front of the net. Detroit argued the goal, saying Sundin interfered with Osgood in the crease.
Replays showed Sundin was in the crease after hitting Detroit's Steve Duchesne, but Sundin was pushed farther in by Shanahan.
"He (Shanahan) tried to knock the net off by pushing me into the crossbar," Sundin said. "I was confident it was a good goal. I couldn't get out of there."
Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph had 36 saves and Osgood 23.
"It's disappointing, but after they scored the first two goals maybe we should be happy with the point," Lidstrom said. "That's a really strong team. But it's kind of disappointing when you're that close to winning."
The teams delayed playing the final 4:31 of the first period when glass behind the Toronto goal cracked, the second such delay in the game.
Berezin scored 2:41 after play resumed when he broke in with a bouncing pass from Gerald Diduck and easily beat Osgood.
Khristich made it 2-0 on a power play 12:57 into the second. He took a short pass from Berezin near the crease and backhanded it in before Osgood could recover.
Shanahan scored a wraparound goal on a power play 16 seconds into the third.
Yzerman tied it on another power play at 9:45 when he took a pass from Sergei Fedorov in the right circle and blasted a shot past Joseph, who was screened by Tomas Holmstrom.
Yzerman then split two defensemen at the Toronto line before beating Joseph again to put Detroit ahead.
Wednesday March 15, 2000 Chicago at Toronto
With Bryan Berard in their thoughts, the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn't muster much against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The surging Chicago Blackhawks got two goals from Steve Sullivan and beat Toronto 5-2 Wednesday night.
Berard, a Toronto defenseman, struck in the face Saturday night by the stick of Ottawa's Marian Hossa, needs exploratory surgery to determine the extent of the injury. Dr. Rob Devenyi, who examined Berard, said "chances are slim, but not impossible" that sight in the eye can be saved.
Berard, who is resting at home, was recognized during a break midway through the first period. A video replay of a recent goal flashed across the scoreboard along with a get-well wish. The fans responded with a 1-minute ovation.
"That was a nice ovation for him," Toronto forward Garry Valk said. "He's on everyone's minds, but we can't blame it on that every time we lose. We just weren't focused."
Toronto players wouldn't admit it, but coach Pat Quinn, the fans and even the opponents recognized the Maple Leafs were distant against the Blackhawks.
"Their minds maybe weren't 100 percent there," said Sullivan, a former Toronto player. "It's a very emotional time for them. They lost a great player and a great person in the dressing room. We're hoping and praying for Bryan as are most guys in the NHL. But I'm sure they are thinking about it twice as much."
None of the Maple Leafs added protective visors to their helmets for the game, even though some said they were considering it. Forwards Alyn McCauley, Yanic Perreault and Nik Antropov were the only players with half-shields.
Moments after the salute to Berard, Chicago center Mark Janssens was hit in the face by a high stick in the face. He was assisted off the ice by trainer Mike Gapski, but was not seriously hurt.
Alexei Zhamnov, Michael Nylander and Josef Marha also scored for Chicago, which won its third straight road game and for the seventh time in 10 games. The Blackhawks trailing San Jose by 11 points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 12 games remaining.
Kevyn Adams and Steve Thomas scored for Toronto, which had won five straight but couldn't top the Blackhawks, who moved out of last place in the Central Division.
"That's not an excuse," Adams said of Berard's injury. "That's not what this team is about. We're all praying for him, but that's no excuse not to play hard. We have to play hard, that's what he wants."
Zhamnov opened the scoring at 6:27 of the first period, snapping the puck from the faceoff circle over the glove of Glenn Healy. Tony Amonte recorded his 300th assist on the play.
Nylander made it 2-0 at 14:54 and Sullivan scored at 2:10 of the second off passes from Nylander and Blair Atcheynum.
Adams ended Jocelyn Thibault's shutout bid when he scored on a second effort from his stomach at 11:59 of the second.
Healy stopped 21 of 26 shots, while Thibault made 30 saves.
Saturday March 11, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa
Even with a seven-point lead, coach Pat Quinn is not ready to claim the Northeast Division for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yanic Perreault scored twice in a 22-second span early in the second period to lead the Maple Leafs to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
"The only lock we have is one to put on the dressing room door so nothing gets taken," said Quinn, after his club moved farther ahead of the second-place Senators.
Steve Thomas also scored twice for the Leafs in a game billed as the biggest of the season by both clubs. Andreas Dackell and Sami Salo had goals for the Senators.
Curtis Joseph made 40 saves to earn his 32nd victory.
"Their goaltender was the difference tonight," Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. "They're a team with a lot of momentum. We competed but now we just need to regroup."
The game was overshadowed by a serious injury to the right eye area of Toronto defenseman Bryan Berard, who was clipped by the stick of Ottawa's Marian Hossa at 15:20 of the second period.
Berard, in his fourth NHL season, crumpled to his knees with his forehead on the ice as a pool of blood grew until medical personnel could reach him.
Canada's TSN reported that Berard was undergoing emergency surgery early Sunday morning.
"We expect there will be an update (Sunday)," said Casey Vanden Heuvel, the Leafs' director of hockey operations.
Hossa received a double minor for the infraction.
"Of course, if it's serious, I'll call and apologize," Hossa said.
The much-anticipated, emotional meeting between two of the league's hottest teams is key to the outcome of the Northeast Division race. The teams have one more meeting on March 23.
The Senators trail the Maple Leafs by seven points with a game in hand. Ottawa had a season-high, seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) snapped.
"There is lots of hockey left," Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden said. "Anything can happen."
Toronto has 13 games remaining, while Ottawa will play 14 more.
The Leafs have won five straight and have only one loss in nine games. Toronto is trying to capture its first division championship in 37 years.
"The first period was really intense," said Perreault, who also set up a goal by Thomas. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have too many turnovers."
Thomas wheeled out of the corner and beat Ottawa goalie Ron Tugnutt on Toronto's second shot at 3:29. Defenseman Dimitri Yushkevich assisted, earning his ninth point in 10 games.
"We're really happy with our effort on the road," Thomas said. "We're a pretty confident bunch right now. Our penalty killing was tremendous. Our game started from the first shift."
Perreault was left unattended twice early in the second period and scored both times.
He one-timed a Sergei Berezin pass at 2:14, then beat Tugnutt from close range at 2:36 for his 15th and 16th goals.
Dackell got the Senators back in the game 10:48 into the period, drilling a rebound past Joseph.
Thomas struck again during a two-man advantage, with 3:20 remaining in the period, on a pass from Perreault. Salo cut the Leafs advantage to two goals with a power-play goal at 7:41 of the third.
Ottawa outshot Toronto 42-25.
Thursday March 9, 2000 Toronto at Calgary
The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting closer to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Glenn Healy made 30 saves and also had an assist Thursday night in the Maple Leafs' 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
Toronto, outshot 32-20, got goals from six players en route to its fourth straight win and eighth in nine games. The Maple Leafs are within three points of conference-leading New Jersey.
"Top spot is there for us if we continue to do the right things, but we're not making that our central focus," Healy said. "This is the time of year when you depend on certain people and you get the job and you peak for that postseason because that's what you work all season for."
Yanic Perreault, Mats Sundin, and former Flames player Jonas Hoglund each had a goal and an assist for Toronto. Tie Domi, Steve Thomas and Sergei Berezin also scored.
Derek Morris and Jason Wiemer had goals for the Flames, who finished an eight-game homestand 3-3-2.
The Flames, in ninth place in the Western Conference, trail the San Jose Sharks for the final playoff spot by three points. Calgary plays at San Jose on Tuesday night.
For the second straight game, the Flames' undoing came in the second period.
After giving up four second-period goals Tuesday in an 8-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Flames had an even tougher time against Toronto.
The Leafs scored five goals in the period on just 11 shots to turn a 1-1 tie into a 6-2 lead.
Hoglund made it 2-1 just 36 seconds in, when his centering pass banked in off the leg of defenseman Darryl Shannon. Healy was credited with an assist.
Thomas added a power-play goal at 3:14 to make it 3-1.
"They got a couple lucky goals and things came unraveled," Wiemer said. "We don't want to run and gun with the Leafs but that's obviously what we ended up doing and the score shows it."
At about the four-minute mark, Jarome Iginla fired a shot from the top of the crease that Healy gloved on the goal line as he slid across the net.
Referee Dave Jackson was stationed behind the net and chose not to review the play. Shortly after play resumed, fans became angry when video screens repeatedly showed a replay in which it appeared the puck was gloved over the line.
The Flames argued with Jackson and second referee Paul Stewart, but the goal stood.
"We're not sure how questionable it is. When you look at it on the replay, it's in the net," Wiemer said. "We're at home and you think somebody would have called downstairs, but we didn't get that and it's a little bit frustrating."
The Maple Leafs then blew the game open when Perreault scored at 9:00 and Sundin made it three goals on four shots beating Fred Brathwaite at 10:26.
Making his 12th straight start, Brathwaite struggled for the second game in a row, allowing 13 goals.
"When he's playing well, you guys want me to send him to the All-Star game and induct him to the Hall of Fame," coach Brian Sutter said. "Now, when pucks are going in the net, you guys want me to be critical and I won't. He's like everybody else."
After Wiemer scored to make it 5-2 at 14:24, Nik Antropov put Berezin in on a clear breakaway for his 19th goal with 1:46 left in the second.
"Should he have stopped the pucks? Yes, he should have stopped the pucks," Sutter said of Brathwaite. "That's what goaltenders are paid for and that's not being critical. That's being very honest and up front."
Tuesday March 7, 2000 Toronto at Edmonton
Curtis Joseph made 33 saves as the Toronto beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 on Tuesday night, the Maple Leafs' seventh victory in their last eight games.
Joseph, who signed with Toronto as a free agent before last season after three years with the Oilers, has four shutouts this season and 26 in his 11-year career.
Tie Domi and Yanic Perreault scored first-period goals for Toronto. Defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich assisted on both goals.
Domi opened the scoring 3:44 into the game, banging a rebound into an open side after goalie Tommy Salo came out to stop Yushkevich's shot.
Perreault scored with 6:04 left in the period, deflecting Yushkevich's point shot over Salo's glove hand with six seconds left on Toronto's first power play of the game.
Joseph was at his best in the second period when Edmonton outshot Toronto 10-3. In the third period, the Maple Leafs goalie stopped Ethan Moreau's one-timer from close range.
Toronto moved five points ahead of second-place Ottawa in the Northeast Division, and closed within five points of Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey.
Edmonton is tied with Colorado for the Northwest Division lead. The Avalanche beat Calgary 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Monday March 6, 2000 Toronto at Vancouver
For the second time in as many visits, the Toronto Maple Leafs escaped GM Place with a win. Mats Sundin scored with 1:47 left in overtime as the Maple Leafs recovered from blowing a four-goal lead in the third period to beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 on Monday. It was nearly a carbon copy of Toronto's Jan. 17 visit to Vancouver when the Leafs squandered a 4-1 lead before Steve Thomas scored in overtime.
"That third period was disgraceful," said Thomas of the latest near-collapse. "We were very lucky to win the hockey game. I don't know why we are doing that. We don't seem comfortable with 5-1 leads. When you are up 5-1, you should just cruise it in."
Markus Naslund capped the Canucks outburst with his first goal in five games as Vancouver rallied. The short-handed goal was scored with 41 seconds left in regulation.
Ed Jovanovski, Alexander Mogilny and Harold Druken all scored in the third period. Mogilny also had two assists and has 10 points in three games.
Vancouver fell six points behind San Jose in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"I'm very proud of the way the Canucks came back," Vancouver coach Marc Crawford said. "Any time you come back against any team that should gain you a lot of respect. We showed that if we stick to what makes us successful, we have a lot of firepower ourselves."
Darcy Tucker scored two short-handed goals and Igor Korolev had three points for Toronto, which won for the fifth time in six games.
Tucker gave Toronto a 4-1 lead when he scored two goals less than three minutes apart.
Glenn Healy got a rare start in place of Curtis Joseph and stopped 33 shots to improve to 7-7-0. He made several key stops late to give the Leafs a chance to win.
"He's the reason why we won that hockey game tonight," Thomas said. "He made unbelievable saves towards the end there. There was a 3-on-1 while we had a power play. That's disgusting and I can't understand that."
Vancouver was on its second straight power play when Tucker broke in alone on Garth Snow with 46 seconds left in the second and beat him with a quick move. Snow had just replaced Felix Potvin in an apparent attempt to rest the Canucks' top power-play unit.
Tucker added his second with a slap shot 2:08 into the third that beat Potvin high on the stick side.
Toronto stayed three points ahead of Ottawa in the race for the top spot in the Northeast Division.
Korolev's goal, 9:50 into the game, extended his point streak to six games. Korolev, who assisted on both of Tucker's goals, has three goals and four assists during that span.
"He made a couple of great plays," Tucker said. "On the first one he waited until I got loose from being hooked and I got the breakaway and I just got lucky."
Toronto left wing Sergei Berezin had a goal and an assist in his first game after missing 14 contests with a hamstring injury.
Andrew Cassels opened the scoring for Vancouver at 4:08 of the first. Yanic Perreault and Korolev responded for the Leafs as the Canucks held a 14-12 shots advantage in a first period filled with scoring chances for both teams.
Sundin, the Leafs' captain, was helped off the ice with nine seconds left in the first after a knee-on-knee collision with Vancouver forward Matt Cooke. Sundin skated off favoring his left knee and Cooke received a major penalty and a game misconduct for kneeing.
Sundin returned in the second period to take part in the ensuing Toronto power play.
Snow came back at 3:02 of the third and took the loss.
Saturday March 4, 2000 Montreal at Toronto
After handing Montreal a setback, the Toronto Maple Leafs backed the Canadiens' drive for the playoffs.
Igor Korolev, Jonas Hoglund, Steve Thomas and Nik Antropov had Toronto goals in its 4-3 victory Saturday night over the Canadiens.
"They're still alive and, hopefully, they'll make it," Leafs forward Tie Domi said of Montreal. "I like to see the Canadian teams in there."
Toronto, which led 4-1 had to hold off the determined Canadiens to maintain a three-point lead over Ottawa in the NHL's Northeast Division.
Benoit Brunet had two goals and Eric Weinrich scored for the Canadiens, tied with Buffalo for third place in the Northeast Division and ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The teams are three points behind the New York Rangers.
"If they make it, they could surprise a lot of teams," Leafs captain Mats Sundin said.
Leading 1-0, Montreal goalie Jeff Hackett skated 40 feet out of his crease after a loose puck. Darcy Tucker got a stick on it first and the puck bounced to Korolev in the middle of the zone. Korolev whipped it into the vacated net as Hackett scurried back too late.
Hackett again was out of his crease when Hoglund put Toronto up 2-1 at 13:09.
The goalie went behind the net to stop the puck and tried to clear it along the boards with Steve Thomas skating towards him. Thomas blocked the clearing attempt with a hip, the puck ricocheting onto Hoglund's stick. Hoglund scored from a near-impossible angle before Hackett could get back into position.
Curtis Joseph made 26 saves for his 29th win.
"A couple of unfortunate breaks put us behind early but other than that I thought we competed really hard," Montreal forward Turner Stevenson said. "We outchanced them during the second half of the game but Cujo held them in."
The Leafs pulled away with two goals in 44 seconds in the second period. Antropov lifted the stick of Patrice Brisebois to gain possession of the puck in front of Hackett and put in his own rebound at 10:26.
Then on a power play, Thomas deflected in Alexander Karpovtsev's shot.
Brunet got one back at 11:15 after he was set up by Saku Koivu. Brunet's second goal, on the power play at 13:53 of the third, made for an exciting finish.
Weinrich opened the scoring, on a power play at 5:19 of the first, with his third goal this season.
Wednesday March 1, 2000 Toronto at Florida
Scott Mellanby nearly missed his 1,000th career game.
The Florida Panthers captain woke up Wednesday morning with the flu, spent much of the day in bed and didn't decide to play until three hours before the first puck dropped.
"I knew if I got to the rink, the adrenaline would start flowing and I would get through the game," said Mellanby, the 149th player in league history to reach the 1,000-game milestone.
Mellanby's rapid recovery -- an early goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs -- may have gotten the Panthers out of a late-season slump.
Mellanby scored a goal and Pavel Bure, the NHL's leading scorer, added two as the Panthers snapped a four-game home losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
The Panthers, 2-5 in their last seven games, remained two points ahead of Washington for first place in the Southeast Division. Florida led by 16 points on Jan. 15. Florida is 8-11-1 in its last 20 games.
"We haven't played well enough in the last two or three weeks to be overly thrilled with tonight's win," said Florida's Ray Whitney, who had two assists. "We only did it for one game. It doesn't mean we're out of what we were in."
It's certainly a start.
Mellanby gave the Panthers an early lead with a power-play goal in the first period. Whitney faked a shot from the left circle and found Mellanby streaking to the front of the goal. Mellanby's shot beat Curtis Joseph for his 13th goal of the season.
Bure gave Florida a 2-0 lead in the 17th minute of the first. He took a pass from Victor Kozlov following a faceoff and blasted a shot past Joseph's outstretched leg and just inside the left post.
"It was time for us to turn things around," Bure said. "It was a big game for us and it showed us what we can do. Hopefully, we'll get our confidence back."
Toronto, which lost for the first time in four games, cut the lead to 2-1 when Alyn McCauley's shot from just inside the blue line slipped through the legs of Mike Vernon in a 4-on-4 situation.
Vernon faced only 21 shots, but his biggest saves came in the third period. Vernon made a kick save in a 1-on-1 situation against Mats Sundin with 10 minutes to go. Then he held off Sundin again just two minutes later, stopping a blast from the right circle with a glove save.
Joseph had 23 saves for the Maple Leafs.
"We had our chances to win the game, but gave up a lot of opportunities," Sundin said. "They had a strong first period and they got the best of us tonight."
Bure added an empty-netter with 33 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Bure, who has 45 goals, tied Mellanby's franchise record for points in a season with 70.
"We had some decent chances," Toronto defenseman Bryan Berard said. "We wanted to take Bure out of the game and he scored two goals. This team lives off Bure."
Before the game, Mellanby received a sterling silver hockey stick from the team as well as a $10,000 donation to his Mellanby Autism Foundation. Mellanby, whose 3-year-old son Carter is autistic, also got a silver and gold Rolex watch from his teammates and a Tiffany clock from the NHL Players' Association.