GAME SUMMARIES
Updated: Sunday November 28, 1999 1:10AM EST
Tuesday November 23, 1999 Toronto at Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins used two goaltenders and one key goal from a still-not-healthy Jaromir Jagr to extend their home winning streak.
Jagr, still bothered by a sore thigh muscle, scored his first power-play goal this season and the Penguins staged an in-game meeting before holding off the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 Tuesday night.
"We had a meeting after the first period because there was something missing," Jagr said. "We didn't have the hunger we needed to win. After that, I thought we played a great first 10 minutes in the next period."
The Penguins were held to two shots in a lifeless first period and were outshot 30-18, but won their fourth in a row at home.
Jagr, not certain of playing until game time, put Alexei Kovalev's across-the-crease pass by Curtis Joseph at 4:29 of the second for the go-ahead goal in a game the Penguins were forced to change goaltenders.
Jagr still isn't 100 percent -- and it showed in his skating -- but he converted the one good scoring opportunity he had.
"He wasn't skating, but when he gets the puck on his stick, bing, the puck's in the net," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "Even when he's halfway there, he's one of the best."
Jagr's goal was his 15th and his first in five games since Nov. 12 in Detroit, and was his first point since Nov. 13 against Nashville. The NHL's leading scorer played only 3� minutes of a 3-2 victory over Buffalo on Nov. 16, then played 29 ineffective minutes two nights later at Tampa Bay before sitting out Saturday's overtime loss at Florida.
Jagr's thigh felt much better after he returned to Pittsburgh on Friday and had three acupuncture treatments. He also had acupuncture last spring when a groin injury forced him to miss four games of a first-round playoff series against New Jersey.
"I was scared in the first period because I felt good in Tampa Bay and then I hurt it again," Jagr said. "I was taking it easy, and it felt better as the game went along. I was glad to get through the game."
Jagr has figured in 10 of the Penguins' 11 power-play goals this season, but his other nine points were assists.
Penguins goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin was lifted at the start of third period after stopping all 19 shots he faced. His left arm went numb shortly immediately after Toronto defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev crashed into the net late in the second period.
The Penguins' Matthew Barnaby was called for tripping, but the Penguins killed off the first 50 seconds of the penalty to end the second period and the final 1:10 after Peter Skudra replaced Aubin.
Aubin, who has emerged as the starter with the injured Tom Barrasso still out, has stopped 125 of 133 shots in his last five games. Skudra, who hadn't played losing 2-1 to Ottawa on Nov. 4, stopped 10 of 11 shots despite yielding Mats Sundin's goal at 14:09.
Andrew Ference's second goal of the season put Pittsburgh up 2-0 less than three minutes before Sundin scored. German Titov scored into an empty net at 19:38 to restore Pittsburgh's two-goal lead.
Ference's goal from between the hash marks off Kip Miller's feed came at 11:41 and was a big lift to Skudra, who normally doesn't play especially well in relief roles.
Sundin scored his eighth by trickling a shot by Skudra from the left side of the net, but it didn't prevent Toronto from losing its fifth game against two ties in its last nine.
"I thought we played one of our best games in the past couple of weeks," Sundin said. "We carried most of the play and some of their top guns had very quiet nights. We didn't play that bad a game, so it's a little frustrating to feel that way and come out with a loss."
The Maple Leafs played in Pittsburgh for the first time since eliminating the Penguins in their second-round playoff series last spring.
Saturday November 20, 1999 Ny Rangers at Toronto
Igor Korolev made sure the Toronto Maple Leafs had something to show for their fast start.
Korolev scored at 1:16 of overtime to give Toronto a 4-3 victory over New York on Saturday night in the NHL's inaugural Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
"We stopped doing the simple things after we got the lead, but we found a way to win," Korolev said. "It still counts for two points."
The game featured a pregame tribute to Hall of Fame inductees Wayne Gretzky, Scotty Morrison and Andy Van Hellemond. Gretzky received a 90-second standing ovation. The three will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday.
"Normally we have a quiet dressing room, but with all the festivities going on it was a little different," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "It was noisy before the game. We could hear them from the coaches' room. We wondered if something was wrong. There was energy."
The Maple Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead on only four shots, but the Rangers rallied to tie it on John MacLean's first goal of the season midway through the third period.
"It was 3-0 and I guess we thought we were pretty hot stuff," Quinn said. "We quit working, quit checking. We didn't create scoring chances. Slowly the tempo went to the Rangers. We were very fortunate to win."
In overtime, Korolev scored into a wide-open net after Sergei Berezin's blast from the top of the circle bounced off goalie Mike Richter and onto Korolev's stick.
Toronto scored on its first two shots on goal, both by Yanic Perreault. Dmitri Khristich had the other Toronto goal, prompting Rangers coach John Muckler to replace goalie Kirk McLean with Richter.
Adam Graves and Tim Taylor scored in the final three minutes of the second period for the Rangers. New York dominated play in the final two periods, outshooting Toronto 27-14.
On the tying goal, Brian Leetch's shot from the point on a Rangers power play was deflected by MacLean, who had one skate in the crease.
"We fought hard to get back in this game," MacLean said. "It's disappointing to lose it. But at least we didn't give up. It was embarrassing to get down 3-0 like we did."
Perreault opened the scoring at 2:13 of the first period when he deflected Tomas Kaberle's wrist shot from the point. Perreault got his second of the night and seventh of the season 21 seconds later intercepting Mathieu Schneider's cross-ice pass and beating McLean to the top corner.
Wednesday November 17, 1999 St. Louis at Toronto
A familiar face handed the Toronto Maple Leafs a last-minute defeat Wednesday night.
Former Leaf Terry Yake one-timed a pass from Pierre Turgeon by goalie Curtis Joseph with 59.2 remaining in regulation to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 victory over Toronto.
"It always feels extra special to go into an old building and steal two points," said Yake, who played for Toronto in 1994-95. "I had pretty much a wide-open net. Turgeon pulled the goalie his way and rolled it over."
Turgeon, who set up Yake's goal on a two-on-one, had three assists to give him seven points in his last three games.
"I got the puck loose and chipped it over the defenseman. I was going to shoot it, but I saw that Joseph was standing up on me and I saw Terry Yake open," Turgeon said.
Pavol Demitra, who has six points in the last two games, had a goal and an assist. Rookie Jochen Hecht had the other goal for St. Louis, which improved to 6-3 on the road, including four straight wins.
Jonas Hoglund and Mats Sundin each had a goal and an assist for Toronto.
With the game heading for overtime, Turgeon stole the puck from defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who was winding up for a slap shot from the point. Turgeon raced in on a two-on-one and passed it to Yake who one-timed it past Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph.
Hoglund opened the scoring at 5:52 of the second when he shot the puck at the net from a bad angle and watched it bounce past St. Louis goalie Roman Turek.
"It was a tough way to lose that game in the last minute," said Hoglund, who has four points the last two games.
"CuJo (Joseph) played great and kept us in the game, but we didn't play as well as we wanted to."
St. Louis answered back with a pair of goals 1:48 apart in the second. Ten seconds into a power play, Turgeon slipped a pass from beside the net past Joseph and onto the stick of Hecht, who fired it into an empty net at 7:34. The Blues went up 2-1 when Turgeon dumped another pass out front and Demitra streaked into the slot to score his eighth of the season.
Toronto tied it four minutes later at 13:39 on the power play when Sundin scored after taking a few whacks from the tip of the crease for his first goal in five games.
St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville passed Scotty Bowman, who guided the Blues for their first three seasons (1968-70), for second on the team's career win list with 111. Brian Sutter is first with 153.
Monday November 15, 1999 San Jose at Toronto
Yanic Perreault and the Toronto Maple Leafs got back on track at the expense of the struggling San Jose Sharks. Perreault scored two goals to end an 11-game scoring drought as Toronto beat San Jose 4-2 Monday night to snap a five-game winless streak. San Jose is 1-4-1 in its last six games.
"I've been struggling to get some goals the last few games," Perreault said. "Tonight was good for my confidence. This was a big win for us and, hopefully, we can build on it."
Jonas Hoglund and rookie Nik Antropov also scored for the Maple Leafs, who moved into a tie with Ottawa, Los Angeles and Detroit for the overall NHL lead with 26 points.
"I am happy to get my first goal," Antropov said. "Especially because it helped win a big game."
Curtis Joseph stopped 28 shots, including several in the final minutes of regulation with Toronto playing two men short.
"We had a bad stretch and we needed a 'W' for confidence sake," Joseph said. "It's a satisfying victory, especially against a team like San Jose."
Bryan Berard added two assists for the Maple Leafs.
Vincent Damphousse and Mike Ricci scored for San Jose, and Steve Shields made 14 saves.
"I didn't make any saves tonight," said Shields, who has supplanted Mike Vernon as the starting goalie. "All the goals were probably preventable. I've stopped those before."
Hoglund, who had just eight goals last season for Montreal, scored his 10th of this season to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead with 5:10 left in the second period.
"I think they scored a weak goal," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said of the game-winner. "I thought we played pretty well. It was an exciting game, but their goalie played better than ours."
Perreault added an insurance goal with 5:11 left in the third period.
The teams combined for four goals in a wide-open first period.
Damphousse took a pass from Owen Nolan in the high slot and ripped the puck past Joseph at 3:48. Perreault replied with his first of the game just 36 seconds later.
Antropov gave Toronto a 2-1 lead at 9:53 when he held off San Jose's Stephane Matteau and lifted the puck over Shields.
Less than two minutes later, Ricci tied it when Joseph was caught out of position after blocking Jeff Friesen's shot.
Saturday November 13, 1999 Detroit at Toronto
Even with 400 NHL goals to his credit, Brendan Shanahan remains modest.
The Detroit Red Wings star scored his 400th goal in a 1-1 tie with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
"It's nice to get it out of the way," Shanahan said. "Milestones aren't really a focus of mine. It doesn't really mean much when you've got Steve Yzerman two away from 600."
Shanahan, 30, a native of Mimico, Ontario, ended a seven-game drought with the goal.
"I was definitely pleased to get it. It wasn't like time was running out. I was just glad to get it in front of my mother and brothers," the 12-year veteran said.
Shanahan, who was playing his first game after serving a two-game suspension for intent to injure Tampa Bay's Darcy Tucker scored his sixth of the season when he took a pass from Pat Verbeek and blasted it past Curtis Joseph 8:30 into the first period. Verbeek signed with Detroit as an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.
Dmitri Khristich scored the lone goal for the Leafs, 0-3-2 in their last five games. The Leafs looked like they were headed for another loss until Khristich tied it up 6:07 into the third period when he beat goalie Chris Osgood off a rebound.
"We didn't play them hard through the whole game," said Khristich, who has five goals in nine games. "We worked our way out of that hole and we're happy with the point."
Joseph was outstanding in the Toronto net, making 35 saves.
Detroit had a chance to extend its lead in the second, but Joseph stopped Stacy Roest after Nik Antropov gave the puck away. Joseph then stopped Yzerman's tip-in attempt after Cory Cross' turnover.
"We had some better chances as the game went on. It was good that we were able to come back from a 1-0 deficit," Joseph said. "Anytime you play against great players like that you get pumped up."
Osgood stopped 25 shots for Detroit, including a key pad save on Yanic Perreault off a 2-on-1 pass from Bryan Berard two minutes into the overtime period.
Thursday November 11, 1999 Toronto at Boston
Dave Andreychuk is making Bruins fans forget all about Dmitri Khristich.
Dave Andreychuk scored two third-period goals and P.J. Axelsson scored with 1:02 remaining in overtime to rally the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
"Andreychuk has been doing this for years," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "Teams have been trying to figure out a way to stop this guy, but obviously have not come up with one."
With the Bruins trailing 3-1 and on the power play, Andreychuk poked a shot past goaltender Curtis Joseph while falling down, cutting the Maple Leafs' lead to one goal.
Andreychuk then tied the game at three with just under four minutes remaining after converting a pass from Jason Allison.
"We dominated the last two periods," Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe said. "The way we came back says a lot about our team."
Andreychuk is tied with Jaromir Jagr of Pittsburgh for the league lead with 13 goals in 17 games and is only two shy of his total from last season.
"I had some injuries that slowed me down last year," Andreychuk said. "This year I just seem to be in the right spot."
Andreychuk also moved into 17th on the career goal-scoring list passing Maurice "Rocket" Richard.
Andreychuk, spoiled the return of former Bruin Dmitri Khristich, who led the team with 29 goals last year, and was second on the team in scoring.
The Bruins decided not to re-sign Khristich after they refused to pay a salary arbitrator's award of $2.8 million, thus making him a free agent.
Khristich signed a four-year deal with Toronto in October.
Khristich was criticized by Boston general manager Harry Sinden for being too one dimensional and not strong on defense. That seemed prophetic Thursday night as Khristich finished a minus-one because he was on the ice for the Bruins' tying and winning goals.
The Bruins went out in the offseason and signed Andreychuk as a free agent to make up for the goal-scoring they would lose with Khristich.
Khristich gave Toronto an early 1-0 lead, when he slipped the puck past goaltender Byron Dafoe at 14:37 of the first period.
Axelsson scored the game-winner when he took a pass from Darren Van Impe, and backhanded a shot over Joseph's left shoulder.
"I was pretty lucky on the game-winner," Axelsson said. "The puck was bouncing and I took my best shot."
Ray Bourque added three assists for the Bruins, who have won five straight at home and are unbeaten in their last seven home games.
Joseph had 32 saves for the Maple Leafs, who are winless in their last four games.
Jonas Hoglund made it 2-0 when he scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season at 17:48 of the first period. With the Maple Leafs on the power play, Hoglund converted a cross-ice pass from Yanic Perrault and scored just inside the left post.
The Maple Leafs had not scored a goal in their previous 15 power-play opportunities.
Dafoe, who was originally acquired with Khristich in 1997 in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, had 16 saves for the Bruins.
Sergei Berezin scored the Maple Leafs second power-play goal of the game when his slap shot sailed by Dafoe at 11:53 of the second period, giving Toronto a 3-1 lead.
Tuesday November 9, 1999 Anaheim at Toronto
Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn thought his team was too cute. Captain Mats Sundin said it was just plain ugly. Guy Hebert made 19 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat Toronto 2-0 Tuesday night.
"I think it was our worst game of the year," said Sundin, who was held to just one shot on net. "We had a poor game from every line except for CuJo (goalie Curtis Joseph). We reverted back to our old habits from last year of being too fancy with the puck."
Anaheim won for the first time in Toronto since Dec. 15, 1993, and also ended a five-game overall winless streak against the Maple Leafs.
"Guy is going really well," said Paul Kariya, who iced the game with an empty-net goal with 13 seconds remaining. "He was extremely solid. When he didn't clear the puck right away he was in position for the second shot."
Marty McInnis also scored for the Mighty Ducks, who are off to their best start in franchise history at 8-6-2.
"I guess that's the only way we can win in here is to shut them out," Hebert said. "I think we're finally putting 60 minutes together and we've been playing better against the better teams."
Joseph stopped 22 shots for the Maple Leafs (10-5-2), who remained tied with Ottawa for the Eastern Conference lead.
McInnis opened the scoring at 7:48 of the second period, beating Joseph with a snap shot from the slot off a pass from Ted Donato.
Anaheim had an opportunity to score on a power-play later in the period, but Fredrik Olausson's shot from the point hit the right goal post. Seconds later, McInnis hit the left post.
"There was nothing there tonight," said Toronto's Steve Thomas, who has just one goal this season. "We got it in deep a few times, but we didn't go in there and get it, and they brought it out at will."
Quinn said his players were trying to do too much with the puck.
"We were making a lot of bad decisions with the puck. We took the lazy way to play and (the Ducks) came to work hard. It was very uncharacteristic of the game we should play."
Saturday November 6, 1999 Toronto at New Jersey
Scott Gomez may be a rookie, but he's certainly not playing like one.
Gomez scored with 8:41 left in the third period to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 3-3 tie with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
"I'm living my wildest dream," said Gomez, who leads the Devils in scoring with three goals and 12 assists. "I'm just taking it day by day. But so far everything feels great."
Gomez, who also assisted on the Devils' other two goals, tied the game for New Jersey when he pounced on a rebound off a Brendan Morrison shot and pushed the puck past Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph.
"Everyone would have liked to get two points from this one, but these are two heavyweight teams so we'll take it," Gomez said. "In fact, I think we showed a lot of character in coming back after blowing that 2-0 lead and allowing three straight goals."
The Devils (7-5-2) dominated the overtime but were unable to convert. An apparent goal by Brian Rafalski was nullified by an offside call.
Mats Sundin's unassisted goal just 46 seconds into the third period gave Toronto a 3-2 lead. Sundin beat Martin Brodeur with a shot that slipped in off the goalies' pads.
"New Jersey is one of the best and to take a point out of here after trailing by two goals is something we can be happy about," Sundin said.
Claude Lemieux, playing his first home game since being acquired in an Nov. 3 trade with Colorado, gave the Devils a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal at 14:19 of the first period.
Lemieux took a shot from the right circle that appeared to be deflected off a Toronto defender and slide into the net off the stick of Joseph.
It marked the end of a seven-game drought in which the Devils had been 0-20 on the power play and the Maple Leafs had successfully killed off 20 straight power plays.
"I think we played pretty well," said New Jersey coach Robbie Ftorek. "We still obviously need work on a lot of areas and you like to protect the lead, but we're working to those means."
Lemieux added his second power-play goal at 3:31 of the second period when he took a pass from Gomez and flicked the puck past Joseph from the slot. Gomez also assisted on Lemieux' first goal to extend his scoring streak to six games.
Trailing 2-0, the Maple Leafs got on the board at 5:40 of the second period when Sergei Berezin came in alone and beat Brodeur with a shot between his legs.
Toronto tied at 14:55 when Todd Warriner redirected Bryan's Berard's shot from the right point.
Friday November 5, 1999 Toronto at Washington
The Toronto Maple Leafs were due for a game like this. So were the Washington Capitals.
Chris Simon scored a fluke goal with 11:52 left after Washington blew a three-goal lead, and the Capitals held on to snap the Maple Leafs' five-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory Friday night.
It was the most goals scored against Toronto this season. The Maple Leafs came in with the best record in the NHL, a league-best 1.63 goals-against average and an unbeaten streak that stretched back to mid-October.
"We've been getting awful nice accolades (on) how good we are," Toronto coach Pat Quinn. "We played like we thought we were pretty good, too. But obviously it's a mirage."
Jan Bulis scored two goals and Richard Zednik had three assists to give the Capitals a 3-0 lead in the first period. Toronto tied it with a three-goal second period, but Simon put Washington ahead to stay when his shot from the side of the net bounced off the skate of Toronto defenseman Bryan Berard and into the net.
"I saw (Peter Bondra) going to the back post and tried to get a pass to him," Simon said. "That doesn't happen too often, so I'll take that."
Simon scored the clincher in more conventional fashion with 1:47 to go, connecting from between the circles after taking a pass from Joe Sacco.
The five goals represented a veritable offensive explosion for the Capitals, who were averaging 2.36 goals per game. That it came against Toronto was even more surprising.
"It was a big win for us," said Washington captain Adam Oates. "We came out very strong, had a bit of a lapse in the second period and we showed some character in the third. Simon scored a big goal to get us going."
The stingy Maple Leafs allowed only three goals during their longest winning streak in six seasons. But the Capitals built a 3-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes and went on to record their sixth straight home win against Toronto since 1994.
"Well, they certainly have our number in this building," Maple Leafs goalie Glenn Healy said. "Flukes do happen in this game. Certainly, Chris Simon didn't plan to do that."
Olaf Kolzig had 19 saves for Washington, which has won two straight after a six-game winless streak. The Capitals scored on three of their first 10 shots against Healy, who was making his fourth start of the season.
Sergei Berezin scored two goals for the Maple Leafs, who were unbeaten in six games since Oct. 16.
"We played one good period, which is not enough to win," said Mats Sundin, who scored his fifth goal in six games.
Bulis made it 1-0 with 61 seconds elapsed, scoring from the left circle after Zednik delivered a pass from near the back boards.
Bulis scored again at 10:12 with a slap shot from the outside portion of the left circle, and Steve Konowalchuk made it 3-0 at 14:46 by sliding the puck past Healy.
It was the first time the Maple Leafs trailed by three goals this season.
Toronto rallied in the second period. Sundin scored on his own rebound in the opening minute and Berezin converted a fine cross-ice pass from Berard at 9:13.
Berezin then tied it with a sixth goal of the season after taking a centering pass from Yanic Perreault at 18:40.
Wednesday November 3, 1999 Toronto at Carolina
The Toronto Maple Leafs were pretty good for four weeks without captain Mats Sundin in the lineup. Watch out now.
Mike Johnson scored goals 22 seconds apart and Sundin returned from a nine-game absence to add the 300th of his career as the Maple Leafs routed the Carolina Hurricanes 6-0 Wednesday night.
The Eastern Conference-leading Maple Leafs won their fifth straight and are unbeaten in six. The Hurricanes fell to 0-2 in their new arena.
"He is one of the better players in the game," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said of the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Sundin, who returned to the lineup after being sidelined by a fractured ankle to get a goal and an assist. "He is a force."
Quinn said a key to the win was getting the forechecking Hurricanes on their heels early.
"That's hard, when you're ready to play," Quinn said. "I think we had an advantage because it was only their second game in here and they wanted to come out and play good, and all of a sudden they give up two bad goals."
"We can't afford to get into a situation where we're pressing to win because we feel a responsibility to put people in the seats," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "We need to just concentrate on our own jobs."
Curtis Joseph tied Philadelphia's John Vanbiesbrouck for the NHL lead with his third shutout of the season, the 25th of his career. Joseph was sharp all night in stopping 24 shots.
"I felt pretty good. I thought the whole team was pretty sharp," Joseph said. "Our defense is playing exceptional. We're on kind of a roll here."
Carolina, which displayed solid hockey after playing 10 of its first 11 games on the road, picked a bad time to have a poor defensive effort against one of the NHL's top offenses.
The Hurricanes started goaltender Eric Fichaud for the second straight game in place of slumping Arturs Irbe. But Fichaud gave up a soft goal to Johnson less than seven minutes in.
Johnson, standing behind the goal to the left of the net, bounced the puck off the back of Fichaud's shoulder for his sixth goal of the season.
"I didn't learn that from anybody," Johnson said of his bank shot. "It was a centering pass gone awry. It was just a lucky bounce."
Johnson then pounced on a rebound seconds later as the Hurricanes fell behind 2-0. Dmitri Khristich assisted on both of Johnson's goals.
Sundin scored midway through the second period on a perfect give-and-go with Jonas Hoglund.
Hoglund put the game away with three seconds left in the period on a great individual effort while the Maple Leafs were short-handed. He raced to the puck with Glen Wesley in the Carolina zone, outmuscled the defenseman along the boards and beat Fichaud high with Wesley draped all over him.
Hoglund, signed as an unrestricted free agent in July, and Tomas Kaberle added goals over the final 8:17 of the third. Hoglund's two goals gave him eight for the season, his total in 74 games with Montreal last season.
"I don't think you'll find a whole lot of guys in the locker room saying, 'Hey, I was great, the rest of the team wasn't there,"' Maurice said. "We preach a team concept and that was a team concept all right."