GAME SUMMARIESPLAYOFFS ROUND 1: EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINALS
Updated: Tuesday April 25, 2000 12:51AM EST
Monday April 24, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa
Toronto wins 4-2
The Toronto Maple Leafs are moving on to the second round of the playoffs because of their stars. The Ottawa Senators aren't for the same reason. Steve Thomas started a four-goal spurt and assisted on a goal by linemate Mats Sundin as the Leafs downed the Senators 4-2 Monday night. Toronto won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and will open the Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday night at home against the New Jersey Devils.
"That's the line they wanted to shut down and that's the line that got most of our offense," Leafs coach Pat Quinn said of his top trio of Thomas, Sundin and Jonas Hoglund, who combined for 10 goals in the series -- as many as the entire Ottawa team.
"They were spectacular."
Sergei Berezin and Wendel Clark also scored as the Leafs erased a 2-0 Ottawa lead in the second period built on goals by Joe Juneau and Igor Kravchuk.
Thomas jumped on a careless clearing attempt by Ottawa defenseman Sami Salo and scored just 12 seconds after the Senators scored their final goal.
"Obviously, that was big," Quinn said. "They got ahead 2-0 and all of a sudden, bang, we were right back in it. It must have been like a stake in the heart."
Ottawa coach Jacques Martin blamed the inexperience of his young team.
"There's no doubt that, like in (Game 5), we believed we were in control, but we made mistakes and they capitalized," Martin said. "Their best players really shone and that's what won them the series.
"Our lack of production really hurt us. Ten goals in six games is not going to win enough."
Much of that had to do with goalie Curtis Joseph, who did not let the Senators get back into the game.
And some had to do with Ottawa's top line -- Radek Bonk, Marian Hossa and Magnus Arvedsson -- failing to score even once in the series.
"If we want to win a series like this, we all have to bury our chances," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "They did their best, they just came up short."
The Senators outshot Toronto 38-24, but their failure to hold the lead resulted in an opening-round elimination for a second year in a row and third time in four seasons.
The team that held the shots advantage lost all six games of the series.
"We played real gritty," Joseph said. "We played tough along the boards."
A capacity crowd of 18,500 watched in dismay as the Senators became the first team to lose at home in the series.
The Senators, who were without their top scorer, holdout Alexei Yashin, and top defenseman, injured Wade Redden, for the series, slumped to the ice in disappointment when the final horn sounded.
The Leafs also had injuries, including two centers hurt during the series -- Yanic Perreault and Nik Antropov -- neither of whom will be available against the Devils.
"It's been six hard games between two pretty evenly matched teams," Sundin said. "Most of the games could have gone either way."
Ottawa got the early lead on a rush when Shawn McEachern's shot was kicked out to the high slot, where Juneau swept the puck inside the near post 3:45 into the game.
After failing to score during an abbreviated two-man advantage, Ottawa went ahead 2-0 when Kravchuk's point shot through traffic beat Joseph 3:59 into the second period.
Then Thomas capitalized on Salo's mistake and unleashed a quick drive for his sixth goal of the series.
"It was an unacceptable play," said a downcast Salo. "That shouldn't happen, but today it did."
A Thomas pass then went off Kravchuk's skate onto the stick of Sundin, breaking in on the left side for a goal into an open side of the net, tying it at 7:16.
And Berezin was allowed to sneak in front of goalie Tom Barrasso and send in a shot to put Toronto ahead 3-2 at 10:40.
A Cory Cross pass went off a series of sticks and skates to Clark, who was parked alone at the side of the Ottawa net. He easily swept the puck in with 1:13 left in the period.
Saturday April 22, 2000 Ottawa at Toronto
Toronto leads 3-2
Steve Thomas took matters into his own hands and put the Toronto Maple Leafs on the cusp of the second round. Thomas tied Game 5 late in regulation and then won it at 14:47 of overtime Saturday night as the Maple Leafs earned a key 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Thomas, who made it 1-1 with only 4:30 left in the third period, put the Leafs ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven playoff series.
The veteran of 15 NHL seasons set a league record during this past season for most regular-season overtime goals with his 11th career.
With a win at Ottawa on Monday, Toronto can advance to a second-round meeting with the New Jersey Devils. If necessary, Game 7 would be Tuesday night back at the Air Canada Centre.
The home team has won all five games in the series.
The winning goal came when Thomas redirected a 2-on-1 pass from Sergei Berezin behind goalie Tom Barrasso. The Leafs were 3-0-5 in overtime at home during the regular season.
"I really think our team showed a lot of perseverance," Thomas said. "For 2� periods it seemed like we were squeezing the sticks, playing with too much stress.
Ottawa, which lost its 10th straight road playoff game, held a 32-16 shots advantage when Joe Juneau scored in the second period. The Senators finished with 38 shots compared to 31 for Toronto.
"It's frustrating to lose this one after a great effort," Juneau said. "When we got the lead, you try to not to give them too much. Sometimes we didn't give them enough pressure."
Thomas tied it by firing a slap shot from the circle to the right of Barrasso into the far, top corner of the net.
"Not many guys could have made that shot," Joseph said.
The Maple Leafs killed off a 5-on-3 disadvantage in the third period -- including a double minor against Garry Valk for high-sticking -- not allowing the Senators to register a shot.
"We didn't capitalize on our power-play opportunities," Senators coach Jacques Martin said. "And there was a little too much (open ice in overtime) and it kind of backfired on us."
Said Thomas: "That was a pivotal point in the game. That gave us some jump."
In overtime, scoring chances came fast and furious. Igor Korolev had the first good one, and Barrasso got a leg pad on the slap shot. Shawn McEachern had Ottawa's first shot in the extra session, but Curtis Joseph snared it with his glove.
Seven minutes into overtime, Joseph got his stick shaft down just in time to stop Andreas Dackell's slider.
Darcy Tucker was set up in front by Mats Sundin but Barrasso made the save.
Adam Mair, an AHL call-up in his first game with the Leafs since December, flipped a rebound off the crossbar 13 minutes into overtime.
Then, Thomas ended the wild extra period.
It was a goalie duel from the outset. Barrasso went down and stacked his pads to rob Korolev five minutes in, and Joseph glided out of his crease to get an arm on a Sami Salo drive in the 13th minute. Those were the best of many fine saves in a scoreless first period.
Joseph had no chance on Juneau's goal, scored at 4:36 of the second period. Dackell had the puck along the left-wing boards in the Toronto zone. Spotting Juneau free in the circle on the other side of the ice, Dackell passed the puck as Juneau readied for a shot. As the puck arrived, Juneau slapped it into the open side of the net before Joseph could get over.
Joseph kept Ottawa from taking a two-goal lead when he stopped Shaun Van Allen after he broke in alone when the Leafs were caught on a bad line change.
"It was the best we've played in the whole series. We had a lot of pressure," Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "We gave it all we had. We came close, but only one team comes out the winner. We have to make sure we come out with a great effort on Monday, win the game and force Game 7."
Fans starting booing the home team's bad passes and ineffective play. The Senators smothered the Leafs with a trapping defense during the regular season, and they were doing it again.
"There was a point in the third period where we couldn't even get a dump-in into their zone," Thomas said. "That's how well they were playing defensively. It was like there was a wall up across their blue line. But we told each other, 'It might take 58 minutes but we have to persevere.' And we did."
Only one minor penalty was assessed in the first 48 minutes and it was against Chris Phillips for interference in the second period. Tie Domi was sent off, again for interference, at 8:08 of the third, then Valk was put in the penalty box for four minutes for cutting Radek Bonk with a high stick.
The Senators have had trouble scoring goals at Toronto in the series, Ottawa lost the opening two games 2-0 and 5-1.
"We played well, but we've scored two goals in three games here," Barrasso said. "So it's probably not the best way to win hockey games. We just need to finish and be a little more aggressive."
Wednesday April 19, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa
Series tied 2-2
The Ottawa Senators tied its series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and gained some confidence in doing so.
Andreas Dackell scored twice as the Senators beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Wednesday night to tie their first-round Eastern Conference best-of-seven series at 2-2.
"Our confidence is a little better now than after our first two games," said Dackell, who scored his first two goals of the series on nearly identical 2-on-1 breaks.
Game 5 will be Saturday night in Toronto.
"It's a new series now," Dackell said. "It will be a great battle on Saturday. We know they play better at home. It will be a great series now."
Sergei Berezin scored with 3:50 remaining for the Leafs, who outshot the Senators 32-22 but were stymied by goalie Tom Barrasso.
The Leafs looked dominant in taking the opening two games at home, but the tables were turned in Ottawa. Still, they hit three goalposts in each game, coming within inches of a possible sweep.
"I thought we had a chance to win both games here," Leafs captain Mats Sundin said. "We didn't play that badly tonight. We just had two turnovers that cost us.
"What worries me is that when we're down a goal or two, we don't have that momentum that was our strength all year to keep coming at them."
It was another shaky night for Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph, who accidentally knocked down referee Mick McGeough in Game 3 on Monday while protesting interference on Rob Zamuner's winning goal.
With the capacity crowd of 18,500 chanting "Cujo, Cujo," the Toronto goalie had only a minor outburst this time, when he left the net to tackle Vaclav Prospal after Prospal entered the crease in the third period.
"I was just trying to retrieve my stick," Joseph said innocently. "Some guy shot it away."
The Senators were written off by many after the opening two games, but the Maple Leafs expected a tough time in Ottawa, where they are 1-4 this season.
"We were the last ones to think we'd win in four," said Leafs forward Kris King, who saw his first action replacing injured center Nik Antropov. "This is no surprise to us.
"We just have to go home and use what we worked for all season -- home ice advantage."
Dackell had only 10 goals in 82 games this season, but elected to shoot on both 2-on-1 breaks with more accomplished scorers -- Daniel Alfredsson and Joe Juneau.
Dackell opened the scoring 8:15 into the second period. He kept the puck, stopped suddenly to let defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev fall, and fired a wrist shot that trickled through Joseph's pads.
With the Leafs pressing in the third, Cory Cross fanned on a bouncing puck at the blue line, sending Dackell in. Again, he elected to shoot, beating Joseph to the short side.
After a brawl and a few late shoving matches, Berezin broke in on the right side and blasted his second of the series past Barrasso.
Barrasso deflected praise for his stellar performance afterwards.
"Individual performances are vastly overrated," he said. "Playoff hockey is about winning games as a team. We played the way the Ottawa Senators are supposed to play."
Ottawa's tight checking frustrated the Maple Leafs most of the game.
"That's really this team's bread and butter," Barrasso said.
Monday April 17, 2000 Toronto at Ottawa
Toronto leads 2-1
The Ottawa Senators accomplished their objective -- get to Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph. Rob Zamuner's second goal of the game past an angry Joseph helped the Senators end an eight-game playoff losing streak Monday night with a 4-3 victory over the Maple Leafs. The Leafs still lead 2-1 in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 4 is Wednesday night at the Corel Centre.
Joseph faced just 15 shots and was given a misconduct penalty for abusing referee Mick McGeough after Zamuner's second goal, at 14:17 of the third period.
The goalie, incensed at interference in the crease as Alfredsson wrestled with defenseman Cory Cross, skated out to argue, "lost an edge" and took McGeough down with him. Joseph stayed in the game as Cross served the penalty.
"If I was going to do that to a referee -- which I wouldn't do -- I wouldn't slide into him and have him fall on top of me," a much calmer Joseph said after the game. "I was just frustrated. I could see the puck and couldn't get to it."
The NHL is likely to review the incident to determine if a suspension is warranted.
Daniel Alfredsson and Colin Forbes also scored for the Senators.
"It's ironic -- we usually outshoot opponents," Zamuner said. "This time, we didn't get the shots but we got the win. So hey, don't ask questions."
Steve Thomas, Dmitri Khristich and Jonas Hoglund beat Tom Barrasso, who made 31 saves in response to criticism for soft goals in two Toronto victories last week.
"Feelings are overrated," Barrasso said. "It's getting the job done that matters. We did a lot of things well and we had great enthusiasm. We finished our checks. There were a lot of areas to improve and we have to keep doing that."
Ottawa, swept last season by Buffalo, had not won a playoff game since a victory over Washington in the second round in 1998.
The Senators, accused of playing passive in a 5-1 loss Saturday night at Toronto, slammed every Leafs player who touched the puck. Ottawa drew an early two-man advantage when Alyn McCauley and Kevyn Adams took penalties.
Ottawa outhit Toronto 38-29.
Alfredsson's shot from the left side slipped between Joseph's legs at 5:24 of the opening period, giving Ottawa the lead for the first time in the series.
Zamuner made it 2-0 when his pass across the crease went in off Thomas Kaberle's skate at 9:44 of the second, but Thomas banged in Gerald Diduck's rebound to put Toronto on the board 19 seconds later.
A turnover at the red line allowed the low-scoring Forbes to sweep in on the right side and beat Joseph high with a backhander 5:27 into the third.
Khristich banged in a Darcy Tucker pass on a power play at 10:18 before Zamuner's long shot got through. Hoglund got one back with 17 seconds left, making it 4-3.
Toronto's Nik Antropov left the game 7:40 into the first with an apparent knee injury after he missed Chris Phillips with a hit and banged heavily into the boards.
Saturday April 15, 2000 Ottawa at Toronto
Toronto leads 2-0
The Battle of Ontario turned into target practice for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Steve Thomas scored twice and Darcy Tucker, Mats Sundin and Sergei Berezin added one each in a 5-1 Toronto victory Saturday night that gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead in the first-round NHL playoff series.
Sami Salo was the only Ottawa player to put a puck behind Curtis Joseph, who played another strong game.
Game 3 in the best-of-7 series is Monday at Ottawa.
This one was close -- but just for one period.
"We wanted to play a physical game, without a doubt," Thomas said. "We thought that if we came out and set a tone in the first 10 minutes, let them know we were ready to play and this was going to be our game, that would plant a little bit of a seed in their minds."
After a scoreless first, the Leafs took control with three goals in a 3:03 span early in the second.
Tucker pushed in a rebound at :46 as he was being knocked down from behind by Jason York. Tucker also scored his team's first goal in Game 1, and has been a sparkplug since being acquired late in the season from Tampa Bay.
"I've waited a long time for this," Tucker said. "It's an unbelievable feeling to know you can contribute to a hockey club that has a chance to do something special.
"I'm going out there and having a great time, the kick of my life. I wanted to play especially good tonight because my brother-in-law (Montreal's Shayne Corson) was in the stands. I wanted to play well in front of him."
Sundin beat Tom Barrasso with an unscreened wrist shot from just inside the Ottawa blue line at 1:28. Thomas then whacked a one-handed Sundin pass in from the right-wing circle at 3:49.
"Mats' goal was a big one," Joseph said. "That seemed to really ignite the fire."
Thomas made it 4-0 at 12:46. Jonas Hoglund fed him a breakaway pass on the right wing. Thomas cut to his left to the net, and Barrasso moved across his crease and went down. Thomas put on the brakes, stopped, turned, pulled the puck to his backhand, and slid it into the vacated side of the net.
"We got down and we started to press and we gave up a few odd-man rushes," Barrasso said. "We needed to put some pressure on them after we got behind."
All that was left to determine was the size of Toronto's winning margin. Leafs coach Pat Quinn was feeling so comfortable that he sent fourth-line winger Tie Domi out for a power-play shift.
Salo got Ottawa's first goal of the series when, on a power play, he lifted a rising wrist shot past Joseph at 19:05 of the second period.
"The second period was really bad," Salo said. "No one supported each other and they outplayed us. Tom played well, but we didn't help him at all."
Berezin, one of Toronto's best snipers, scored 5:36 into the third period. Open on the left wing, Berezin slapped at a cross-ice pass from Igor Korolev and the puck found the open side of the net.
Domi, knocked to the ice in the second period by Patrick Traverse, got even by dropping Traverse with a shoulder.
"They were all over us," Senators defenseman Grant Ledyard said.
The Senators are not nearly as formidable an opponent without top defenseman Wade Redden, who can't play in the series because of a broken foot.
Ottawa outshot Toronto 30-25, but the Leafs had the best scoring chances.
"The defense was letting me see the puck and clearing out rebounds," Joseph said.
Barrasso said the Senators have the ability to grab momentum away from Toronto.
"I think we have it in the room," he said. "It's just a matter of putting it on the ice."
Wednesday April 12, 2000 Ottawa at Toronto
Toronto leads 1-0
With Curtis Joseph in goal and playoff experience behind them, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in good shape in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Joseph made 30 saves for his ninth career playoff shutout and Darcy Tucker and Mats Sundin scored Wednesday night to give the Leafs a 2-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators in their playoff opener. "It's a fine line when it comes to the playoffs," Sundin said. "The teams were evenly matched, and Cujo was the difference. He had a great game, as usual."
The second game of the first-round best-of-7 series is Saturday at Toronto. Because of the two days off, the Senators returned to Ottawa following the game.
"You like to get the momentum that a first-game win gives you," Joseph said. "It's a big part of any game, even when you're playing checkers."
Not all was good for the Leafs. Toronto center Yanic Perreault left with six minutes remaining with a knee injury. Coach Pat Quinn says Perreault, one of the league's top faceoff men, will miss the rest of the playoffs, but the Leafs say they won't know the full extent of the injury until Perreault is re-evaluated on Thursday.
Tucker scored in the second period and Sundin added an empty-netter with 20.8 seconds left for the Leafs.
"We got to the puck first a lot of times and during the regular season we didn't do that against that club," Joseph said. "We played hard along the walls and battled real hard, and our defense played really well, getting the puck out of our zone."
The Leafs, a conference finalist last year, had the opportunity to put the game away early but couldn't capitalize.
Three consecutive Ottawa penalties gave Toronto advantages for six of the opening 10 minutes, but the most dangerous shots sailed wide or were blocked by goalie Tom Barrasso.
The Senators regrouped and came out strong in the second period. They got off the first eight shots, and only some outstanding saves by Joseph kept them from taking the lead.
"We had a lot of chances, but they have a great goalie and he made some great saves," Ottawa center Radek Bonk said. "We created a lot of chances. Give credit to their goalie."
Tucker snatched the momentum back for the Leafs at 8:53 after Vaclav Prospal was assessed a cheap penalty for interference near Joseph's crease while the Senators were in possession of the puck.
"I'm kind of shaking," Tucker said. "I'm really excited about getting that first playoff goal."
On the power play, Perreault carried the puck down left wing and into the Senators' zone. He sent a cross-ice pass to the middle that Tucker one-timed. The puck found the near-side bottom corner before Barrasso could slide across his crease.
When Grant Ledyard was penalized two minutes later for kneeing Tie Domi away from the play, Ottawa had committed five of the six penalties.
Back at full strength, the Senators had the next best scoring chance when Joe Juneau skated within 10 feet of Joseph and aimed for the far lower corner. Joseph picked the puck out of the air with his catching mitt.
Shawn Van Allen got away with jumping on Joseph during the ensuing pileup in the crease. Mats Sundin was sent off for hooking on the play. On the Ottawa power play, Joseph stood his ground, and the referees missed Garry Valk spearing Daniel Alfredsson.
Ottawa outshot Toronto 17-7 in the second period -- 24-16 over the first 40 minutes -- yet the Leafs led 1-0. The Senators finished with a 30-21 shots advantage.
Marian Hossa nearly tied the game in the fourth minute of the third when he stole the puck from Danny Markov, skated in alone on Joseph, deked him out of position, but fanned on a backhander.
"I just missed by centimeters," Hossa said.
Barrasso was lifted for an extra attacker with 64 seconds left, after Nik Antropov iced the puck. Bonk got off two shots when the Senators blitzed Joseph, and Hossa whipped a shot off the crossbar.
"I heard it hit the iron," said Joseph, who made his 76th playoff appearance.
Sundin then iced it for Toronto.
Quinn wasn't particularly happy Joseph had to play such a large role.
"We had too many turnovers in the mid-ice area and we had to depend too much on Curtis to win the hockey game," Quinn said.