GAME SUMMARIESPLAYOFFS ROUND 1: EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINALS
Updated: Monday May 3, 1999 12:42AM EST
Sunday May 2, 1999 Toronto at Philadelphia
Toronto wins 4-2
Curtis Joseph leaped into the arms of his teammates, and the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrated a dramatic 1-0 victory
Sunday night that bounced the Philadelphia Flyers from the playoffs. But when the horn sounded, the Flyers were just
getting warmed up. Everyone from team chairman Ed Snider to Eric Lindros -- who didn't even play -- accused
referee Terry Gregson of deciding the series with a late penalty call against John LeClair. Though Sergei Berezin's
goal with 59 seconds left sent the Flyers home in the first round for the second straight year, the taste was much
more bitter this time. "When the official decides a game, it's a disgrace," Snider screamed outside the Flyers locker
room. "Everybody in the stands knows what that guy did." The Maple Leafs -- and Gregson -- just thought it was a
dumb play by LeClair, one of the least penalized players in the league. "We had five penalties in a row, so they can't
complain about this," said Berezin, who blasted a loose puck past John Vanbiesbrouck for the winning goal with
LeClair in the penalty box. Bryan Berard, who made a kick save earlier with Joseph wandering from the net, fanned
on his shot and then had the puck bounce off defenseman Adam Burt. It bounced right to Berezin, who shot it past a
sprawling Vanbiesbrouck for his second goal of the series. "It happened so fast," Vanbiesbrouck said. "He didn't
wait. He just put it right in." The Maple Leafs, masters of the close game and late goal, became the first team in
NHL history to win a seven-game series without scoring three or more goals in any game. "We seemed to be more
alert and sharper in one-goal games," Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn said. "The word lucky is probably appropriate as
well." Toronto, despite trailing for most of the series, advanced to the second round for the first time since 1994.
The Flyers went 0-for-6 on the power play and didn't score a goal in the final 130 minutes of the series. They haven't
won an elimination game since 1989. "We get to the next round, we're all back together, we're all healthy and we're
all ready to go," said Lindros, who was out with a collapsed lung but was pressing doctors to let him play in the
second round if the Flyers made it. "It's not going to work out that way." LeClair was called for elbowing Mike
Johnson with 2:54 left, sending him to the penalty box for the most crucial moments of the season. The Flyers
contended that Todd Warriner blasted Jody Hull and Kris King tripped Rod Brind'Amour before the penalty was
called on LeClair. "I understand I'm going to get fined, and I don't care how much I get fined," said Snider, leading
the Flyers' criticism of the two-referee system used in the playoffs. "The truth is there. Everybody in the stands
knows it. Everybody in the city knows it. "It's a disgrace to the game. If Gregson can sleep tonight, God bless him."
LeClair, who lost his helmet at the Maple Leafs' end, chased Johnson behind the Flyers' net. Replays showed that he
did lift his elbow and make contact with Johnson's head. "I was the guy in the box," LeClair said. "I was the guy who
gave them the advantage. And I feel pretty bad about it right now." When Berezin scored the winning goal, he could
barely skate because his right skate was badly bent. "I shouldn't have played the shift," Berezin said. "My skate was
real bad. I stepped on a stick, but I just kept playing because there were two minutes left in the game." The Flyers
haven't won an elimination game since beating Montreal in Game 5 of the 1989 Wales Conference finals on Dave
Poulin's overtime goal. They lost that series, missed the playoffs for five seasons and are 0-5 in elimination games
since then. Joseph seemed beatable and had a terrible time handling the puck, and it nearly doomed the Maple Leafs
several times. The most dangerous gaffe came less than two minutes into the second, when Joseph fell down behind
the net and lost the puck to Rod Brind'Amour with the Maple Leafs on a power play. Brind'Amour spun around and
passed to Mikael Andersson as Cujo scrambled in vain to get back in the net. Berard kicked Andersson's weak shot
aside with his left skate, preserving the scoreless tie. "Bryan made a kick save and a beauty," Joseph said.
Friday April 30, 1999 Philadelphia at Toronto
Toronto leads 3-2
Overtime is the best time for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yanic Perreault's goal 11:51 into overtime gave the Maple
Leafs a 2-1 victory Friday night over the Philadelphia Flyers and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal
series. Toronto now has lost only once in 15 sudden-death situations since last autumn, including a 6-1-7
regular-season showing. Perreault took a pass from Garry Valk, skated to the lower lip of the faceoff circle to the
left of John Vanbiesbrouck, and lifted a low backhander that went under the goalie's catching mitt near the post. "I
wanted to protect the puck with my left leg so that's why I tried to get a backhand shot on Vanbiesbrouck," said
Perreault. "In overtime, you're just trying to get the puck on the net. "That's the main thing. Gary Valk made a
nice play at the blue line. Two of their guys went to him and that gave me some space to the outside."
Philadelphia's Keith Jones and Toronto's Dimitri Yushkevich exchanged first-period goals. Each team had 34 shots
on goal in a game that could have gone either way. Vanbiesbrouck has been beaten at least three times by
bad-angle backhanders in the series. "It went in, that's about it," was all he would say about Perreault's shot.
Games 6 is Sunday night in Philadelphia. If a Game 7 is necessary, the teams will return to the Air Canada Centre
on Tuesday night. "We knew this series was going to be tight and close," said Perreault, whose goal was the
biggest of his career since a 1996 shootout shot helped Canada beat Russia in the semifinals of the world
championship. "They're playing really solid defensively _ they're a big team. "We're not going to get that many
chances every game so every goal is important." Said Vanbiesbrouck: "We're doing a good job, we really are. We
just didn't get the break. One goal either way has been the difference." Toronto captain Mats Sundin hit the
crossbar 6{ minutes into overtime. Then, 11:40 into overtime, Philadelphia's Rod Brind'Amour had the puck alone
in front of Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph. "I didn't want him to go all the way around me so I stretched out and
fortunately I got enough of (the puck) and it rolled over me," said Joseph, who smothered the puck in the crease.
"Mats (Sundin) was just about to put his hand on it and he said, `Thank goodness,' I beat him to the punch."
Toronto then went the other way and Perreault ended the game to the delight of a capacity crowd of 18,800. The
Flyers have lost seven consecutive playoff overtime games since a 1995 sudden-death win. "It could have been our
best game of the series," said Joseph. "Give a lot of the credit to a lot of guys who did a lot of little things right,
and we skated well." Toronto's defense kept the front of the crease a lot clearer than it had in Game 4, a 5-2 Flyers
win. "We had good body position on their forwards," said Maple Leafs defenseman Chris McAllister. "We kept
them more to the outside instead of near the crease. "Cujo got to see most of the pucks tonight." Jones scored on
a wraparound 1:52 into the game, and Yushkevich threaded a long wrist shot through a group of players at 9:16 on
a power play. Toronto lost Yushkevich in the third period with a cut arm. "I thought we were wearing them down in
overtime," said Flyers coach Roger Neilson. "They were down to five defensemen. "But they got the goal." Maple
Leafs coach Pat Quinn got the defensive effort from his forwards that was lacking in Game 4. "It's not really our
style, but our guys answered the bell in that territory," he said.
Wednesday April 28, 1999 Toronto at Philadelphia
Series tied 2-2
The Philadelphia Flyers reduced the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to a best-of-three series, getting two goals from John LeClair in a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Defenseman Eric Desjardins scored the go-ahead power-play goal in the second period and added two assists for the Flyers, who evened the best-of-seven series at two wins apiece.
Facing a virtual must-win situation, Philadelphia got big performances from two of its best players in LeClair and Desjardins. The pair combined for five points after totaling only two in the first three games.
"We've been playing fairly well and the puck just wasn't going in for us, and tonight it was nice that we got some goals and we got the win," LeClair said. "That was the most important thing. We're getting the shots. We just have to keep pounding away. We just had to keep going to the net, getting the shots and eventually they were going to go in for us."
LeClair's power-play tally midway through the first period gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead, but Toronto rallied to tie for the second time as Steve Sullivan notched a power-play goal just 38 seconds later.
Philadelphia's Sandy McCarthy goaded Tie Domi into a roughing penalty 2 1/2 minutes into the second period and Desjardins put the Flyers ahead for good 49 seconds thereafter. Rod Brind'Amour passed to the top of the slot, where Desjardins one-timed a slap shot a foot off the ice that made it under goaltender Curtis Joseph's right arm.
"We knew we had to pick it up on the power play," said Desjardins, whose team was 2-for-5 with the man advantage tonight after going 1-for-14 in the first three games. "That's what's going to make you win a series. We got to make sure we do the same thing the next game."
After Game Three, McCarthy charged that Domi directed a racial slur at him. NHL officials investigated but were unable to corroborate the allegation.
"It feels good to know it worked out like that, but I would have still liked something done about it," McCarthy said. "From what I hear, there were no witnesses, and nobody heard nothing. Everybody knows what happened, so that's the biggest thing. Everybody knows."
LeClair got an insurance goal with 2:03 to go in the second period and Brind'Amour scored into an empty net with 22 seconds left in the third.
Craig Berube started a frenetic first period at 6:28 when Desjardins' shot from the left point deflected off him and got past Joseph. It was Berube's second goal in 69 career playoff games.
Sergei Berezin tied it on the power play less than 3 1/2 minutes later with an easy tap-in off Derek King's perfect centering pass.
LeClair broke the deadlock at 11:44, bunting Steve Duchesne's shot just under the crossbar. But Sullivan answered quickly, curling a backhander between the pads of John Vanbiesbrouck off Bryan Berard's rebound.
After Desjardins put Philadelphia ahead for good, LeClair struck again off a centering pass from Daymond Langkow, who started the play by intercepting Berard's clearing attempt.
Toronto was 2-for-8 on the power play but failed to muster a shot during a two-minute, two-man advantage that bridged the second and third periods.
"That gave everybody a big charge," LeClair said. "Anytime you kill a 5-on-3 it's terrific for your team's morale. That was an important time in the game. Our penalty-killing has been terrific all series. They came through again tonight."
"They played like they were a desperate team," observed Leafs winger Garry Valk. "We let a few opportunities slip away throughout the game. Both our power play and our penalty kill let us down."
Vanbiesbrouck faced only four shots in the third period and finished with 23 saves. Joseph stopped 36 shots.
"We spent so much energy in our zone that we couldn't put an attack on them," said Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn. "They had free reign in the second and third periods. I know we didn't defend as well and we didn't play as well in a lot of areas.
"Clearly, their objective was to put a lot of rubber at the net. That's been their success story for a long time. They did it well tonight, and we couldn't seem to combat it."
Game Five is Friday in Toronto.
Monday April 26, 1999 Toronto at Philadelphia
Toronto leads 2-1
This was exactly why the Maple Leafs signed Curtis Joseph. Joseph made 40 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Flyers 2-1 Monday night, taking command in their first-round playoff series. The Maple Leafs took a 2-1 lead in the series despite getting outshot 41-21.
Joseph outplayed Flyers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, who had held the Leafs scoreless in the first 118 minutes of the series. But Toronto might have turned the momentum of the series with two goals in the final two minutes of Game 2. It carried over to the pivotal third game.
The Flyers, playing without injured superstar Eric Lindros, are 5-11 in seven-game series in which they trail 2-1. Philadelphia has lost five of its last six home playoff games.
Steve Thomas, maligned in Philadelphia for a hard check on Eric Desjardins in the second game, scored the game-winner on a power play 40 seconds into the second period. It snapped an 0-for-15 power-play drought in the series, and 0-for-33 including the end of the regular season.
Mike Johnson also scored for the Leafs, and Karl Dykhuis scored the Flyers' only goal -- a shot that Joseph didn't see because he was screened.
Philadelphia was 0-for-5 on power plays, including a six-on-four advantage in the final 65 seconds when it pulled Vanbiesbrouck.
Joseph, nicknamed "Cujo," was magnificent. He made 11 saves in the third, stopping John LeClair from the side of the net for save No. 33.
His 35th save was spectacular, too. Joseph tipped Keith Jones' close-in backhander with his skate, then stopped a shot from the point and a rebound for saves No. 38 and 39. He finished the job with 4� minutes left, absorbing a shot by Rod Brind'Amour with his chest and pouncing on the rebound.
The Flyers had been miffed by hard checks by Kris King and Thomas in Game 2, but the chippy play that some expected didn't really develop.
Dykhuis, whose first playoff goal gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the first, proved that the best way to beat Joseph is with shots he can't see.
Working the left point, Dykhuis waited for LeClair's screen to develop and fired a shot that whizzed between LeClair and Mikael Renberg. It went over Joseph's right shoulder with 3:44 left in the period. Joseph, signed as a free agent last summer, was looking to his left and didn't see the puck until it was in the net.
But the emotional lift was short-lived for the Flyers, who were stunned by Johnson's goal 10 seconds later. Chris McAllister bounced the puck off the boards after the faceoff at center ice, and Steve Sullivan pushed it ahead to Johnson. His weak backhander surprised Vanbiesbrouck, who had his stick in the air and his feet nearly crossed as the puck deflected in off his skate.
Craig Berube, the Flyers' resident goon, committed a senseless penalty with 13 seconds left in the first, skating into Thomas and knocking him down during a stoppage in play. It came back to haunt the Flyers when Thomas scored his second playoff goal.
Vanbiesbrouck, who showed early signs of shakiness, barely moved as Thomas' shot sailed past him on the stick side.
Saturday April 24, 1999 Philadelphia at Toronto
Series tied 1-1
The Toronto Maple Leafs were looking for a hero when captain Mats Sundin stepped forward Saturday night. Criticized in some circles after Philadelphia's 3-0 win in Game 1 on Thursday for ineffective play, Sundin swept a backhand shot off a rebound over the right shoulder of Flyer goalie John Vanbiesbrouck with 52.4 seconds remaining, giving the Leafs a 2-1 victory and evening the best-of-7, first-round series at one win apiece.
Toronto scored both of its goals in the game's final two minutes after being blanked by Vanbiesbrouck for 118 minutes in the series.
"I don't read the papers or anything now," Sundin said of expectations of him. "I just shut myself down and worry about my game.
"Obviously, I know it's important for us and myself to have a good playoffs. I've never made it through the first round and the Stanley Cup is the biggest thing you can play for as a hockey player. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well and I don't pay a lot of attention to what's going on around me. I just try to get my job done."
Games 3 and 4 are in Philadelphia on Monday and Wednesday, and Game 5 will be back at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night.
"Mats has got a lot of pressure on him," said linemate Steve Thomas, whose tying goal with 1:59 remaining ended Vanbiesbrouck's shutout string. "I don't know whether he feels it but it's induced by the media and it's tough for anybody.
"He knows he's our big player and he should produce. When you open the paper it's his name in there. He's looked to be the one who should carry our team to the promised land. But it's not one guy. It's 20 guys."
For most of Game 2, it appeared as if Toronto could use 50 guys and still not score.
Keith Jones scored in the first period, and the Flyers' defense-first strategy had the Leafs frustrated. The team that scored more goals than any other NHL team during the regular season couldn't get going.
Only some great saves by Curtis Joseph early in the game kept the Leafs in the game. Then Thomas scored and it was a new game -- for all of the 67 seconds it took before Sundin struck.
"Sergei (Berezin) made a good play coming around the net," Sundin said. "The puck rolled out and I was able to get it over Vanbiesbrouck's shoulder." The Flyers knew they'd let the win slip through their fingers. They'd been only two minutes away from a 2-0 series lead.
"We played well defensively but we could have played better offensively," said Jones. "We need to score more goals."
Sundin lauded the Flyers' effort.
"We were very frustrated after the first period," he said. "We came in (to the dressing room) and tried to talk to each other to settle each other down.
"After that, I thought we played better."
Just when it looked as if Philadelphia would post its second straight shutout, Thomas sped down the right wing around Chris Therien, cut to the net and sent a low backhander toward the Vanbiesbrouck. Somehow the puck found an opening between a leg pad and the post.
"Luckily it went in on a backhander," said Thomas. "I don't usually take backhanders because of the curve in my stick."
There was a great sense of relief in the Leafs' dressing room.
"It was a great comeback," said Curtis Joseph. "We've made comebacks all year and that kind of experience and confidence that we have scoring goals paid off tonight. We have enough firepower in this room and we showed that all year. We hoped it was only a matter of time before we broke through."
Thursday April 22, 1999 Philadelphia at Toronto
Philadelphia leads 1-0
The Philadelphia Flyers played with poise and patience, while the Toronto Maple Leafs played as if in a panic to impress in their first playoff appearance in three years.
It was easy for the Maple Leafs to get frustrated, too, given the play of Flyers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.
Vanbiesbrouck stopped all 25 Toronto shots -- including a penalty shot by Mats Sundin. At the other end, Valeri Zelepukin, John LeClair and Eric Desjardins scored as the Flyers opened the first-round playoff series with a 3-0 victory Thursday night.
"It's only one game but it's a great start for us," said LeClair. "Hopefully, we can build off of it. We have to do a lot better. They had some really good scoring chances. We can't rely on Beezer to that magnitude every night."
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference series is Saturday.
The Game 1 turning point came early.
Toronto had a two-man advantage for two full minutes in the 11th minute of the first period and could not score. Vanbiesbrouck robbed Steve Thomas with a glove save. Then, shortly after returning to full strength, the Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead on Zelepukin's goal.
"We just didn't score on our chances," said Sundin. "We created a lot of stuff but weren't able to capitalize."
The Maple Leafs had planned to beat the Flyers with superior speed, but bad passes and persistent Flyers checking ruined Toronto's offensive flow. The giveaways at game's end had Toronto on the high end of a dubious 24-10 count.
"They tried more," said LeClair. "When you try to open it up like that, you're going to have more giveaways. Part of it, too, is that we played well in the neutral zone."
LeClair's power-play goal at 11:32 of the second period made it 2-0. The Maple Leafs were two men short when LeClair, open in front of Joseph, banged in Rod Brind'Amour's pass.
Vanbiesbrouck stopped Sundin's penalty shot 51 seconds into the third by getting his left forearm in the way of a wrist shot. Toronto got the free shot when Steve Duchesne grabbed the puck in his team's crease.
"Anytime a goaltender does that for a team, it's a big lift," LeClair said. "Everybody got a big boost on that penalty shot."
The Maple Leafs' attempt at a late rally fizzled in the face of the Flyers' disciplined positional play. Desjardins scored with 16.5 seconds remaining with Joseph on the bench for an extra attacker.
The Flyers were in the Stanley Cup finals two years ago and their edge in postseason experience showed.
"It helps in certain situations," LeClair said. "Nobody got frazzled, especially on the early five-on-three, then on the penalty shot. And it helps when Beezer is making big saves like that."
Flyers coach Roger Neilson said being on the road helped his team.
"Sometimes it's hard playing the first game at home," Neilson said. "That's why in the first series it's often good to start on the road."
The Maple Leafs were generally satisfied with their effort.
"During the regular season, they probably would have fell in," Derek King said of the Maple Leafs' scoring chances. "Tonight it didn't happen that way.
"But I felt we worked hard and kept coming at them. We didn't quit when they got up 2-0. I think it's good. Everybody's got a little taste of playoff hockey again. It's been a while. We've got a job ahead of us, but we knew that coming into it."
Joseph made 21 saves.
"I thought we played well," he said. "It was just one of those games where it didn't go in for us."
Coach Pat Quinn said the Maple Leafs dumped the puck into Philadelphia's zone too often. His players should have carried it in more, he said.
"We somehow decided we were going to be a shoot-the-puck-in hockey team," he said. "We didn't get to a puck we shot in all night.
"We were pretty easy to play early in the game."
His players were not demoralized.
"We had a solid effort from everybody," said Sundin. "It just wasn't our night. I think we should be satisfied with the effort we had, but at the same time capitalize on the chances we get next time."