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Survival of the fittest Leafs live to see another day with 1-0 shutout of 'CanesPosted: Saturday May 25, 2002 10:02 PMUpdated: Sunday May 26, 2002 1:51 AM
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- There's something about being at the brink of elimination in this postseason that has brought out the best in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Darcy Tucker scored in the first period and Curtis Joseph turned away 27 shots as the Maple Leafs beat the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 Saturday night to stay alive in the Eastern Conference finals. With assistant coach Rick Ley filling in for an ailing Pat Quinn behind the bench, Toronto snapped Carolina's three-game winning streak and now returns to the Air Canada Centre for Game 6 Tuesday night trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. "We've been through a lot as a group in these playoffs and it has made us a lot stronger and a lot harder egg to crack," Tucker said. "I'm very proud to play on a team like this. We have a long road ahead, but we got one. Now we've got to get the next one." If necessary, Game 7 would be in Raleigh on Thursday night.
It was the fourth elimination game that the Leafs have won this postseason. Toronto won Game 7 against the New York Islanders in the first round and took Games 6 and 7 against Ottawa last round. "We've been there before so I think this is the third, fourth time our lives have been on the line," defenseman Bryan McCabe said. "We fought through it, so hopefully we can keep on going. We'd love to have another game back here." The Prince of Wales Trophy was in the arena, but Carolina couldn't clinch its first trip to the Stanley Cup finals despite desperate hockey in the third period -- the kind of play it could have used much earlier. A shot by Rod Brind'Amour with 17.3 seconds left could have tied it, but he hit the post and spun out of the crease. "In hindsight I should have taken an extra second and just buried it," Brind'Amour said. "The puck was right there and the reaction is just to kind of whack at it. That's kind of how the game went for me. I didn't have a very good game." The Maple Leafs rallied to win their first two series over the Islanders and Senators in seven games, and have gotten a host of injured players back in this series.
One of them was Tucker. His goal late in the first period on a power play was his third career postseason game-winner. "It wasn't really much of a goal," said Tucker, whose fourth of the postseason hit off his skate. "But when you're on the brink of elimination any game-winning goal is huge for the team. "I think the game is very fickle in that aspect," Tucker added. "Sometimes you can do nothing all night and one goes off your foot and everybody is excited and everything is back to normal and you're playing better." Meanwhile, Joseph notched his third shutout of this postseason and 15th of his career to prolong the series many believed would end Saturday night. Joseph didn't get much work in the first two periods, but was sensational in the third, stopping 15 shots as Carolina poured it on offensively. He kept out a Bates Battaglia attempt from close in 3:19 into the period, then stopped Battaglia with a diving stop six minutes later as the Maple Leafs backed into a defensive shell.
The record crowd of 19,016 was jacked up at the start of the game, but Carolina gave its rabid fans little to cheer about through two periods, throwing just 12 shots at Joseph. Defenseman Aaron Ward had no explanation for why Carolina came out flat. "That's why you have a seven-game series," Ward said. "From game to game you have different looks and we just came out with a bad look tonight." The Hurricanes missed several opportunities to get back in the game when the Maple Leafs, undisciplined through most of the postseason, took four straight minor penalties over a 6 1/2-minute span in the middle of the second period. At one point, Carolina had a two-man advantage for 59 seconds, but didn't get a shot on goal. Carolina's best scoring chance came midway through a Gary Roberts high-sticking penalty, but Joseph made a great sliding save on Bret Hedican's attempt from the left circle. Carolina was sloppy in its own end most of the first period and Toronto finally cashed in on the power play with 1:28 left as Bryan McCabe's shot bounced off Hurricanes defenseman Sean Hill and then Tucker's skate to go past goalie Arturs Irbe. It was the first time in the five games that the Maple Leafs have scored first. "It's the first time they've had to play from down. It's a little different for them -- and a little different for us," said McCabe, who played 10 of his 27 1/2 minutes in the third period. "You're more comfortable when you have the lead. We got CuJo that one goal and he just shut the door for us." Notes: Hurricanes D Glen Wesley has gone 30 postseason games without a point. ... The BBC line of Brind'Amour, Battaglia and Erik Cole combined for 14 of Carolina's first 30 goals in the playoffs, but hasn't gotten one by Joseph. ... Dempsey replaced Anders Eriksson in the lineup. Dempsey had a key assist in the series opener, but had been a healthy scratch for three straight games. |
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Rick Ley gives Curtis Joseph much of the credit for keeping the 'Canes off the board on power plays. 
