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Green light Cechmanek finally relents in double overtimePosted: Monday April 21, 2003 11:14 PMUpdated: Tuesday April 22, 2003 1:00 PM
TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs won't be celebrating their Game 6 survival for long. Travis Green scored 10:51 into the second overtime as the Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 Monday night to force a decisive Game 7 in the first-round series. The teams have played seven overtime periods during the first six games of the series but will have to recover in a hurry because Game 7 is Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Not since the 1950 Stanley Cup finals have Games 6 and 7 of a series been played on consecutive nights. "We live to play another game," Green said. "It was quite a relief when the puck went in." Green backhanded a shot over goalie Roman Cechmanek after Darcy Tucker's rebound landed in front of the net.
All three games played in Toronto in this series were decided in overtime. "We had an opportunity. We didn't capitalize and it's disappointing, but we have to quickly regroup," Philadelphia captain Keith Primeau said. "It's going to be a huge challenge for both teams to quickly replenish and get recharged, but because of what's at stake, I don't think it will be hard for the guys to get motivated." Toronto won 4-2 in double overtime to take a 2-1 series lead last Monday night, but the Flyers won 3-2 in triple overtime last Wednesday and 4-1 on Saturday. Jeremy Roenick scored for the Flyers, who have lost in the first round four of the past five years. Roenick said the Flyers will have the edge Tuesday. "It's a big bonus for us to be playing in our building with our fans," Roenick said. "It's a one-game series now. There's no time to rest." Toronto's Mats Sundin almost won it in the first overtime with a backhanded shot, but Cechmanek made a sprawling pad save. Sundin later hit the post. Gary Roberts missed a few good chances in both overtimes.
Ed Belfour stopped 35 shots. "We showed a lot of character," Belfour said. "We have a never-say-die attitude." The Flyers didn't have top defenseman Eric Desjardins, who is out two-to-four weeks with a broken bone in his right foot. Desjardins was injured while blocking a shot in Game 5. Toronto outshot Philadelphia 9-1 in the first 12 minutes of the game and took a 1-0 lead. Cechmanek tried to pick up his glove as Robert Reichel's bad-angle shot went over his shoulder to give Toronto a 1-0 advantage at 10:35 of the first. Roenick, who missed some shifts early in the second after being checked into the boards, tied it at 1 at 15:23. Sami Kapanen made a drop pass to Roenick, whose slap shot from the circle beat Belfour. Roenick said he was hurt "real bad" on the check. "Toronto fans like to see people get hurt," Roenick said. "I had trouble skating in the third. I caught my leg real bad in the corner." The Maple Leafs received a penalty shot late in the second after Cechmanek threw his stick at the puck, but Cechmanek made an easy save on Reichel's slap shot. Moments earlier Reichel hit the post after Tie Domi made a pass from behind the net.
Notes: The Colorado-Minnesota series in the Western Conference was
also stretched to seven games with the Wild's 3-2 overtime victory
Monday night. Game 7 of that series will be Tuesday night in
Denver. ... Toronto's Nik Antropov returned to the lineup after
missing just four games with a broken bone in his foot. ...
Belfour, who turned 38 on Monday, is second among active goalies
with 40 overtime games. He is 22-18 in those contests. ... The
Flyers killed Toronto's two-man advantage in the first. ... Jim
Vandermeer, who replaced Desjardins in the lineup, appeared woozy
after Toronto's Tom Fitzgerald checked him to the ice in the third.
Philadelphia's Chris Therien later sent Fitzgerald into the Flyers
bench with a check.
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