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From the hip Quinn fires first shot in Battle of Ontario
Posted: Wednesday April 12, 2000 02:20 AM
By Mike Zeisberger, Toronto Sun It was the first official shot fired in the Battle of Ontario. It won't be the last. Not when Pat Quinn is in the house. Quinn's inaugural news conference of the playoffs was barely three minutes old yesterday when the Maple Leafs general manager/coach delivered the initial salvo of what is certain to be an emotional playoff series against the Ottawa Senators. When asked about the rivalry between the two teams, Quinn dipped into the history books to dig up some lingering dirt on his foes. "Over the past two years, there have been some intense games," Quinn said. "I remember one of their players broke (Alexander) Karpovtsev's arm last year. Karpovtsev might not remember but I do. "I'm not allowed to break anyone's arm behind the bench." Who was the Ottawa player who committed this dastardly deed? "One of the Swedish guys," Quinn said coyly, refusing to divulge a name. A check through The Toronto Sun archives revealed that the culprit was Andreas Johansson, whose slash broke Karpovtsev's wrist in November 1998. Johansson since has moved on to the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning. As for Karpovtsev, he indeed could not recall the player involved. Like him or hate him, Quinn's candid approach often takes the spotlight off his players. That is his intention. It is that same philosophy that has caused Quinn to be so outspoken about the way Leafs goaltenders Curtis Joseph and Glenn Healy have been battered within the crease this season by opposing forwards. Quinn understands that the Leafs will advance only as far as Joseph takes them, and as a result will use whatever words or tactics it takes to protect his star goalie. Quinn's comments on the subject caused NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to respond last week by saying that the Leafs' complaints concerning the no-harm, no-foul rule are not mirrored by the rest of the league. In any event, it is common knowledge around the NHL that the way to beat the Leafs is to get in Joseph's face and rattle him. Both Quinn and Joseph expect the Senators to employ such tactics. "We're going to have to deal with that," Quinn said. "It has such an effect that even the chairman of the league makes a comment about it. "They didn't call it during the season, so don't expect to have it called now." Joseph yesterday reacted to Bettman's comments. "I've seen lots of goalies react and protest certain goals," Joseph said. "In the past month, Marty (Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils) and (the Buffalo Sabres' Dominik) Hasek have done it in games against us. I'm not sure what Gary was referring to when it came to Toronto complaints." Will the traffic make him feel as if he's playing road hockey on the Don Valley Parkway during rush hour? "It won't be like playing the Flyers," Joseph said. "No one is bigger than Eric Lindros and John LeClair, especially when they are falling on top of you. "But there's no doubt that the Senators go to the net hard. The only thing you can do is expect the worst and be ready for anything."
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