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It's gotta be the meatloaf The way to Tucker's goal is through his stomach
Posted: Thursday April 13, 2000 01:18 AM
By Chris Stevenson, SLAM! Sports TORONTO -- Mother-in-law. Meatloaf. Not exactly words any red-blooded Canadian male would want in the same sentence, never mind the same room. But Toronto Maple Leafs forward Darcy Tucker drove about an hour north to Barrie, Ont., on Tuesday to have meatloaf at the restaurant, Mom's Pantry, owned by his mother-in-law, June Corson, mom of Montreal Canadiens forward Shayne Corson. The meatloaf, cooked up by Tucker's sister-in-law, Patti, is Tucker's lucky meal. "I'm a meat and potatoes kind of player," said Tucker, "so Patti said that's what I should fill up on." The last time Tucker went up there to eat before a game, he scored two goals. Tucker made hamburger of the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night with his first career playoff goal. Tucker, out on the power play in the second period, took a pass from Yanic Perreault and fired the puck through the legs of an Ottawa defender. The shot caught Ottawa goaltender Tom Barrasso moving to his left, found its way through and gave the Leafs the winner in their 2-0 victory in the first game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal. "It was a great play at the blue line by Yanic Perreault, who I think is one of the best playmakers in the NHL. He put the puck right through the D-man's legs," said Tucker after the game, unaware at the time Perreault later sustained a knee injury and could be out for the rest of the series. "The puck was a little bit off my back foot and I tried to get (Barrasso) moving side-to-side. When a goalie has to move like that, he's got to open up a little room. He can't move across as a package because he gives up too much room. "I shot it between the D-man's legs and it was tough to see. It seemed to handcuff him." Tucker's name is often associated with four-letter words, but goal is not one of them, not in the post-season. After a loss in the Eastern Conference final last spring, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided they needed more grit and Tucker, some steel wool who grates on the NHL's china plates, was brought into the fold in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning in February. Mike Johnson, a skilled, but soft player, went the other way. You don't think the Leafs really like that deal now? Only enough that a grinder like Tucker has now earned time on the power play. Toronto goaltender Curtis Joseph said Tucker has hands suited to more than just banging buckets. "He can play," said Joseph. "He's got some good hands. He's excited about that goal. He was gritty tonight and we needed him to be strong along the boards." "I don't think they brought me in here to be a pretty boy," said Tucker who wound up second on the Leafs in penalty minutes with 163 -- most of them picked up in Tampa -- this season. "But it is important to produce in the big games, to do things like getting the puck deep which was the situation in the third period where we had to put the puck behind their defence and play it safe. I'm not going to go out there and dipsy doodle. I thing I've learned in the NHL is to play within my limits." Those limits expanded quite a bit Wednesday night. "He's a competitive guy. Even if he doesn't score, he can still help you," said Leafs coach and general manager Pat Quinn. "Obviously, it was an important goal and I'm sure Barrasso would like to have it back, but it still went in there." Tucker's goal, which was backed up by an empty netter by Leafs captain Mats Sundin, gave the Leafs the win, but only serves to move the pressure they feel to Saturday when Game 2 will be played at the Air Canada Centre. "Winning the first game of the series doesn't matter if we don't win the next one," said Tucker. "It goes right back into their court. Most teams want a split when they open on the road. I'm sure that's what they're talking about in their room right now." Another win and Tucker and the Leafs will be well on their way to eating the Senators' lunch.
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