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War of words Senators, Leaf coaches argue over injuries
Posted: Saturday April 15, 2000 02:17 AM
KANATA, Ontario (AP) -- Ottawa coach Jacques Martin wants the NHL to muzzle Toronto coach Pat Quinn following his comments after Game 1 of the playoff series between the Senators and Maple Leafs. "I think the league needs to take a stand here. Do they want to see hockey on the ice or do they want a battle in the papers?" Martin said on Friday after Toronto's 2-0 victory in the opener of the best-of-7 series stretched Ottawa's playoff losing streak to nine games. Quinn lashed out at Senators defenseman Jason York after Leafs center Yanic Perreault went down with torn knee ligaments that will keep him out for at least six months. It was the fourth significant injury Toronto players have suffered against the Senators this season: Mats Sundin fractured the instep of his right ankle when he was hit by a shot by Radek Bonk last Oct. 9; Bryan Berard suffered a serious eye injury when struck by Marian Hossa's stick March 11; and Danny Markov broke his left foot when hit by Sami Salo's shot March 23. The Berard incident prompted Quinn to say the Senators were a team that liked to carry their sticks high. Ottawa finished the regular season as the second-lowest penalized team at 10.4 minutes per game. Quinn later tempered his stance on York's hit after seeing the replay. However, he still told reporters: "For a team that likes to say they turn the other cheek, a lot of players -- and it's not just guys on our team -- get hurt against them." Martin fired back Friday. "I think he can make whatever comments he wants to make, that's his prerogative -- but it kind of gets to be an old tune every day," he said. "It probably is gamesmanship. He's been around a long time. Martin has his own injury problems. Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden will be out for the remainder of the first-round series because of a fractured right foot. He was hit with a shot last Sunday in the Senators' regular-season finale against Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the players chalk Quinn's complaints up to too many days in between games. "We hear about it. When you come in the locker-room, someone's always read it," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "Sometimes I wish we were as tough as makes us to be. "He's putting the pressure on our side. We don't really bother with what he says. If he wants to call Jason's hit on Perreault the dirtiest hit in hockey he's seen in 35 years, that's fine with me." After the loss of Perreault, Quinn reunited the line of Sergei Berezin, Igor Korolev and Garry Valk, who skated together most of last season, until Korolev went down with a leg injury in the opening game of the playoffs. They also spent about 25 games as linemates this season while Perreault was sidelined with a broken arm. The only reason they weren't permanent partners was that Quinn had to find room in the middle for Perreault, who is expected to undergo surgery within the next 48 hours to repair the torn knee ligaments. "It's not like we don't know what to expect from each other," Valk said after practice Friday. "We've played a lot of hockey together. I can't see why we wouldn't click. We've scored a lot of big goals as a line. We have a lot of confidence in each other." "We know each other pretty well," said Korolev. "I know what Sergei can do, and he knows what I can do, and Garry helps us a lot because he's a really good forechecker and he creates space for us. "I think we can do some damage."
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