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RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Curtis Joseph and the Toronto Maple Leafs got their coach at least one more game. With Pat Quinn back in Toronto, Joseph recorded his 15th career playoff shutout and Darcy Tucker was credited with the lone goal as the Maple Leafs stayed alive in the Eastern Conference finals with a 1-0 blanking of the Carolina Hurricanes. Quinn was released from Toronto General Hospital earlier Saturday but did not make the trip to the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena after undergoing treatment for an irregular heartbeat. He could be back behind the bench for Game Six, which is Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre. "We know how Pat is doing and we're praying for him," Maple Leafs right wing Alexander Mogilny said. "However, when the puck drops, our thoughts are on the ice." Quinn made a surprise appearance behind the bench for Game Four, but the Maple Leafs were shut down by Arturs Irbe, 3-0. Facing elimination, they played with more emotion and got a stellar effort from Joseph, who tied Clint Benedict for second place on the all-time playoff shutout list. "That is the kind of emotion we need," Mogilny said. "It seems that we've been flat lately. The crowd was great, too. We tried to use that energy in a positive way." After leading for barely seven minutes in the first four games of the series, Toronto was in front for nearly 41 1/2 minutes after striking on the power play late in the opening period. "I think for our team, yeah, playing with the lead is very important," Joseph said. "They play such a suffocating style -- where they try not to make any mistakes and just play great defense -- that if we get a lead we have to force them to open up a little bit." Carolina's Jeff O'Neill was penalized for interference at 17:44 and the Leafs converted 48 seconds later. Defenseman Bryan McCabe wristed a shot from above the right faceoff circle that deflected off the skates of Hurricanes defenseman Sean Hill and Tucker before sliding past a helpless Irbe. It was the first goal of the series for Tucker, who returned in Game Two after missing three games with a badly injured shoulder. He had gone three weeks since scoring in Game Two of the conference semifinals. "Never saw the puck," Tucker said. "I saw it go through to the net, but I didn't see after that. I was just looking for a rebound and fortunately, it went off my foot. The game is so fickle, it's unbelievable. Sometimes you get breaks that you don't expect, and we were fortunate to get one tonight." "I saw it happening, but I just didn't have enough time to react," said Irbe, who made 18 saves. Carolina nearly scored first for the fifth straight game, but Joseph denied Bates Battaglia on a backhander off a 2-on-1 midway through the first period. It set the tone for the night as Joseph finished with 27 saves. "Obviously, tonight he was huge and in key parts of the game," Tucker said. "But we've got to be better in front of him, especially on home ice. We have to limit the chances against him and make sure that we play better on home ice." Irbe stuffed Gary Roberts on a wraparound attempt at the right goalpost early in the second period before the Maple Leafs began parading to the penalty box. They had to kill four straight power plays, including a 59-second two-man advantage. Joseph kicked out his right skate to deny Ron Francis on a blast from the right faceoff circle with 6:13 left in the period. Two minutes later, Joseph slid across and squeezed his pads to stop a deflection by defenseman Bret Hedican during another power play. "This one was bang-bang," said Joseph, who was beaten by Hedican on a similar play in Game Two. "Francis is a great passer and it was a one-time shot. You just try to get over there and get as much equipment over ther eand try to make a save." "Generally, your best penalty-killer is your goaltender, and Cujo was sharp," interim coach Rick Ley added. "Plus, I thought we did a pretty good job. We were moving good and moved into the box when we needed to, moved to the triangle when we needed to. The guys, I thought, were sharp and focused." With 12:40 left in the third period, Joseph smothered the puck at the left post after Sami Kapanen spun in the faceoff circle and whipped a shot that deflected off McCabe's left skate. The Hurricanes pulled Irbe for an extra attacker in the final minute and nearly forced overtime. But Rod Brind'Amour put a shot off the near post from the right side after a point shot deflected through the crease. "We were just not moving quite quick enough and we weren't doing the little things we had been doing previously," Battaglia said. "I think we played our game in the third a bit more, but the first two periods, we weren't doing the the things we needed to be successful." "I think our boys faced a wounded animal, if you may," Irbe added. "They played a heck of a game and came very hungry and very strong tonight. We held back a little and then in the third, when we realized we were in a little bit of a hole, we threw everything at them and couldn't capitalize." |
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