December 05, 2003
NHL Roundup
Brian Leetch had two goals, and the New York Rangers withstood a third period charge from the Islanders to win 4-2 on Long Island. Mike Dunham had 37 saves for the Rangers, who managed only 16 shots on the Islanders' Rick DiPietro. The key play came in the second period, when Michael Peca was ejected after laying a brutal hit on the Rangers' Jamie Lundmark:
"What Peca did to Lundmark is not called for," said Sather, the Rangers' coach and GM. "There's a kid who just started to make his career in the NHL, and Peca knees and puts him out.
"We'll find out [Friday], but he has a ligament problem for sure."
Peca didn't think the penalty was justified.
"I know on the play I didn't stick my leg out," Peca said. "He was planted on his skates. I just tried to finish my check."
On the replay, the hit looked clean, as Peca never left his skates. Unfortunately, it was a leg on leg hit, one that Lundmark got the worst of. Earlier in the game, Peca tried to bulldoze Rangers center Bobby Holik, but wound up taking the worst of the hit himself as he was sent sprawling to the ice. Peca isn't exactly a stranger to rough play, and at times has been the victim of cheap shots himself.
With the Rangers win, the all time series between the teams is tied at 84-84-19.
In Boston, the Maple Leafs laid a terrible beating on the Bruins, 6-0. Joe Nieuwendyk and Darcy Tucker had two goals each, and Ed Belfour had 25 saves to grab his second shutout of the season.
Tie f****** Domi scored for Toronto.
In Buffalo, the Coyotes got a goal from Branko Radivojevic with less than 4 minutes remaining to beat the Sabres 3-2. Brian Boucher had 34 saves for Phoenix.
Jason Spezza scored twice in Ottawa's 4-1 win over Tampa Bay. The Lightning are now winless in their last six games. Deep in the heart of Ohio, Nikolai Zherdev got his first NHL goal, but it wasn't enough as Nashville went on to beat Columbus, 4-2. The Predators have won a franchise-record sixth straight, and ten of their last 12.
Martin Brodeur got the 69th shutout of his career, as New Jersey beat Washington, 3-0. The Capitals, who have just 18 points in 26 games this season, could only manage to get nine shots against New Jersey. Said the Caps' Peter Bondra:
"We turned the puck over and played right into their hands," Bondra said. "That's pretty much the whole story and that's why we got slapped in the face."
On the road in St. Louis, the Red Wings scored four times in the third period to earn a 4-4 tie with the Blues. Dominik Hasek was positively lackluster in his return from a groin injury, only managing to stop 14 of 18 St. Louis shots. Chris Pronger had two goals and an assist for St. Louis, who got some good off-ice news as defenseman Al MacInnis began some preliminary workouts in preparation for a possible return from eye surgery.
Jarome Iginla had two goal for Calgary in a 4-1 win over Vancouver. Martin Straka got his first goal in an LA Kings uniform as they beat the Dallas Stars, 3-0. Roman Cechmanek got the shutout for the Kings, as Dallas continues to struggle on defense. And in San Jose, the Sharks blew an early 2-0 lead, and had to settle for a 2-2 tie with Colorado.
Off the ice, the Edmonton Oilers jersey that Wayne Gretzky wore in the Heritage Classic last month fetched $26,000 in a charity auction. In Philadelphia, it was announced that veteran center Claude Lapointe has entered the league's substance abuse program for an unspecified addiction. Lapointe signed a two-year contract with the Flyers before this season, after coming over from the Islanders in a trade at last Spring's deadline. Good luck to him and his family.
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