February 06, 2004
NHL Roundup
Part IV of the Battle of Ontario turned into a thriller, as Toronto roared back from four goals down to defeat the Senators in Kanata, 5-4 in OT. Mats Sundin tied the score at 4 with 5:03 remaining, completing Toronto's climb back from an early 4-0 deficit, and Owen Nolan completed the comeback scoring with just 30.7 seconds left in OT. For the Senators, the All-Star break couldn't have come at a better time, as two players, Chris Neil and Karel Rachunek, left the game due to the flu. Wade Redden never even made it onto the ice:
"I've never seen anything like it," Senators defenseman Curtis Leschyshynsaid. "I saw three guys getting intravenous.
"They brought in soup and rice just to try and get food into the guys. I saw players lying on couches with blankets wrapped around them before an NHL game. It's beyond comprehension."
But Alfredsson wasn't about to alibi.
"That's no excuse," the Ottawa captain said. "We went out there to try and keep it simple, but you could see at the end they had a lot more energy.
"It's really frustrating."
Both Redden and Marian Hossa, whose visor was shattered by a shot of the stick of Ken Klee, resulting in a gash that required nine stitches, have pulled themselves out of the All-Star Game. After the game, Damien Cox said it's time for the Senators to ditch Patrick Lalime.
The night's other big matchup came out West, where a Brett Hull goal gave Detroit a 3-2 win over Colorado in OT, completing a comeback from a 2-0 deficit. Avalanche fans, upset at a call that gave double minors for high sticking to both Adam Foote and Steve Konowalchuk with only 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation, pelted the ice with debris throughout the OT period.
Off the ice, erstwhile Wings goalie Dominik Hasek worked out in full gear on Wednesday and Thursday, but there's still no target date for his return.
Back East, the Canucks escaped the New York metropolitan area with a win, shutting out the Devils, 4-0. Henrik and Daniel Sedin both scored for Vancouver, while Dan Cloutier got the shutout. In Buffalo, the Bruins polished off the Sabres 6-2. Joe Thornton, his right eye nearly swollen shut because of a broken cheekbone, had a goal and an assist.
In Nashville, the Lightning grabbed another two points, beating the Predators, 5-2. Five different players scored for Tampa Bay, and Cory Stillman added three assists. In San Jose, the Sharks padded their lead in the Pacific, beating Phoenix 5-0. Evgeny Nabakov had 20 saves in the shutout win.
Out in Calgary, St. Louis snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Flames. Rookie Michael Ryder got the game winning goal in the third period of Montreal's 2-1 win over the Islanders. And finally, in Atlanta, the Flyers crushed the Thrashers, 5-1. Antero Nittymaki got his second NHL win in as many starts for Philly, stopping 20 shots.
A few weeks ago, I said the game was in trouble. And in terms of its long-term financial future, there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome. But in just those few weeks, the races have tightened considerably, with no one team able to take control of either conference.
In the East, Philly, Toronto and Tampa Bay all lead their divisions -- but with the Lightning really the only team that could feel comfortable as they lead both Atlanta and Florida by 15 points. Philly has a mere five point lead over New Jersey, while Toronto has both Boston and Ottawa well within striking distance.
In the West, Colorado, Detroit and San Jose lead their divisions, the Wings with the biggest lead, 12 points over St. Louis and Nashville. Despite its league leading 73 points, Colorado still has the Canucks in their rear view mirror just one point behind. San Jose has a five point lead over Dallas, though the Stars seemed to have finally righted the ship.
Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says it's time to throw the book at Don Cherry. Maybe the CBC should fire Cherry, where he'll wait about five minutes before somebody from TSN gives him a new job. Jim Abbot, a conservative MP, called the investigation a waste of taxpayer money.
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Went to the Devils - Canucks game last night--the Canucks looked dominatingly impressive, and the Devils seemed lost without Scott Stevens.
I was down there with two other Leafs' fans, and we went from disappointed to gleeful when the Leafs came back from 4 goals down to win 5-4. It was especially sweet because it reinforces Senators fans' insecurities about their team's inability to beat the Leafs. It's a beautiful thing.
Posted by:
at February 6, 2004 11:24 AM
I didn't really see much in the call against Konowalchuck (in the Avs-Wings game), but the high stick Yzerman took from Foote was brutal...
Posted by:
at February 6, 2004 12:35 PM
And they say February games are meaningless...
Posted by:
at February 6, 2004 01:59 PM
I agree with John. Foote's penalty was a no-doubter, Konowalchuk's was dubious (at least, replays didn't show much of anything). Of course, Konowalchuk's penalty would have been mitigated (for the first two minutes, anyway) if the officials had called the Wings for tackling Sakic during the same shift.
Posted by:
at February 6, 2004 08:56 PM
Let's be honest, there were plenty of non-calls on both sides leading up to the Konowalchuk penalty. Maltby pushed down near the goal well after the whistle, Forsberg taking out--I can't remember who, Schneider?--just inside the blueline, etc.
Posted by:
at February 6, 2004 09:29 PM
That's true, which is why, to me at least, the Konowalchuk penalty was such a surprise, especially since it was a double-minor and Draper wasn't apparently bleeding. I don't mean to say that it was a bad call, merely that it seemed out-of-character given how the rest of the action was being called.
Posted by:
at February 6, 2004 11:02 PM
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