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Phoenix-San Jose: PO-Stand 1:1
Burke battles through playoff demons
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Before the game, Phoenix coach Bob Francis challenged Shane Doan to step up. Before the third period, Francis did the same to Daniel Briere.
Francis didn't need to challenge Sean Burke -- the Coyotes' goalie has his own playoff history to motivate him.
Burke made 27 saves to earn just his third postseason victory since 1988, and Doan and Briere scored third-period goals as Phoenix evened its first-round series at 1, beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday.
The underdog Coyotes, who made the playoffs despite shedding nearly every quality veteran player from last season's roster, wrested home-ice advantage away from San Jose heading to Game 3 on Monday night at America West Arena.
Both teams expect a long, punishing series between two teams not known for offensive fireworks, so one victory barely bothered or excited either team. But Phoenix saw encouraging signs from Burke, who was nearly flawless in net after his misplay in Game 1 allowed San Jose to score the winning goal.
"We're not the kind of team that has superstars that are going to take over games for you," Burke said. "We all have to play our roles, and you saw every guy taking a role today."
It didn't happen without a few gut checks from Francis, who told Doan it was time to emerge from his mediocre regular season. Doan responded with one of the most physical performances in an afternoon full of hard checks and hard-nosed defense by both teams.
"You could feel from all the energy in the building and on the ice that it was going to be a hard-hitting kind of game," Doan said. "I just tried to play a physical game, but it was great to get a goal."
With Phoenix clinging to a 1-0 lead after the second period, Francis called out Briere, the diminutive center who had a breakout offensive season, in front of his teammates.
A few minutes later, Briere made a spectacular end-to-end rush, shaking a defender at the blue line and firing a clean wrist shot for a power-play goal.
"He's the one guy for us that can give us a big spark all by himself, and he did it," Burke said.
Daymond Langkow scored the first goal for the Coyotes, who haven't won a playoff series since the Winnipeg Jets made the conference semifinals in 1987. Denis Pederson, one of the few veterans on Phoenix's surprising young roster, had two assists.
With managing partner Wayne Gretzky cheering from a luxury box, Phoenix's defense-first style and San Jose's inability to solve it made for a dull, bruising game, but one the Coyotes were very comfortable playing. It has mystified San Jose, which went more than 89 minutes between goals.
"We've got to get more traffic in front of their net and hop on more rebounds and create more," Mike Ricci said. "Technically, we've lost home-ice advantage, but we look forward the challenge of playing someplace that's hostile."
Marco Sturm scored the lone goal for the Sharks, who have just six goals in their last four playoff games.
Burke came within a few minutes of his first postseason shutout in 14 years, allowing only Sturm's rebound goal with 5:41 left. The Coyotes also got a boost from the return of captain and top defenseman Teppo Numminen, who played more than 21 minutes after sitting out Game 1 with a broken left foot.
After a scoreless first period, the Coyotes took their first lead of the series when Langkow got up from a crushing check by Owen Nolan and headed for the net, where he put a rebound of Doan's shot past Nabokov.
"It's always harder to play when they get the puck on the net consistently," said Nabokov, who stopped 20 shots. "They got the first and third (goals) on the rebound, so they did their job."
Less than a minute after Sturm's goal closed San Jose to within 2-1, the Sharks allowed a 3-on-1 rush that ended with Doan's rebound goal.
Game notes
The Sharks dropped to 3-14 in afternoon playoff games. ... After using rookie Jeff Jillson as a seventh defenseman in Game 1, the Sharks scratched Jillson and used rookie F Matt Bradley. ... Phoenix D Dan Focht, who scored his first NHL point in Game 1, was scratched in favor of Numminen. ... San Jose has won the first two games just once in the franchise's 10 playoff series, beating the Flames twice in Calgary in 1995.
Ottawa-Philadelphia: PO-Stand 1:1
Lalime makes 33 saves for shutout
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Patrick Lalime took a swipe at the puck, unsure where it was going. A few seconds later, it was in the other net.
Lalime made 33 saves, including an outstanding play that turned the game around, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Saturday to even their first-round playoff series at 1.
Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and former Flyer Jody Hull scored for the Senators, who had lost 13 straight on the road in the postseason and seven in a row overall.
Game 3 is Monday night in Ottawa.
"He had an outstanding game," Senators coach Jacques Martin said of Lalime. "He played well Wednesday night, but we didn't score for him. Tonight was his turn. He made a couple big saves and we were able to turn it back and get an important goal."
Lalime, who lost his first five playoff starts, withstood a flurry of shots after the Senators' first goal, and later set up their second goal.
The Senators went up 1-0 on a 4-on-3 power-play, when Radek Bonk sent a pass to Alfredsson, who blasted a shot over Roman Cechmanek's right pad midway through the second period.
Even though the goal seemed to energize the Flyers, Lalime made several crucial saves. First, he stopped a redirected shot by Adam Oates. Then he stuffed Justin Williams on consecutive backhanders from in close, and stoned Chris Therien on a point-blank shot. Finally, Lalime gloved a stuffer by Ruslan Fedotenko.
"It's mind-boggling to me that we can't find the net right now," Flyers center Jeremy Roenick said. "We had chance after chance. It seems like every shot we take misses the net. We can't have that."
The Flyers had an opportunity to tie the game early in the third when Williams' pass hit Simon Gagne in stride, allowing him to break in on Lalime. But when Gagne went for a backhander, Lalime poke-checked the puck away. It bounced out to the point, got past Therien and went to Fisher, who skated in all alone and beat Cechmanek with a lifter for a 2-0 lead 3:53 into the third.
"I just slid across," Lalime said. "I didn't know if he was going to shoot. It was one of those plays where everything falls in place."
Hull's one-timer made it 3-0 with 4:03 left.
Cechmanek, who made 35 saves for his first playoff shutout in a 1-0 overtime victory Wednesday night, stopped 23 shots.
Philadelphia nearly scored the first goal early in the second, but Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden swept the puck away inches from the goal line after a shot by Mark Recchi got behind Lalime.
"We just have to find a way to score," Gagne said. "We need guys up front. We are not taking advantage of rebounds."
The Flyers were outshot 32-15 in regulation in the opener, before finishing with 24 shots.
"There was a lot of pressure on us," Alfredsson said. "It was a great effort by a lot of guys, especially Lalime. He helped us stay in the game, gave us a chance to win."
Game notes
Ottawa's last road playoff win was 2-1 over New Jersey on April 22, 1998. The Senators won that series as a No. 8 seed. They've won just one playoff series in their 10-year history. ... Despite a lineup that includes several All-Stars, Philadelphia has scored just 17 goals in its last 12 games. ... The Flyers, who have the worst power play of all the playoff teams, went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage. ... The Flyers have won just two of their last 12 against Ottawa at home. ... Fisher's goal was his first in six playoff games. ... Eleven of the Senators' first 19 shots came on the power play.
Berichte von ESPN.com
Mats
Ich werde keinerlei Prognosen, den Ausgang der nächsten Saison betreffend, abgeben!
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