FTS - 4/27/09

TOP STORY

Seven and Seven

The Rangers lay an egg in a chance to clinch at home while the Hurricanes storm the Devils back to Newark for a Game 7

(Photo Credits - AP)

PLAYOFF ACTION...

(2) Washington Capitals (3-3) over the (7) New York Rangers (3-3) 5-3

John Tortorella's view from a suite was no better than the one from the bench, and the suspended coach watched helplessly as Washington dominated his Rangers for the second straight game and put them on the brink of elimination, too. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist again didn't make it to the third period, and Washington defenseman Tom Poti torched his former team in the Capitals' 5-3 victory Sunday that set up a decisive Game 7 on Tuesday.

"He can't play every game like a god," Capitals star Alex Ovechkin said of Lundqvist, who had stopped 141 of 149 shots in the first four games when the Rangers grabbed a 3-1 series lead. "He can't save the game all the time. When we play our game, we play simple. We play hard and nobody can stop us." Washington went 2-2 on the power play after going 0-13 over the previous two games.

Tortorella served a one-game suspension following a confrontation with a fan Friday during New York's 4-0 loss in Game 5 that sent the series back to Madison Square Garden. Tortorella squirted water into the crowd and threw a water bottle into the stands. Jim Schoenfeld, Tortorella's lone assistant coach, ran the club in his absence and said before the game that Tortorella had been sticking up for his players against slurs from the crowd.

Even the return of benched forward Sean Avery couldn't spark the Rangers, who have been outscored 9-3 since moving within one win of advancing. "We wouldn't put this on Torts and we won't put this on Shoney," captain Chris Drury said. "We just didn't play well enough." Tortorella will be allowed to coach Game 7 in Washington, where the Rangers claimed in a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that security was lax -- a factor they said led to the water incident.

"When you're down 3-1, there is no pressure on you," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They expect you to lose. Now we see how [the Capitals] can handle it when they're expected to win." The Rangers' biggest concern now might be the poor play of Lundqvist. "He's our guy," Drury said. "We're not here without him. We know he's going to respond when push comes to shove. That's what he has done for us all year."

Poti, the subject of Rangers fans' wrath during his three-plus seasons with New York, had a goal and three assists as Washington built a 5-1 lead. "I could care less about any of that," Poti said. "We got a win and we've got more work to do." When Ovechkin tipped in Poti's drive for a power-play goal with 3:16 left in the second period, Lundqvist was torched for his ninth goal in 34 shots. "You start to think about what is to come on Tuesday," Lundqvist said. "The only thing I can do is get a good practice and prepare for it." The lone bright spot for New York was Scott Gomez's goal that tied it 1-1 8:15 in and snapped the Rangers' 0-for-18 power-play skid.

The Capitals took a 1-0 lead on Milan Jurcina's first NHL playoff goal 7:09 in, and fellow defensemen Mike Green and Poti staked Washington to a 3-1 edge in the first. Viktor Kozlov and Ovechkin pushed the advantage to four goals in the second. That made for another easy game for rookie Simeon Varlamov, who finished with 29 saves.

Frustration got to the Rangers in the second period when Brandon Dubinsky received 14 minutes in penalties following his hit from behind against Green. Dubinsky slammed his helmet as he walked down the tunnel to the dressing room. Schoenfeld said Dubinsky was given a tetanus shot because he was bitten on the arm by Washington's Shaone Morrisonn during the scrum following the hit. Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear laid out center Blair Betts in the first period with a late shot to the head. Brashear wasn't penalized and Washington grabbed the lead for good moments later. "It was pretty vicious," Schoenfeld said. "[Betts] is hurt significantly."

The Capitals have won one series in which they trailed 3-1, the 1988 Patrick Division semifinal against Philadelphia. For the second straight year, Washington has forced a Game 7 in the first round after trailing 3-1. The Capitals fell short at home against Philadelphia last year, but the Southeast Division champions are riding a wave that could make them the 21st team in 230 chances to come all the way back. New York has never lost such a lead. The Capitals are 1-4 all-time in Game 7 while the Rangers are 3-4. Tuesday will be the Rangers' first Game 7 since winning the 1994 Stanley Cup Final against the Canucks. Teams have trailed 3-1 in a best-of-seven series 229 times and have come back to win the series on 20 occasions (8.7 percent).

I was fortunate (well, depending on your outlook) enough to attend this game (thanks to my friend Greer for an early birthday gift, who has become a real hockey chick the past few months) and this was just a piss-poor effort from the Rangers. The crowd brought the energy from the beginning and when the Rangers responded quickly to tie it at 1, it seemed like we were in for an epic game. Once the Rangers went down 3-1, you could see the wheels fell off for them and despite having plenty of time to put the wheels back on, they left the car dead on the road. Scratching Colton Orr was a HUGE mistake because Donald Brashear doesn't take that cheap shot on Blair Betts if he knows there's a chance of Orr's feared right hook connecting to his face. The Capitals now have the momentum heading home to what will be a redded-out Verizon Center. Everything is pointing to me picking the Capitals for Game 7, but I'm picking the Rangers because nothing has made sense in this series so far, so I'm going to roll with that trend.

(6) Carolina Hurricanes (3-3) over the (3) New Jersey Devils (3-3) 4-0

Eric Staal scored two goals less than 3 minutes apart, Cam Ward made 28 saves in his third career playoff shutout and the Hurricanes avoided elimination by routing the Devils 4-0 on Sunday night. Ray Whitney had a goal and three assists, Jussi Jokinen scored Carolina's first power-play goal since Game 2, Chad LaRose had two assists and Staal added an assist for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes outshot New Jersey 37-28 while their reconfigured top line produced the first three goals, and that helped lead to the most lopsided final score of the best-of-seven series. It's even at three games apiece, with the winner-take-all Game 7 set for Tuesday night in New Jersey.

"The difference in tonight was, a team that played like there was no tomorrow and the other team played like there was," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "When that happens, usually the team that plays like there is another tomorrow will end up on the wrong side."

Not even the return of captain Jamie Langenbrunner, who missed three games with a lower body injury, could save New Jersey from its worst performance of an otherwise evenly matched series. The previous four games were decided by one goal, with two going to overtime and another 0.2 of a second shy from making it three straight before Jokinen's buzzer-beating deflection ended Game 4.

Cam Ward is 2-0 in Game 7s in his career, both coming in the 2006 playoffs, while Martin Brodeur is 5-3 all-time in Game 7s. No team in this series has won consecutive games (bodes well for the Devils). Game 7 is Tuesday night in Newark @ 7:30PM.

It's fitting that this series is going to go the distance. This has been the best series in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and the finale should be an appropriate ending. This series has been the true definition of a see-saw series with each team showing flashes of dominance with it being pretty even the rest of the time. Either result wouldn't shock me, but I have to go with the Devils in Game 7. As good as Cam Ward has been and as potent as the 'Canes offense has been, how do you pick against Marty Brodeur in an early Game 7?


OTHER NEWS

-Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk is in the running for a fourth straight Lady Byng Trophy. He is among the finalists for the NHL's most gentlemanly player award along with Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils, the league announced Friday. Winners of the Lady Byng and other trophies will be announced at the NHL awards show June 18 in Las Vegas. Datsyuk has won the Lady Byng the last three years. One more and he'll tie the record of four in a row set by Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers from 1928 to 1931. Boucher won the trophy seven times in an eight-year span ending in 1935, and was runner-up to Joe Primeau of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the year he missed out in 1932. The trophy, first awarded in 1925, goes to the player who shows "sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." Past winners include all-time scoring leader Wayne Gretzky, who won it five times between 1980 and 1999, and goal-scoring star Mike Bossy, who took it three times in the 1980s. Datsyuk led the Red Wings in assists (65) and points (97) and was plus-34, third best in the NHL, while recording just 22 penalty minutes in 81 games. Last season, the versatile Datsyuk won both the Lady Byng and the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward and will likely be in the running to take them both again. Selke finalists are to be announced on Tuesday. The 30-year-old also draws votes for the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, but is a long shot to win. St. Louis, the league MVP and scoring leader in 2004, finished this season with 80 points (30 goals, 50 assists) in 82 games and had just 14 minutes in penalties. The 33-year-old Laval, Que., native has been runner-up for the Lady Byng the last two years. "It's a trophy that some great players have their name on," said St. Louis, a former Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner. "I've been a finalist before and I'd love to win it. It's always an honour to be considered for any trophies." Parise enjoyed a breakout season, finishing second in the league with 45 goals. The 24-year-old from Minneapolis finished with 95 points, was plus-30 and had just 24 penalty minutes.

-Vancouver Canuck forward Taylor Pyatt says he appreciates the support he has received from the NHL team and its fans following the death of his fiance in a car accident. Carly Bragnalo died April 2 while on vacation in Jamaica. Pyatt and Bragnalo were to be married this summer. "I would like to thank my teammates, coaches and the entire Canucks organization for their tremendous compassion and support during this very difficult time for myself, my family and the entire Bragnalo family," Pyatt said in a release Friday. "I would also like to thank the passionate fans of the Canucks for their support and the media who have given us the respect and time to grieve in private. I loved Carly very much. My family and I will forever miss her. At this difficult time for our families it is my wish to not speak about our loss publicly." Pyatt has returned from his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont. He missed the final five games of the regular season and did not play during the Canucks four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues in the opening round of the playoffs. In an interview on Vancouver radio station TEAM 1040, Canucks' general manager Mike Gillis gave Pyatt his full support. "I had a chance to speak with Taylor yesterday and I think he's dealing with a lot of emotion and what everyone would deal with, after going through what he went through," Gillis told the TEAM. "But it's nice we have this break because we're hoping he can get back on the ice with our team and have a nice period of time to get back in the swing of things. Hopefully he'll feel better when he's occupied and around all our guys and has their support." Pyatt had 10 goals and nine assists in 69 regular season games.

-Rangers forward Blair Betts has been knocked out of Sunday's playoff game after taking a shot to the head by Washington Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear. Brashear landed a high, hard hit on Betts 9:54 into Game 6 after the Rangers forward got rid of the puck at center ice. Betts was face down on the ice for several moments and appeared dazed as he was helped to the New York dressing room. No information was released about Betts' condition, but the Rangers said he wouldn't return to the game. Brashear wasn't penalized for the hit, but was sent to the box for roughing along with Rangers defenseman Paul Mara, who came to Betts' defense.

-Canada produced the most lopsided win so far at the ice hockey world championship Sunday, defeating Hungary 9-0. Martin St. Louis had three goals and Shea Weber added two for Canada, which scored four times in the first 13 minutes. Derek Roy, James Neal, Mike Fisher and Jason Spezza also scored for the world's top-rated team, which moved into the second round. The win put Slovakia into the next round. In other World Championship action, Russia scored five goals in the first period on its way to a 7-2 victory over France. Forward Alex Radulov scored after just 1:23, and Russia added three more in a 55-second burst to decide the outcome with just over eight minutes played. The win guaranteed the defending champion's place in the second group phase of the 16-nation tournament. Russia's rapid-fire trio of goals came from Danis Zaripov, Radulov and Alexander Perezhogin before Kevin Hecquefeuille got France on the board.


I want to acknowledge how ridiuclous the NY Rangers press release was about coaches safety after the Tortorella water bottle incident. Really? C'mon guys...worry about not scratching players you shouldn't be scratching and putting the nail in the coffin when you're up 3-1 instead of keeping your coach dry and free of harmless water bottles.

TONIGHT'S ACTION:
^Gm 6 - (4) Chicago Blackhawks @ (5) Calgary Flames - 9:30PM (Chicago leads 3-2)
^Gm 6 - (1) San Jose Sharks @ (8) Anaheim Ducks - 10:30PM - Versus (Anaheim leads 3-2)
^ = elimination alert

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Information from the AP was used in this posting