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Breaking News(4/29): According to TSN.ca the NHL has suspended Toronto forward Shayne Corson for one game because of his kick on Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns during a fight in the final minutes of Game 6. Corson will not be allowed to play in Game 7 Tuesday night. April 28th: The Islanders came into this game not feeling down about the loss of their two leaders in Kenny Jonsson and Michael Peca to cheap shots, but instead used it as motivation. Let's do it for Kenny and Mike were the words on the scoreboard and throughout the locker room. And that's exactly what they did. The Islanders played like a team tonight that did not want it to end. The biggest question was how would the Islanders approach this game. Would they look to extract revenge? Or would they give everything they got to win and force a Game 7. The Islanders placed Jim Cummins into the lineup. It would be his first game in a very long time. Ray Schultz was activated to add some toughness on the blueline. Evgeny Korolev took Dick Tarnstrom's place in the lineup. The Islanders gave Cummins the assignment of checking Gary Roberts during certain parts of the game. Unfortunately Cummins took a terrible penalty right off the bat for interfering with Roberts. The Islanders depleted PK unit did a good job killing off the penalty and soon after managed to get their own powerplay opportunity. Off a faceoff Adrian Aucoin sent a rocket in on Curtis Joseph. Joseph made the save with his right pad but once again left a rebound in the slot that Mariusz Czerkawski jumped on. Czerkawski, who has been a non factor up to this point in the series, scored his first of the playoffs and had more left in store for later. Oleg Kvasha played with Alexei Yashin most of the night and later on the tandem would combine to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. Yashin would wrist a shot down low on Joseph and then try to back it in off the back of the goaltenders pads. Yashin kept going around the net and Kvasha grabbed the puck. As he rounded the net he backhanded the puck over to Yashin who hurried the shot because Joseph was caught up at the far end of the net with Darren Van Impe. Yashin roofed it for his second goal of the series. About a minute later the Leafs cut the Isles lead in half when Wade Belak scored on a 3 on 2 down low on Chris Osgood. Belak chipped in a rebound off a back checking Mark Parrish over Osgood. Czerkawski would later get called for a lousy boarding penalty on an icing. Toronto would tie things up on the powerplay. Jonas Hoglund got a shot off from the side of the Isles net. Osgood made the stop but the momentum of the puck carried to the goal line. Roberts was there waving his hand at it and the puck just trickled over the line. Referee Kerry Fraser first waved it off thinking Roberts batted it in with his hand. But after going to video replay he ruled it a goal. - Early in the second period Bryan McCabe executed another one of his can opener moves on Kip Miller. He was called for tripping. On the ensuing powerplay Shawn Bates banged the puck off the post and the rebound came right to a well positioned Adrian Aucoin who gave the Islanders back the one goal lead with his second of the series. Both teams would get another powerplay opportunity in the second period but the Islanders would keep their 3-2 lead headed into the third period. This game was unbelievable from a hitting standpoint. Steve Webb was once again a cannon ball all night. Both Darcy Tucker and Shayne Corson were targets right from the start. Webb literally clobbered Tucker with 5 seconds left in the second period. He was lucky not to get an interference penalty because it was questionable whether Tucker was close enough to the puck. Tucker was angry at the referee and the Islanders fans, waving his hand in the air and waving goodbye to either the refs or the Islanders on his way to the locker room. - At 3:11 of the third period the Islanders would gain their 2 goal lead back and go up 4-2 when Kip Miller would score his third goal of the series and in as many games. Miller's goal was similar to the goal he scored in Game 4 as he took a pass in the corner down low and deceptively decided to turn to the net for the shot. Only this time he roofed it into the top of the net. 38 seconds later, the Islanders would continue to attack and Czerkawski would put the Islanders up 5-2 after grabbing a loose puck from Miller high in the slot. Mariusz used his screen well and scored up high once again as he threaded it through Joseph. Soon after Jim Cummins took yet another bad penalty, even though he had redeemed himself with solid play after the first penalty early in the game. The Islanders almost killed the penalty but the Leafs got a goal down low in the Islanders crease when the Islanders defender could not contain Roberts, who scored to make it 5-3 with one second remaining on the powerplay. Both teams once again had powerplay opportunities but the Islanders did a good job of holding the 2 goal lead and killing the minutes off the clock. With about 2 minutes remaining in the game the Isles would exact a little revenge. After a hit at center ice by Shawn Bates on Corson, Corson took a swing at Bates. Then Darcy Tucker, the coward that he is, chose to crosscheck and attack Bates. If Tucker wants to fight why does he choose guys like Blake and Bates? Shawn Bates managed to hold Tucker's arms down and get the linesmen to break it up. But the main event took place between Eric Cairns and Corson. Corson looked like a little kid trying to throw punches up into the air at the taller Cairns. Cairns would go on to beat on Corson's face in a way equivalent to Rocky Balboa beating on a slab of meat in Rocky I. Corson had his jersey pulled over his head and as he got up kicked at Cairns. Will this get looked at by the NHL? The way things are going, probably not. Cairns would skate away to the locker room with his arm raised in the air signaling #1 to the cheering crowd. Later he said he did it because he felt that way about the fans and how they once again ignited the team to the win. In the final seconds Cummins went at it with Tie Domi, who tried to surprise Cummins by getting the first punches. The Islanders did not want the season to end. To win Game 7, they will have to do it again. - How about Kip Miller? He has become a great part of this team. What a move by Mike Milbury midway through the season. Just when you think perhaps Miller might not be able to handle the physical side of the play he proves you wrong. He has scored in each of the last three games, and the goal tonight was the game winner. He leads all Islander skaters in the series with 3 goals. Way to go Kip! - Czerkawski had the game of his Islander career. There was one point on the powerplay that he totally turned his head as if to fake that he was passing back to the blueline, and without even turning his head back sent the puck back across the slot to set up a shot. He was flying. And both times he scored he didn't just celebrate with his teammates, but also with the fans behind the glass. It was well pointed out the last couple days that Mariusz had been a non factor thus far. But tonight he stepped up bigtime and really fed off the crowd he has played in front of for the last 5 years. - Preview(April 30th Game 7): The
series comes down to one game Tuesday night. Can the Islanders skate into
Toronto and take this series from these thugs? It will take everything
they got, just like they gave in Game 6. Now that Mariusz Czerkawski has
come through big time in this series for the first time, just about
everyone on the team has contributed to get this series to a Game 7. If
there is one guy that can step up offensively it is Oleg Kvasha, who has
yet to find the net. This will be the seventh Game 7 in Islander history,
the Islanders are 3-3 in the previous six. The Islanders need to execute
their game plan and play with the lead. The three Game 7 victories the
Islanders have were historic wins. Who will be the hero for the Islanders
Tuesday night? Will it be Yashin? He can shake the past criticism and shut
up Canada with a dominating performance. Now that Corson has been
suspended, there isn't really another player in Toronto's lineup can can
keep up with him. I remember in 1993, Wayne Gretzky led the LA Kings in
game seven in Toronto. This could be Yashins time to shine. He is
certainly going to be the best player skill wise on the ice. If Kenny
Jonsson can somehow make a return, that would be a huge boost. Game 7 Victories: all three on the
road. Stats & History: The Islanders are 3-3 all-time in game 7 situations. But in deciding games, including best of 5 and best of 3 series, the Islanders are 7-3. Only 11 previous times in the NHL has there been a series that the home team has won each of it's games through the first six matches, and then had the road team win Game 7. The last time it happened? It was in 1978, between these same two teams. The Islanders had one of the best teams in hockey, but Lanny McDonald scored in overtime at the Nassau Coliseum to win it for the Leafs. The Islanders are hoping for a reversal of fortune tonight. Scratches: Mats Lindgren, Dick Tarnstrom Playoff Injury Update (4/30) Isles vs. Leafs II: The Bridgeport Sound Tigers took a 3-0 series lead over St. John's last night after red hot Juraj Kolnik scored with just over a minute left in double overtime to win game three 3-2. Jason Podollan and Justin Mapletoft also scored for the Sound Tigers. Game 4 is Wednesday night where Bridgeport will look to pull off the sweep. Hopefully the Islanders organization will pull out a sweep over the entire Leaf organization.
New York Islanders: 42-28-8-4,
96 points, 5th seed in Eastern Conference Season Series: Islanders won the season series going 3-0-0-1 Schedule:
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News: April 30, 2002 |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
