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Tuesday, October 12, 1999
Overtime treat
Extra-period thrills save a dreary tie between Sens, Devils
Then, they put the dessert on the table in overtime.
While the Senators' 2-2 tie with the Devils in front of 15,269 won't go down as the most exciting game ever played at the Corel Centre, it featured Ottawa's first taste of the NHL's new overtime format.
"They should send that tape of overtime to the league,"said Senators goaltender Ron Tugnutt.
"That's the way they should all be played. Both teams were just going end-to-end."
By the time the extra five minutes had expired, the league was probably getting calls to play four-on-four hockey between these two teams all the time because the excitement in overtime saved what had been a dull day.
Chances were the order of the afternoon at both ends in OT and had it not been for a couple of solid saves by Tugnutt and New Jersey counterpart Martin Brodeur, one team could have easily been looking at a loss.
Even Tugnutt got into the act by trying to play the role of an extra attacker when he raced New Jersey's Brian Rolston for a puck in the Ottawa zone. Tugnutt just barely won and managed to flip it away.
"I figured everybody was having fun out there. I thought I may as well get involved in the hoopla," laughed Tugnutt.
Fortunately for the Senators -- who surrendered a one-goal lead with less than three minutes remaining -- they were able to preserve the point and extend their unbeaten streak to five straight games (4-0-1).
Up until the OT, the two teams played it close to the vest.
"There was a lot of clogging going on out there," said Senators defenceman Jason York. "You just know when you play that team that they're not going to give you much and you have to be prepared for it.
"They play a real patient game, a similar style to us, but I don't think they're nearly as aggressive with their trap as we are with ours. At the end, there was just a lot of chances."
The Senators and Devils have produced excitement in the past, but both teams had to fight for everything they were able to get yesterday.
Trying to get something going with the Senators struggling to find space and create scoring chances, coach Jacques Martin juggled his lines in the second period in a move that paid off with a goal by Rob Zamuner.
Martin shifted winger Andreas Dackell onto a line with Shawn McEachern and Vaclav Prospal, while captain Daniel Alfredsson moved onto a line with Bruce Gardiner and Zamuner. That seemed to add some fire.
"You just want to see if you can move guys around to make something happen," said Martin. "You shift guys in and out all the time. I just wanted to see how guys would react by playing with other guys.
GOT STRONGER
"I thought we got stronger as the game went on. I thought we had a tough time in the first period and we struggled offensively, but we played a real solid second and third. You've got to give the Devils some credit."
What continues to surprise everybody around the league is the Senators' play without all-star centre Alexei Yashin. Nobody would have predicted the club would start the year with nine of a possible 10 points in five games.
Against the Devils, it was Marian Hossa, with his fourth of the season, and Zamuner who provided the goals. The defensive corps did a solid job keeping New Jersey on the perimeter and Tugnutt made the saves when needed.
"What we're proving to everybody is that we're not a one-man team," said Senators defenceman Chris Phillips. "We know that if we play well as a team, which we are right now, we've got a lot of talent in that dressing room and that's going to help us overcome the guy that we're missing (Yashin). We're really get the job done right now."
It wasn't pretty, but it was effective for the Senators. They made their point against the Devils. On this day, it was satisfying enough.
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