It was a case of too little too late. That’s the ugly reality of the Toronto Maple Leafs heartbreaking season, as it came to an abrupt end Sunday with The New York Islanders beating the Devils 3-2 in a shootout at the Continental Airlines Arena, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Toronto fans and players, who were surely glued to their tube’s watching the game that was televised on TSN, must have suffered through the same roller-coaster ride of emotions as the Leafs 6-5 dramatic victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
With the Islanders building a 2-0 lead on Richard Park's second goal of the game with 12:09 left to play in the third frame; people in leaf land were probably starting to look towards a fresh start next year as it appeared the Islanders were going to skate to an uncontested win. Maybe Devils forward John Madden has a little love for Toronto, as he kept the Leaf faithful hopes alive when he cut the score in half at 2-1 with just under five minutes to play in the game. The Devils would continue to add pressure on the Isles and with less than a second on the ticker, John Madden would turn into an instant Leaf Hero as he would lift the puck over Islander goalie Wade Dubielewicz to square the game up at 2-2, sending it in to overtime.
The tension undoubtedly would mount for everyone in Leaf nation as a single shot past Devils goalie Scott Clemmenson in the sudden death period would send the Leafs into golf season early.
Nothing would materialize except a couple heart stopping shots from the Islanders in the extra frame, forcing the coaches to pick three players from their respective teams to take part in the shootout.
The Islanders would score on their first two shots in the shootout, while New Jersey found the back of the net only once. It all came down to the Devils Sergei Brylin to keep Toronto’s playoff hopes alive, but the Devils forward didn’t even manage a shot on net. Dubielewicz would have made legendary leaf goalie Johnny Bower proud as he used the poke check to perfection to stop Brylin and end another disappointing season for the Maple Leafs. The Leafs, who sat one point ahead of the Islanders for the coveted final spot in the eastern conference, needed New Jersey to beat the Islanders to keep their playoff aspirations alive.
“If their play was a little more consistent throughout the season and they didn’t blow third period leads, they would not be in a position to have another team decide their fate,” A disappointed local leaf fan Glen Boulrice said after watching the game at home.
Having the critical game being decided in a shoot out didn’t sit too well with the leaf lover.
“The whole thing being decided by a shootout is ridiculous. They should change the point format back to the way it was before, where a win was two points and a tie was worth one,” Boulrice explained.
Perhaps this will be a wake up call for the Leafs, which could stir up some changes in both the front office and on the player’s roster.
“Ferguson should definitely be fired because he has proven that he can’t build a winner, or even a contender for that matter,” Boulrice said of the much scrutinized General Manager of the Leafs, John Ferguson Jr.
After the game Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt talked about the determination of his club after the Devils had tied the game at 2-2. “We didn’t lose any hope,” Witt told ESPN. “We could’ve easily said, oh, it’s not meant to be. But guys battled hard in overtime and got us out in the shootout”.
The Islanders win and clinching of a playoff berth resulted in the team jumping for joy, in an on ice celebration. The Isles win also prompted critics to suggest that New Jersey’s Coach/General Manager Lou Lamoriello should’ve played his all-star goalie Martin Brodeur, who had started in 78 games this season and was one game start shy of tying Grant Fuhr’s record of 79 games started for the St. Louis Blues during the 1995-96 campaign. Lamoriello wasn’t paying attention to what critics thought when he decided to go with Clemmenson between the pipes, as New Jersey had already locked up second seed in their conference.
“We have to do what is best for our hockey club,” Lamoriello told ESPN. “I don’t want to be derogatory, but you can not think any other way”.
Meanwhile, both NHL clubs that will be taking part in Hockeyville, have each reached the playoffs. Obviously the Islanders, who will travel to Buffalo to play the Presidents Trophy winning Sabres, slithered their way into the second season, with their dramatic win Sunday against the Devils and the Atlanta Thrashers hold the third seed as they will host Jaromir Jagr and the New York Rangers. Both series will start on Thursday night, with the Atlanta game kicking off at 7:00p.m. The puck drops to start the Islanders game at 8:00p.m.
Although the leafs are out of the running for the Stanley Cup, fans of the game itself should be happy to see both teams that will play here at Memorial Gardens this fall in the playoffs, as it will by far be better to see playoff caliber teams than non playoff teams. Local Leafs fan and lover of the game Glen Boulrice doesn’t see it that way.
“It doesn’t make sense to have two American teams playing here when the game is being played in Northern Ontario,” Boulrice said.
“It doesn’t really matter to me if the teams playing here make the playoffs or not, it would be nice to see a Canadian team take part in the exhibition game instead of two teams that nobody cares about,” a disgruntled Boulrice added.
We will not only be treated to a unique exhibition game at Memorial Gardens between two NHL playoff teams, but we might also play host to the next Stanley Cup champion. Only time will tell, but for now the Bay Street Stanley Cup parade in Toronto will have to wait another year. As if 40 years waiting for the original six Leaf team to capture their 14th Cup isn’t long enough.
