Leafs 5 – Rangers 4
TORONTO – This is the way it always was in the NHL back when home-and-homes were routine, and passion and grudges built from one game to the next. This is the way it was before the league began to sanitize itself into something almost unrecognizable.
The Sunday game at the Garden between the Rangers and Maple Leafs was occasionally nasty. The one here last night picked up where that one left off.
There were five fights, three game misconducts. Somehow, the Blueshirts seemed to come out on the short end of just about every call made (or not made) by the incompetent refereeing duo of Brad Meier and Dan O’Halloran. This may well have had more than something to do with the Blueshirts coming out on the short end of the 5-4 score, too.
Not only were there bizarre interpretations of the fights – two between Matt Barnaby and Tie Domi, two between Chris Simon and Bryan Marchment, one between Greg de Vries and Darcy Tucker – that gave Toronto the man-advantage after two of the bouts, but blatant interference was overlooked on each of the Maple Leafs’ last two goals. Four eyes seeing no evil.
First, Matt Stajan picked off Tom Poti on the Owen Nolan goal that gave Toronto a 4-3 lead with 10 seconds to play in the second; then, Joe Nieuwendyk shoved the unfortunate Poti back into Mike Dunham before Mats Sundin whipped in a backhand to make it 5-3 at 13:04 of the third.
“The guy hipped me on the first one, so I was late getting there,” Poti said. “And then on the second, [Nieuwendyk] cross-checked me and pushed me right back into the goalie.
“But you really can’t blame the refs.”
The Rangers have been unhappy with the officiating all year and have said so. Who knows if there’s been a backlash? Though much of this is on the team itself, the fact is, the Rangers went into last night’s game with the second-poorest power play/penalty-kill differential in the league, at minus-33. Now it’s minus-35.
“It was travesty on the winning goal,” Glen Sather said. “Somehow, they don’t see it. It’s a sad way to lose a hockey game like that.”
The Rangers also lost Mark Messier in a bizarre manner. The Captain suffered a charley horse when he was inadvertently kneed in the left thigh by linesman Steve Miller. There was 1:10 remaining in the second when Messier lugged the puck with speed down the left wing. Miller, who attempted to prop himself on the dasher, got the knee out.
“It was unfortunate; his knee speared me,” Messier said. “As far as [tomorrow against the Islanders], it’s likely going to be a game-time kind of thing. I’ll have to see how it is at practice [today]. It’s pretty sore right now.”
Jussi Markkanen, who surrendered five goals in his previous four starts, allowed three in 16:23 last night before yielding to Dunham. Down to 10 forwards and five defensemen for the third period, the Blueshirts carried the play. But the uncalled Toronto infractions proved too much to overcome, though Anson Carter, back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore wrist, had a glorious opportunity to tie it with the puck on his stick and the left side of the net wide open with 1:10 remaining. But Carter, who scored the goal that made it 5-4 with 6:24 to play, couldn’t hit the net.
“Two huge games for us,” Poti said. “We didn’t get the job done.”
