Senators Take Series Lead In OT
Alexei Yashin didn't realize it was over until he saw his Ottawa Senators teammates vaulting the Corel Centre boards.
Yashin's hard wrist shot on a power-play 2:47 into overtime gave the Senators a 2-1 win Sunday over the New Jersey Devils and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-7 Eastern Conference quarter-final series. Game 4 is Tuesday.
With Devils defenseman Lyle Odelein off for hauling down forward Magnus Arvedson on a break, Yashin took a perfect cross-ice pass from Janne Laukkanen and banked a shot between the pads of goalie Martin Brodeur.
"I didn't understand right away what happened," Yashin insisted, despite the ear-splitting roar from the capacity crowd of 18,500. "But when I saw the guys jumping over the boards I was very happy."
Yashin, the broad-shouldered Russian center with the soft hands, wasn't the only reluctant believer.
"I tried to squeeze my pads as hard as I could, but it wasn't enough," Brodeur said.
As for Devils coach Jacques Lemaire, his take on the game won't be known until Monday.
"He's a little upset and thought it might be better if I came out," assistant coach Robbie Ftorek told the post-game media throng.
The Devils, the Eastern Conference champions who finished 24 points ahead of eighth-place Ottawa, played about as well as expected, but must be starting to wonder whether last year's post-season goal drought has returned.
New Jersey outshot the Senators 31-22 including a 12-3 margin in the third period but was stymied by the play of goaltender Damian Rhodes and his fail-safe goalposts.
Dave Andreychuk hit the right post in overtime moments before Magnus Arvedson was pulled down as he tried to outrace Odelein one-on-one to the Jersey net.
Midway through the third period, with the score tied 1-1, Rhodes robbed Steve Thomas with a pad save on a clear breakaway.
"We have to work on our discipline a little bit and on our scoring chances," said Ftorek, who otherwise liked the Devils' game.
Both Ottawa goals came on power plays and the Senators didn't appear overly inflated about their performance.
"We haven't got them on the run yet," said checking forward Bruce Gardiner. "There's a lot of experience in that room over there."
New Jersey's Bobby Carpenter and Ottawa's Laukkanen who also set up Yashin's overtime winner traded goals barely four minutes apart early in a second period that mostly belonged to the Senators.
The first and third periods were owned by the Devils.
"We didn't have a great start tonight but as the game went along we gradually started taking over," Rhodes said.
Actually it was Rhodes who took over, shaking the tag of wilting on home ice from a few disastrous outings at the Corel Centre as the reular season wore down.
"Every game he's played against New Jersey he's been tremendous," Senators coach Jacques Martin said.
The play of Rhodes and the Senators' composed resilience are the two elements the Devils must master hardly insurmountable but more nettlesome with each Ottawa win.
"We're a team that has nothing to lose," Senators defenseman Lance Pitlick said. "We're not projected to win this thing."
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