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TORONTO (AP) – The New Jersey Devils were shocked and upset,
worried less about their playoff loss and more about the health of
teammate Scott Niedermayer, who was knocked cold by the elbow of
Toronto's Tie Domi.
"Disgusting," said forward John Madden, after watching a
replay of Domi delivering a flagrant elbow that struck Niedermayer
fully across the chin with about 20 seconds left in Thursday
night's Eastern Conference semifinal series.
|  | | Jason Arnott's (right) cut from a high stick is evidence of how physical the Maple Leafs-Devils series has been. |
"Irresponsible, a person like that shouldn't be given the right
to run around with a hockey stick in his hand and play in the
league," Madden added, after the Devils lost 3-1 to the Maple
Leafs, leaving the best-of-seven series tied 2-2, with Game 5 at
New Jersey on Saturday.
With under 20 seconds remaining, Niedermayer was skating up
along the left boards in the Toronto zone when Domi caught him well
behind the play. There were 7.4 seconds remaining when play was
finally stopped after officials discovered Niedermayer lying
motionless on the ice in front of the Toronto bench.
Niedermayer appeared to be unconscious for about three minutes.
He was carted off on a stretcher but had the strength to walk into
the dressing room at the end of the game.
Domi was issued a five-minute match penalty for deliberate
attempt to injure. The Maple Leafs announced that Domi will have a
meeting with the NHL on Friday to determine if further action is
necessary.
Few of the Devils saw the hit because it happened 70 feet from
their bench on the same side of the boards.
After watching replays, some players compared the hit to when
Boston's Marty McSorley used his stick to crack Vancouver's Donald
Brashear over the side of the head in a game 14 months ago.
Brashear sustained a severe concussion and McSorley was issued a
one-year suspension by the NHL. McSorley was also charged by
Vancouver authorities and convicted of assault with a weapon. He
was given a conditional discharge, meaning he has no criminal
record if stays out of trouble for 18 months.
"Obviously, he didn't hit him with a high stick, but if you
look at the McSorley incident, obviously he's not playing in the
league and for good reason. And nobody wants him to," Madden said.
"The league's got to step in and say, 'Listen, enough is enough.
We're going to start punishing people to the point where you would
never do it."
Domi did not make himself available to the media.
Toronto's Gary Roberts, who spoke with Domi, said, "No one
likes to see a guy get hurt like that. In Tie's defense, from what
he had to say, I think they kind of crossed paths and ran into each
other. And let's hope that's all it was."
Replays showed Domi, who's much shorter than Niedermayer,
purposely lifting his elbow high and outside his body as the two
passed each other.
Devils captain Scott Stevens, who was across the ice in the
penalty box, saw what happened, and reacted angrily, immediately
yelling at the officials.
"We know what his intent was. I saw the whole thing," said a
calmer Stevens, who waited about 45 minutes after the game to talk
to reporters.
"We have to worry about playing hockey. We have to focus on the
right thing," Stevens said.
New Jersey's Bobby Holik said it was time for the team to band
together.
"There's a way to get back at the Maple Leafs and the best way
is to win the next game," Holik said.
It was an ugly finish to a game the Maple Leafs dominated,
bouncing back after two consecutive overtime losses.
Shayne Corson, Sergei Berezin and Mats Sundin scored for the
Maple Leafs, who rediscovered their defensive style, while also
getting some balanced scoring for the first time in the series.
Keying the win was the Maple Leafs' ability to revert to the
defensively patient and offensively opportunistic style that won
the series opener 2-0. In between, Toronto was inconsistent – and
the victim of unlucky bounces – in losing 6-5 and 3-2 in overtime.
After being outshot 110-66 in the first three meetings, the
Maple Leafs clamped down, limiting the Devils to 24 shots – only
one during the final 9:45.
The defensive display was so impressive that it got the
attention of the sold out crowd which stood and chanted during a
two-minute commercial break with 2:28 remaining.
Corson, with his first goal of the playoffs, opened the scoring
– stuffing in Darcy Tucker's rebound 14 minutes in.
The Leafs took a 2-0 lead 81 seconds into the second period when
Berezin was allowed to skate in untouched from the left boards and
wrap a shot around helpless goalie Martin Brodeur.
Patrik Elias scored a power-play goal, cutting Toronto's lead to
2-1 midway through the second period, but the Leafs responded 62
seconds later when Sundin blasted a shot from the right circle that
caught the far corner.
Game notes
Devils C Sergei Brylin (bruised right knee) missed Game 4
after flying home to New Jersey for an MRI exam. Brylin, hurt in
the third period of Tuesday's game when he caught a rut in the ice,
has injured the same knee numerous times including this past season
when he missed five games. ... Madden took Brylin's spot on the
Devils checking line, while C Bob Corkum was inserted into the
lineup for only the second time in the playoffs. ... The Leafs made
one lineup change, sitting defensive C Alyn McCauley in favor of
offensive threat RW Jonas Hoglund.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
Maple Leafs-Devils Series Page
Devils' Niedermayer knocked out by Domi's late hit
Shactman: Devils' revenge on Leafs? Winning the series
Shactman: Leafs concerned, not apologetic
RECAPS
Toronto 3
New Jersey 1
St. Louis 4
Dallas 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Scott Niedermayer is taken from the ice on a stretcher, compliments of a Tie Domi elbow.
avi: 2669 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Physical play set the tone for Game 4 in Toronto.
avi: 1303 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Darcy Tucker's shot is denied, but Shayne Corson puts home the rebound.
avi: 718 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Sergei Berezin makes a nice move in front of the net to beat Martin Brodeur.
avi: 824 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Patrik Elias scores on the one-timer from Petr Sykora.
avi: 1296 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Mats Sundin goes top-shelf with the slapper for a Toronto goal.
avi: 848 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
 Toronto teammates Gary Roberts and Mats Sundin react to Tie Domi's hit on Scott Niedermayer.
wav: 218 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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