Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- All it took to extend the Toronto Maple Leafs' Stanley Cup drought to 33 years was a couple of recent injuries and one supposedly boring hockey team playing at its absolute best. The New Jersey Devils, playing their best hockey since winning the Stanley Cup in 1995, put the Maple Leafs' quest for their first Cup since 1967 on hold for another year with a 3-0 victory Monday night to win their Eastern Conference semifinal 4-2. In losing, the Leafs not only exited the playoffs a round earlier than last year, when they were beaten by the Buffalo, but they also were ousted by a team it dominated 3-0-1 in the regular season. Adding to the embarrassment was the way the Maple Leafs ended their season. Petr Sykora scored 18 seconds after the opening faceoff and Jason Arnott had a goal 25 seconds into the second period. On the offensive side, Toronto took just six shots against Martin Brodeur, the fewest permitted in a regular season or playoff game since the start of the expansion era in 1967, the Elias Sports Bureau said. "We played an awful hockey game," said Leafs captain Mats Sundin, who failed to score in the series. "Obviously they got the start they wanted, the momentum right away. I think we battled hard, but we battled on their conditions the whole series. We never put them in a position where they had to play like we wanted to them to play, like we played against Ottawa." The bottom line was the Maple Leafs rarely found much free ice in the series. New Jersey got the tight-checking physical game it wanted and the Leafs had no answer for it. Part of the problem was injuries. Toronto played the whole series without centers Yanic Perreault and Nik Antropov and defenseman Bryan Berard. "You hate to use excuses and everything," Maple Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph said. "We were without three guys who were a big part of the team and a big part of the chemistry all year, guys who can really create things offensively. There is a no doubt that honestly hurts." Joseph, who stole Toronto's two wins in the series with outstanding games in goal, didn't have a chance on either of the two early goals that gave the Devils control of Game 6 at the Continental Airlines Arena. Patrik Elias kicked a loose puck to Sykora and he had the whole net to shoot at. On Arnott's, the only way Joseph could have stopped the bang-bang goal was if he was fortunate enough to have the puck hit him. "When that happens, when they score on the first shift of the game and the first shift of the second period, everybody is like what the heck is going on," Toronto enforcer Tie Domi, who did his best to spark the Leafs. "But they were the better team." Former Devil Steve Thomas gave his old mates credit. "I think we have to keep the positive," he said. "We've got a pretty good team here. More than anything, we just caught a team that was hitting on all cylinders, playing well and playing well defensively. I think they frustrated us." The Devils did more then frustrate the Leafs. "Obviously when they have the lead, they play a boring game," forward Garry Valk said. "They are a boring hockey team. Their fans, they're as dead as their team for the most part. What's there to cheer about? They shut you right down and block shots. It's been effective for them for years and they won a Cup doing that and they'll try to do that again." |
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