|
|
Joe Nieuwendyk scored a pair of goals and Ed Belfour turned in another strong effort as the Toronto Maple Leafs posted a 4-1 victory over Ottawa in Game Seven of their first round National Hockey League playoff series.
After netting the game-winner in Game Three, Nieuwendyk missed the next contest with back spasms.
But with captain Mats Sundin out of the lineup with an injury, Nieuwendyk returned for Game Five and helped Toronto take a three games to two lead by scoring his third goal of the series.
The Leafs claimed the final spot in the second round and will meet the Philadelphia
Flyers next.
The next round kicks off on Thursday with three games as the march to the Stanley Cup continues for eight teams.
Calgary was the only other team that needed seven games to advance. The Flames beat the Canucks in overtime in the deciding game on Monday.
Detroit, Tampa Bay, San Jose, Montreal and Colorado also moved on.
With the momentum on Ottawa's side following a double-overtime victory in Game Six, Chad Kilger gave the Maple Leafs the lead with his second career playoff goal just 6:19 into the first period.
Helped by the shaky play of Patrick Lalime, Nieuwendyk took over from there.
Just 82 seconds later, Nieuwendyk fired a shot from above the left faceoff circle that handcuffed the Senators' goaltender and sneaked by on the short side.
With 21 seconds to go in the period, the three-time Stanley Cup winner snapped the puck between Lalime's pads from the left circle for a 3-0 cushion.
Looking to become the first goalie in playoff history to post four shutouts in a series, Belfour had his hopes dashed 22 seconds into the second period by Vaclav Varada.
But the veteran did stop 36 shots to notch his 86th career playoff win, two shy of Billy Smith for third place on the all-time list.
Defenceman Bryan McCabe capped the scoring in the third period for Toronto, which advances to face Philadelphia in a rematch of last season's seven-game conference quarter-final series.
Martin Prusek made
14 saves in relief for the Senators, who fell to 0-4 in Game Sevens and are
winless in four postseason meetings with Toronto.