Islanders Dash Toronto’s Hopes Of Making Playoffs With Shootout Win
Posted April 8, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
All season long shootout losses have haunted the Toronto Maple Leafs, but this one will rattle their skulls for quite some time.
The Buds were ousted from playoff contention when the New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout to claim the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon.
The Islanders looked to be cruising towards a victory with a 2-0 lead late in the third, but the Devils narrowed the margin and then miraculously scored the tying goal with less than a second on the clock.
The goal sent Leaf fans into a somewhat premature celebratory frenzy and added another wild chapter to a roller coaster weekend that began when Toronto beat Montreal at home to stay in the post-season picture.
But Toronto ‘s fate ultimately rested in the hands of the Devils, who needed to beat the Islanders Sunday to give the Blue and White a chance to fight for Lord Stanley.
In the end, it wasn’t meant to be, as Wade Dubielewicz stopped the last two penalty shots for the Islanders, who finish with 92 points, one more than Toronto .
The Leafs were perturbed that their season ended with a shootout.
“I’ve been saying for some time this year, it’s great for the fans, it’s hard for managers and coaches,” said John Ferguson, the Leafs GM.
“And watching another team control your fate is doubly hard, especially when there’s no time to do anything about it.”
“We controlled our destiny, we look to ourselves here. We left it one point short and that’s what came back to bite us.”
Kyle Wellwood commented on the loss from the Raptor game was he attending.
“I’m sure for the fans it was pretty exciting,” said Wellwood.
“When New Jersey scored at the end, it was unbelievable. With 15 seconds left, it looked like the Islanders were going to the clear the puck.
“When Jersey scored, we figured things might go our way.”
