EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Ottawa Senators are finally
delivering in the playoffs after a decade of disappointing
failures.
Jason Spezza scored the go-ahead goal and set up another by
Daniel Alfredsson in a three-goal second period on Saturday night
as Ottawa beat to the New Jersey Devils 3-2 to win their Eastern
Conference semifinal in five games.
Goaltender Ray Emery, who showed no effects from a minor
automobile accident in Ottawa on Friday, made 27 saves to cap a
series in which he clearly outplayed Martin Brodeur, who set an NHL
record with 48 wins this season but had only 21 saves in Game 5.
Scott Gomez scored twice for New Jersey in what may have been
the final Devils' game at the Continental Airlines Arena. The
three-time Stanley Cup champions are moving to a new arena in
Newark next season, but they will leave the Meadowlands having not
gotten past the second round in the last three postseasons.
The Senators will face either the Buffalo Sabres or New York
Rangers in the conference final with the winner earning a trip to
the Stanley Cup finals. While Ottawa has been to the playoffs the
last 10 years, it has never made it to the finals. The only time
they made the conference finals, the Devils beat them in seven
games en route to winning the Cup.
Whoever faces the Senators will go up against a team that's
getting great goaltending
Dany Heatley, playing with Spezza and Alfredsson, had two
assists.
Antoine Vermette made the biggest play of Game 5, keeping the
puck in the Devils' zone early in the second period and eventually
tipping a shot by defenseman Tom Preissing past Brodeur to tie the
score at 1.<
^Red Wings 4, Sharks 1=
DETROIT -- Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg each scored a
goal and set up two others, leading Detroit past San Jose and
within one victory of reaching the Western Conference finals.
Detroit leads 3-2 and can end the series Monday night in San
Jose.
Datsyuk turned San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov's misplay into the
winning goal late in the second period, and Nabokov didn't seem the
same after that, surrendering a pair of third-period power-play
goals.
Marcel Goc scored with 15:07 left in the first period to give
the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
Zetterberg tied the score three minutes into the second period
with his fourth postseason goal.
Mikael Samuelsson added an insurance goal nearly four minutes
into the final period, slapping a one-timer past Nabokov. Tomas
Holmstrom concluded the scoring with 13:46 left in the third.
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider broke his wrist during the first
period and will miss the rest of the playoffs, Red Wings coach Mike
Babcock said. Schneider was hurt when checked by Sharks captain
Patrick Marleau.<