Mats Sundin - 2002 game tying goal
by Curtis Tudor on Aug 5, 2011 1:28 PM EDT
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PrintGame 6, 2002 - Carolina Hurricanes vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Goal - Mats Sundin
Has there been a bigger goal from the Toronto Maple Leafs since 1993?
Mats Sundin put the puck in the back of the net over 500 times in his NHL career and this was the biggest and most important one of them all.
More videos including a Steve Webb beating and 2002 playoff analysis after jump
2002 playoffs
Toronto opened up as the #4 seed and faced off against the #5 seeded New York Islanders in what was the bloodiest/dangerous/intense/hardest hitting serious that I have ever watched.
Toronto won in 7 games after winning all of the home games and dropping all the games in New York. In the process they lost Mats Sundin to a fractured wrist after a hit by Steve Webb who quickly became the most hated man in Leafs Nation.
Steve Webb threw some of the latest and most dangerous hits that would get him kicked out of the NHL in this day in age.
The worst part of his game was that he would never fight and you couldn't hit him back because he never touched the puck.
Toronto got the last laugh on him in that series and so did Owen Nolan.
Two nights after eliminating the Islanders they welcomed the Ottawa Senators to the Air Canada Centre.
After war for 7 games against the Islanders the Senators brought a much different game to the ice in game one and easily put aside the Leafs in the opening contest.
Gary Roberts scored in triple OT in game two to tie the series in what was a fantastic hockey game that featured Curtis Joseph standing on his head.
The series was tied 2-2 after 4 games and game 5 is famous for Daniel Alfredsson's hit from behind on Darcy Tucker and game winning goal only seconds after to give the Senators a 3-2 series lead.
Ottawa then took an early 2-0 lead in game 6 back at home in Ottawa but because of Tie Domi's balance a 5 minute power play the Maple Leafs scored twice to tie the game and thanks to an Alex Mogilny third period winner the Leafs won game 6 and earned a game 7 back on home ice in Toronto.
In Game 7 Curtis Joseph and the Leafs shut the door and Alex Mogilny scored twice in the Leafs 3-0 win.
That win brought the Leafs to the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes who had home ice only because they were the Southeast Division winners. They actually had 9 fewer points then the Maple Leafs in the regular season.
Toronto went on to win game one and had all of Leafs Nation dreaming of the Cup Finals.
Of course that didn't happen.
A combination of the Leafs previous injuries and having too many injured players come back in the lineup on top of a Pat Quinn illness and a clutch and grab Carolina Hurricanes that eliminated any Maple Leafs offensive attack led the Leafs to bowing out in 6 games.
Carolina won three different games in overtime including game 6 after the above game tying goal by Mats Sundin.
The above video is the call by Joe Bowen.
Here is another video with the call from CBC and ESPN.
Great Quote
"Score, the Leafs have tied the game and the place goes crazy"
Isn't reminiscing about past Leafs playoff runs that sees them not win the Stanley Cup fun?
Hey, it's all we have.
Enjoy it and hope for a better future!
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There’s something really great about the way that Sundin stands there, stick on the ice and in position, while still following the play, best visible starting at the 35 second mark on the second video. When people talk about “hockey sense,” that’s it right there. Patience, reads the play, sets up and stable even though he gets hit in the back, and the puck is in the net.
I miss Mats so much.
This is where a witty signature might go.
This is where a witty signature might go on drugs.
My 10 year old body must have leaped fifteen feet up into the air when he scored that goal. I still hate the Hurricanes more than almost any other team to this day
Sometimes it seems this cycle never ends, we slide from top to bottom then we turn and climb again.
Stoik_Leafs Twitter
Thoughts on 2002
The Leafs had a reputation for ref-baiting, but I’m pretty sure that the Isles did a pretty good job between Games 2 and 3, not unlike Mike Gillis this past playoff of complaining about refereeing. They reffed a different game on the Island than they did at the ACC. I suppose what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but funny how only the Leafs get criticized for that type of stuff.
I just about had a stroke when Alfredsson crunched Tucker in Game 5 from behind, took the puck, and scored. I remember driving home and they had the post-game presser. Jacques Martin said it was not unlike the Gary Roberts hit on Kenny Jonsson in the Leafs-Isles series, so what’s the big deal? Then, someone told him Roberts got a boarding penalty for that. “He did? Oh…”
That 2002 Leafs-Sens series was my favourite of the four. Gary Roberts and Alyn McCauley were huge. I still call him “Superstar” Alyn McCauley because of that series. And Mogilny in Game 6… wow. Down 2-0 on the road, facing elimination… that was really the series we shoulda lost. But, they gave us an inch.
What bugs me about how that Canes/Leafs series was remembered is that people (though I see you haven’t forgetten) forget we lost 3 games in OT. Series could have gone either way. Of 1993, 1994, 1999, and 2002 — we were unlucky to have lost both 1993 and 2002, but man, were lucky enough to have gotten that far in the first place, if that makes sense. That’s hockey. Though the 2002 Leafs got the farthest, the 2004 Leafs were my favourite of the Quinn Teams.
I love how on the radio Joe Bowen can be as big as a homer as he wants to be.
He loves the team and it shows in the above call.
Another great call of his is 2002, game 6 against the Sens when the Leafs were up by a goal late and they blocked 4 or 5 shots in a row as time expired and he was basically crying on how much heart they showed to force a game 7.
Owner and editor of Crash The Crease
Here is that call plus the call on Berezin’s winner in game 6 to help eliminate the Flyers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7b8qir1ecQ
Bowen is the best
Owner and editor of Crash The Crease
That video is hilarious, I can just picture Joe Bowen freaking out like that after a big Leafs goal and it sends a happy shiver down my spine
Sometimes it seems this cycle never ends, we slide from top to bottom then we turn and climb again.
Stoik_Leafs Twitter
by Chris Stoikoff on Aug 5, 2011 8:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Chills up my spine when I watch this, I love Joe Bowen.
Popped a Colboner - Certified Joe Colborne Fanboy
I'm telling you I was the King of Spain (now I eat humble pie)
Now the Leafs call me up to drive the Zamboni
Twitter me this.
I think I remember Cox still critisizing Sundin for that goal
That being said, I don’t think I’ve ever had a bigger emotional swing then that game, or the overtime loss to the Flyers where JR scored on Belfour :(.
Can we start the Gose watch yet?
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