4/30/02:

Havlat's timing couldn't be more goal-den

By DON BRENNAN -- Ottawa Sun

Marty Havlat was doing a TV interview yesterday when the reporter's mike lifted just a little too close and bumped him in the chin.

Everybody had a good chuckle, then talk turned to what happened the last time someone got a stick up on Havlat.

"Maybe the referee didn't see it, I don't know," the Senators winger said of an unpenalized third-period incident in Game 5 of the Flyers series, when Luke Richardson chipped Havlat's two front teeth with his lumber. "It's okay. It didn't hurt that much.

"And I didn't feel any pain after the game."

No, nothing spells relief quite like GWG. Especially when it's a game- winning goal in the playoffs. In overtime. And it seals a series that was considered only the most important in the franchise's decade-long history.

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As thrilled as he was to contribute on the world stage, however, Havlat figures he's never scored a bigger goal than his last one.

"In the Olympics, the goals were in (the preliminary round)," he said. "Each goal was great to score in the game against Canada, but it was just a game in the group. This one was much more important. In the playoffs, sometimes a goal means much more."

Like the one he scored Friday, merely one of the biggest in the Senators' 10-year history.
Add to that it was also the first playoff goal of Havlat's NHL career, and it's no wonder the 21-year old Czech was showing off his damaged choppers yesterday.

He still can't get the smile off his face.

By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun

PHILADELPHIA -- The Senators -- especially Martin Havlat and Patrick Lalime -- are the toast of Ottawa this morning.

Havlat sent the Senators into the second round of the NHL playoffs after he scored the game-winning goal in overtime last night to give Ottawa 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Havlat, who scored his first career playoff goal, took a pass from Radek Bonk on the power play and fired the winner by Brian Boucher at 7:33 of OT to send the high-priced Flyers packing for the summer and clinch the series in five games for the Senators, who advanced to the second round for the first time since knocking off the Devils in 1998.

'GREAT FEELING'

"As a kid you dream about scoring the winner to win a series," said a beaming Havlat, who scored with Flyers captain Keith Primeau in the penalty box for cross-checking. "That's a nice way to score your first playoff goal. This is one I'm going to remember for a long time. This means so much for everybody."

"It was a great pass from Radek Bonk and Marian Hossa did a lot of work. It was pretty easy for me to score. All I had to do was put it home. It was just such a great feeling. We haven't had playoff success and everybody wanted to get it done here. We wanted to get the win."

While the Senators' victory sent Ottawa into hysterics, the packed house at the First Union Center went into a state of shock as the Flyers were forced to shake hands and begin another long summer.

Though the Senators aren't sure when their next series will start or who they're going to face, that was the least of their worries as they revelled in advancing to the second round.

The seventh-seeded Senators battled long odds to send the Flyers packing, but the reality is the better team won. Ottawa did a solid job of controlling the Flyers, who were held to two measly goals in five games.

"I'm sure they're going crazy in Ottawa right now," said Senators defenceman Wade Redden. "I would hope they're feeling the same way we are: Excited. We haven't had a lot playoff success, (so) this means a lot.

"We did a good job. We wanted to shut (the Flyers) down. They came out hard and this wasn't easy. We had to keep going at them. We kept going and going. We kept them from playing their game. We played well defensively. This feels good for everybody that we're going another round."

Captain Daniel Alfredsson scored in regulation for the Senators, while Lalime, who finally gave up a goal in regulation time, stood tall as the teams battled their way to the extra period.

Like nearly every other game in the series, this one was a nailbiter going into the third period. Trying to take the play to the Senators physically, the Flyers hit everything that moved in a punishing game.

Boucher, who made his first start in the series in place of Roman Cechmanek, made the big stops to keep Philly in the game, while Lalime continued his strong play.

"I felt we had control of the series when I went into the dressing room between periods," Senators coach Jacques Martin said. "I told them to keep going at them and not to sit back. I wanted us to stay aggressive because we had the upper hand in the series."

Said Alfredsson: "Our goal was to come in here and get this done (last night). We didn't want to have to go back to Ottawa to play another game. We wanted to get some rest before the next series starts.

"Now, we're going to catch a break."

Ottawa 2, Philadelphia 1
Posted: Saturday April 27, 2002 02:12 AM

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Ottawa Senators allowed Philadelphia to score, but refused to let the Flyers continue their season.

Martin Havlat registered his first career playoff goal 7:33 into overtime as the Senators advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 2-1 Game Five triumph over the Flyers.

"It's a great feeling to score in overtime," Havlat said. "All players dream about it. You score and finish off a series. It's a great feeling."

With Keith Primeau in the penalty box for cross checking, Marian Hossa found Havlat at the left side of the crease. Havlat outmuscled defenseman Eric Desjardins for the puck and tapped it behind goaltender Brian Boucher for the series-clincher.

"It was a great play from (Radek) Bonk," Havlat said. "He was along the boards and was patient with the puck. When their defenseman moved, he gave it to Hossa. It was a great pass and it wasn't that hard to score."

Havlat's tally marked the third time in the series the Senators registered the game-winner on the power play.

Patrick Lalime, who allowed just two goals in the series, made 25 saves for the Senators -- who moved past the first round for just the second time in franchise history and first time since 1998.

Ottawa last advanced to the conference semifinals in 1998 after knocking off top-seeded New Jersey in six games. The Senators made the conference finals.

Lalime, who finished the series with a .985 save percentage and a 0.37 goals-against average, saw his shutout streak of just under 184 minutes snapped when defenseman Dan McGillis scored Philadelphia's first regulation goal of the series 3:53 into the contest.

Desjardins slid a pass to McGillis in the high slot, where he one-timed the puck over Lalime's glove to give the Flyers the early lead.

The goal was Philadelphia's first playoff tally in regulation since the third period of the 2001 quarterfinals against Buffalo, snapping a drought of 320 minutes and 36 seconds. The Flyers' only other goal in the series came off the stick of Ruslan Fedotenko just under eight minutes into overtime of Game One.

"I have no answers there at all," Philadelphia coach Bill Barber said. "It got to a point where it just snowballed. I have no answers for anyone, why we couldn't score or why our power play wasn't better than it was. I wish I had the answers, and maybe in time I can come out with an analogy of why."

After finishing the regular season eighth best with 234 goals scored, Philadelphia netted two goals over the five-game series.

The Flyers' futility established an NHL record for fewest goals in a series that went at least five games. New Jersey scored five goals in the 1997 conference semifinals against the New YorkRangers.

"It is frustrating," Flyers winger Jeremy Roenick said. "Their team was more composed and disciplined. My hats off to them. They shut us down. You can't expect to win a series scoring only two goals."

Barber, who received some criticism through the series for the Flyers' scoring woes, suggested high hopes may have played a role in the team's demise.

"I'm not trying to buy time here, all I'm saying is when you have a big transition in your hockey team like we did last summer, I don't think that everything just molds itself together and away you go with things," Barber said. "It takes some time. When you have a player personnel turnover like we had this year, with expectations being high, sometimes it hurts you."

The Senators knotted the game with 4:44 left in the first period on Daniel Alfredsson's third goal of the postseason. Radek Bonk carried the puck to the bottom of the right faceoff circle, spun around and dropped the puck to Alfredsson, who one-timed the puck over Boucher's glove.

"It's a good feeling to win," Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. "The difference was goaltending and special teams. Game Two, the winning goal was power play. Game Three, the winning goal was a power play as well. And tonight, we had two goals that were power plays."

Making his first start of the playoffs, Boucher stopped 25 shots. Roman Cechmanek played well in the first four games before Barber called on Boucher, who led the Flyers to within one game of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2000.

"The kids has gone through a lot in the last two years," Primeau said. "He put in a stellar performance. He is a character guy and the kind of guy you would like to build around."

In a casual conversation, Martin Havlat vowed he would come up big for his team in the playoffs, and after the way he played in the big-game Olympics, you knew he wasn't just whistlin' Dixie

Two referees and two linesmen missed Luke Richardson auditioning for a Crest commercial in the third period -- only it was Havlat's teeth he was brushing, and it was his stick he was using

Martin Havlat likely wouldn't be suffering from a sore groin right now if this wasn't an Olympic year. A crammed schedule has never allowed the injury to properly heal, and Havlat lost out on the rest players who didn't go to Salt Lake City had. "But the Olympics are the Olympics, and this was one of the biggest (hockey) tournaments ever," Havlat said yesterday morning. "I'm happy I could be a part of it." Havlat has now missed the last four games, and six of the last 10. It's very unlikely he'll play tomorrow in Montreal, but he does have his sight set on Thursday's game against Boston. "I want to play a couple of games before the playoffs," he said. Do you still like Ottawa's playoff chances if Havlat and Mike Fisher aren't 100%