The Ottawa Senators almost blew the chance to take a firm grip on their playoff series, but are now in position to finish off the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to referees Rob Shick and Stephen Walkom.
In a series marked by the Leafs' uncalled-for whining about referees, they were given legitimate cause to scream their heads off last night when an egregious missed call by the referees led to Daniel Alfredsson's winning goal at 17:59 of the third period.
The Senators, with their 4-2 victory, now have a 3-2 lead in the National Hockey League Eastern Conference semi-final series, with Game 6 in Ottawa tomorrow night.
"I am, quite frankly, full of anger," said Leafs head coach and general manager Pat Quinn, who has already been fined $30,000 (U.S.) by the NHL in these playoffs for criticizing the referees.
"This should not have been [a call]that gave them any trouble," Quinn added, and that was as far as he wanted to go in assessing the work of Walkom and Shick. His players went much further.
Leaf centre Travis Green called it "a bloody joke."
Alfredsson wound up with the puck because he blasted Toronto forward Darcy Tucker into the boards from behind, a hit the NHL has taken pains to punish in these playoffs. And now a series could swing on a bad decision over such a hit.
As Tucker lay on the ice, Alfredsson ripped a high slap shot past Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph for the win and the fans showered the ice with debris.
Radek Bonk added an empty-net goal at 19:26 to finish off Toronto, and more garbage rained down on the ice.
Up to Alfredsson's goal, the battered and weary Leafs had the Senators on the run in the third period. They came back to tie the score in a game the Senators should have had in their pocket by the end of the second period.
Alyn McCauley injected some life into the 19,499 fans, who had made intermittent noise when prodded by the video screens, with the tying goal at 12:34 of the third period. It was his third goal in the past two games.
Hitting from behind became a hot point after several such checks in the first round of the playoffs. Leafs forward Gary Roberts touched off a controversy in the first round when he hit New York Islanders defenceman Kenny Jonsson into the boards from behind and escaped a game misconduct and suspension despite the fact Jonsson was lost for the rest of the series to a concussion.
Leaf defenceman Aki Berg received a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct in Game 3 of this series when he knocked Senators centre Todd White into the boards for a less violent hit than Alfredsson's on Tucker.
Supplementary discipline on Alfredsson will be expected by the Leafs from NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, since hits from behind have been one of the league's chief concerns this season.
The Leafs were left raging on three counts. They say Tucker, who is thought to have been nursing a sore shoulder through this series, is lost for at least tomorrow's game after he hit the boards hard with his left shoulder.
The Leafs also charge that no penalty was called because Tucker is considered one of the loudest talkers on a team full of players who yap at the referees and because of his reputation as someone who plays on the edge of the rules.
And they say Tucker had his feet kicked out from under him by Shawn McEachern, with no penalty called, on Ottawa's first goal of the game by defenceman Wade Redden.
"We're [browned]off," Green said.
"Everyone is afraid to say anything, but if that was Darcy Tucker making the hit on Alfredsson they would be screaming bloody murder and there would be suspensions to be handed out."
Dave Newell, the supervisor of officials for the series, said both Walkom and Shick told him they felt the hit was clean because Alfredsson hit Tucker on the shoulder.
"They were both adamant [Tucker]did not get hit in the numbers , he got hit on the shoulder and spun into the boards," Newell said.
"They are both experienced referees."
Newell said it was "ludicrous" to think either referee did not call a penalty because of Tucker's reputation or style of play.
Alfredsson's goal, with 2 minutes 1 second left in the third period, was a stunning blow to the Leafs. The Senators had stifled Toronto's offensive efforts all evening with their neutral-zone trap game and carried a 2-1 lead into the third period on goals from Redden and Marian Hossa.
Gary Roberts scored a power-play goal in the last few seconds of the first period to keep the Leafs in the game.
Now, one more replacement from the St. John's farm team -- defenceman Nathan Dempsey replaced Jyrki Lumme (shoulder) last night -- will go into the lineup tomorrow, bringing the total of farmhands to five.
"We have to use all the resources we have," McCauley said. "We have to find a way to win."
Snap shots
The winner: The Senators escape a Leaf comeback to take a 3-2 series lead back to Ottawa for Game 6 tomorrow night.
The loser: The Maple Leafs may have too many injuries and too little offence left to come back.
The goods: Referees Rob Shick and Stephen Walkom fail to call a blatant hit from behind by Daniel Alfredsson, which let him score the winning goal.