Barrasso might get to start
By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
After almost a week amid the happy campers of the Maple Leafs, Tom Barrasso is anxious to be included.
The goaltender's chance might come tonight against the Washington Capitals, which is an opportunity to rest Corey Schwab for a divisional game against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and another first-place showdown with the Philadelphia Flyers 48 hours later. Quinn called a Barrasso start "a possibility," while Barrasso said "I'm sure I'll get one eventually."
While Barrasso's tightly controlled media briefing was unusual for the Leafs room on a practice day, he said the right things about the club's title hopes now that the NHL trade deadline didn't yield any blockbusters.
"You need guys you never even heard of to come up and contribute," the two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins said. "In the times I was fortunate enough to be with Cup teams, that's what happened; career minor-leaguers came up and contributed. This won't take 20 guys, it will take 25 or 26 to make that kind of a run.
"There's a fine line between winning a round or two and getting to the final. You need a lot of things to go your way. One of them is luck, the other is to be injury free and if you do get (injuries), you need depth."
QUIET CONFIDENCE
Three weeks ago, the questions surrounding Schwab concerned whether he could handle the job. But yesterday, with a record of 4-2-4 in Curtis Joseph's absence, he was being asked about needing a rest. Schwab has carried a quiet confidence ever since the onus to make the playoffs landed at his stall.
"We're in the biggest media market in the world for hockey so I accepted that everyone would have an opinion about whether I could do the job," Schwab said. "But the most important opinion was (general manager/coach Pat Quinn's), to see what I could do. I felt I could do the job and we're still sitting near the top of the standings."
Judging by the Leafs' loose play at times during the past two games against the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders, Quinn thinks they are getting too comfortable with Schwab back there.
"The players have gained some real confidence in our goaltending again and they think it's pretty free out there," Quinn said with a grumble. "There are errors with the puck, a lot of turnovers and poor positioning. We don't want to continue that trend."
Capitals Not Ready to Concede
After Oates Trade, Jagr Says Playoffs Are Still the Goal
_____Preview_____
? Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs
? Where: Air Canada Centre.
? When: 7:30 p.m.
? TV: NewsChannel 8.
? Radio: WTEM-980.
? Records: Capitals 28-31-10-1; Maple Leafs 36-20-9-4.
? Probable Goalies: Washington?Olaf Kolzig (24-27-7, 2.86 goals against average). Toronto?Tom Barrasso (13-12-5, 2.61).
? Injuries: Washington?D Calle Johansson (shoulder surgery) and C Jeff Halpern (knee surgery) are out. Toronto?G Curtis Joseph (broken hand) and D Dmitry Yushkevich (blood clot in leg) are out.
By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 21, 2002; Page D05
DENVER, March 20 -- Moments after the Washington Capitals dealt leading scorer Adam Oates to Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon, winger Jaromir Jagr approached Coach Ron Wilson to convey a sentiment held by many of his teammates.
"If people think we're giving up on the playoffs, they're wrong," Jagr said. "Just watch us."
While such statements may serve a motivational purpose, the reality is that Tuesday's trade likely brought an end to what has been a miserable season for the Capitals. While Tuesday night's 3-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche could prove something of a rallying point, the scenario remains bleak.
The Capitals (28-31-10-1) are five points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, with 12 games remaining. Five games remain on the current eight-game road trip -- Washington has a 10-19-5 record away from home -- and the Capitals are chasing three teams for the eighth playoff spot. A season that began with talk of Washington's first Stanley Cup seems destined to end April 13 with its final regular season game.
"We may be only three points out, but when you do the math it's a lot more than that," General Manager George McPhee said. "Because if those other teams around us play .500, we have to play .700. It's happened before, but if it's more than five or six points it gets difficult to do. We're being realistic, while at the same time no one wants to concede anything."
By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
After almost a week amid the happy campers of the Maple Leafs, Tom Barrasso is anxious to be included.
The goaltender's chance might come tonight against the Washington Capitals, which is an opportunity to rest Corey Schwab for a divisional game against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and another first-place showdown with the Philadelphia Flyers 48 hours later. Quinn called a Barrasso start "a possibility," while Barrasso said "I'm sure I'll get one eventually."
While Barrasso's tightly controlled media briefing was unusual for the Leafs room on a practice day, he said the right things about the club's title hopes now that the NHL trade deadline didn't yield any blockbusters.
"You need guys you never even heard of to come up and contribute," the two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins said. "In the times I was fortunate enough to be with Cup teams, that's what happened; career minor-leaguers came up and contributed. This won't take 20 guys, it will take 25 or 26 to make that kind of a run.
"There's a fine line between winning a round or two and getting to the final. You need a lot of things to go your way. One of them is luck, the other is to be injury free and if you do get (injuries), you need depth."
QUIET CONFIDENCE
Three weeks ago, the questions surrounding Schwab concerned whether he could handle the job. But yesterday, with a record of 4-2-4 in Curtis Joseph's absence, he was being asked about needing a rest. Schwab has carried a quiet confidence ever since the onus to make the playoffs landed at his stall.
"We're in the biggest media market in the world for hockey so I accepted that everyone would have an opinion about whether I could do the job," Schwab said. "But the most important opinion was (general manager/coach Pat Quinn's), to see what I could do. I felt I could do the job and we're still sitting near the top of the standings."
Judging by the Leafs' loose play at times during the past two games against the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders, Quinn thinks they are getting too comfortable with Schwab back there.
"The players have gained some real confidence in our goaltending again and they think it's pretty free out there," Quinn said with a grumble. "There are errors with the puck, a lot of turnovers and poor positioning. We don't want to continue that trend."
Capitals Not Ready to Concede
After Oates Trade, Jagr Says Playoffs Are Still the Goal
_____Preview_____
? Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs
? Where: Air Canada Centre.
? When: 7:30 p.m.
? TV: NewsChannel 8.
? Radio: WTEM-980.
? Records: Capitals 28-31-10-1; Maple Leafs 36-20-9-4.
? Probable Goalies: Washington?Olaf Kolzig (24-27-7, 2.86 goals against average). Toronto?Tom Barrasso (13-12-5, 2.61).
? Injuries: Washington?D Calle Johansson (shoulder surgery) and C Jeff Halpern (knee surgery) are out. Toronto?G Curtis Joseph (broken hand) and D Dmitry Yushkevich (blood clot in leg) are out.
By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 21, 2002; Page D05
DENVER, March 20 -- Moments after the Washington Capitals dealt leading scorer Adam Oates to Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon, winger Jaromir Jagr approached Coach Ron Wilson to convey a sentiment held by many of his teammates.
"If people think we're giving up on the playoffs, they're wrong," Jagr said. "Just watch us."
While such statements may serve a motivational purpose, the reality is that Tuesday's trade likely brought an end to what has been a miserable season for the Capitals. While Tuesday night's 3-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche could prove something of a rallying point, the scenario remains bleak.
The Capitals (28-31-10-1) are five points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, with 12 games remaining. Five games remain on the current eight-game road trip -- Washington has a 10-19-5 record away from home -- and the Capitals are chasing three teams for the eighth playoff spot. A season that began with talk of Washington's first Stanley Cup seems destined to end April 13 with its final regular season game.
"We may be only three points out, but when you do the math it's a lot more than that," General Manager George McPhee said. "Because if those other teams around us play .500, we have to play .700. It's happened before, but if it's more than five or six points it gets difficult to do. We're being realistic, while at the same time no one wants to concede anything."
