With the regular season concluded, the Washington Capitals kick off the 1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs with an Eastern Conference Quarter Finals matchup with the Boston Bruins.
Tale of the Tape
#4 Washington Capitals v. #5 Boston Bruins
- Capitals Regular Season: 40-30-12
- Bruins Regular Season: 39-30-13
- Regular Season Series: Bruins 2-1-1
Olaf Kolzig v. Byron Dafoe: Two Friends Now Rivals
Having known each other since they were teenagers, Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig faced off against Boston Bruins goaltender, and former Capital, Byron Dafoe, who was also going to be Kolzig’s best man at his wedding, after the playoffs. “For right now he’s co-best man with my brother,” Kolzig said. “We’ll see how this series goes.”
“We’ve had similar type seasons, with about the same type numbers,” Kolzig said. “But the playoffs are what every player, I guess, is graded on: how you do in the playoffs, how you respond under the most pressure of the year. And obviously, I’d like to graded A-plus.”
1997 Trade Revisited
On March 1st, 1997, The Washington Capitals traded goalie Jim Carey along with forwards Anson Carter and Jason Allison to the Boston Bruins for goalie Bill Ranford and forwards Adam Oates and Rick Tocchet.
Tocchet left the Capitals at the end of the 1996-97 season and signed with Phoenix while Carey struggled with the Bruins during the 1997-98 season and was sent down to the minors where he was injured.
“It’s going to be fun, because last year we didn’t make the playoffs and neither did they, so we’re all itching to get things going,” Oates said. “Anything can happen. Obviously they’re going in confident and playing well, and they’re a well-coached team, but I think we’re in the same situation.”
“Initially, when the trade happened, I lost a very good friend [Oates] and some great veteran players in Rick Tocchet and Billy Ranford,” Bruins captain and defenseman Ray Bourque said. “But, I think we all knew something was going to happen, something had to happen and it did. It wasn’t a surprise to very many people in that room. Maybe those three guys going to Washington to one team might have been a little surprising. From that trade we acquired Jason Allison, Anson Carter, and Jim Carey — three young guys who we knew and were hoping had talent and a bright future in the NHL. Coming into this year, we were hoping that they could take it to another level, and I have got to say that Jason Allison has really done that. He has had an unbelievable year for us this year. The same goes for Anson Carter, he has been getting better and better as the year has gone on, and is probably one of our best players right now going into the playoffs.”
“It’s kind of nice now, because everybody was kind of laughing at the trade,” Allison, who recorded 33 goals and 50 assists for 83 points to lead the Bruins during the season, said. “I kind of shook my head a little bit at first, too. I thought it was a pretty good trade for Washington at the time. I don’t hold anything against anyone there. It’s all new coaches and management, anyway… I think the games will be tight. I don’t think there’ll be too many high-scoring games. that wouldn’t be good for us. We have to play solid defensively. Our line [centers Sergei Samsonov and Dmitri Khristich] is going to have to come up with goals.”
April 22nd, 1998 – Game 1
In Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarter Finals series, the Washington Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1. The Capitals never trailed in this game with forward Brian Bellows scoring the opening goal at 16:40 of the first period to take the 1-0 series lead. Then in the second period defenseman Sergei Gonchar scored to grow the Capitals lead to two. Later in the period while on the powerplay, Bruins forward Dmitri Khristich scored to get the Bruins back within one. In the third period Esa Tikkanen scored an empty netter to give the Capitals the 3-1 victory and the 1-0 series lead. Gonchar’s goal was the game-winner while goaltender Olaf Kolzig made 27 saves on 28 shots to earn the victory.
“After not making the playoffs last year, getting that first win kind of takes everyone off the edge,” Bellows said. “You could feel a little nervousness when we first went out, but we can thank Olie for keeping us in the game. Every time you’re in the playoffs you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. I know it’s only one win, but it’s a step closer, and now we’re going to work toward a second win.”
“Our defense played very well, especially our bigger defense, and I thought it was one of Sergei Gonchar’s best games all season,” coach Ron Wilson said. “I thought it was a very well-played playoff game, very even and very, very fast.”
There was a scary moment in the game as forward Peter Bondra suffered an ankle injury 9:44 into the second period when Bruins defenseman Hal Gill fell on Bondra’s leg. Luckily for the Capitals, it would only be a sprained ankle for Bondra and he returned for the third period. “Fortunately [Bondra’s injury] wasn’t as serious as everyone thought, and he just got it taped up and came bebopping back into the dressing room,” Kolzig said. “I think he purposely waited to come back onto the ice late so he could get the big cheer.”
“It felt kind of funny. It felt kind of strange,” Bondra said. “I wasn’t really sure what was wrong.” After x-rays refuted his fear of a broken leg, he felt relieved knowing it wasn’t too serious. “I just have to ice it down, see how it feels tomorrow,” Bondra said. “It’s hard to say how I’ll feel. I hope I’ll feel okay. I feel good now. It was 100 percent [in the third period]. If you go out there when you can’t play, you hurt yourself.”
“He [Gill] fell kind of on my ankle and I twisted, and that’s what made it feel kind of funny,” Bondra continued. “I felt it right away in one spot.”
When Bondra returned in the third period, the MCI Center crowd applauded his return. “It felt great,” Bondra said. “The people were great. I know they looked around and they saw what was going on, and it was just great. I felt ready to play and that just pumped me up.”
“It was kind of ugly,” Wilson said. “He came off and said ‘Coach, I broke my leg.’ If I know Peter, he’ll be out there [for Game 2].”
Simon Nearing Return
In between Games One and Two, the Capitals received good news Forward Chris Simon got clearance from the doctors to play. Simon, who had been out since December 23rd, 1997 and had shoulder surgery on January 12th, 1998, got the clearance earlier than expected, which was set for the second round if the Capitals made it past the Bruins.
“I have a lot of adrenaline and stuff built up in me, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem in the beginning, and as the playoffs go on, I’m just going to have to ride the bike a lot and keep my legs in shape,” Simon said. “I love this game, and I think that sometimes when you’re playing you don’t realize how much you love just practicing, being around the guys… I went with the team on the trip to Carolina [last weekend], and after that trip, I don’t know if I could miss the game more, but it made me want to play even more because you get that feel of it all. I’ll do whatever it takes. If it’s not playing as much but really playing physical out there, then that’s what I’ll do. If they want me to go stand in front of the net on a power play, I’ll do that.”
Konowalchuk Done for Playoffs
Forward Steve Konowalchuk, who missed the last two games due to a wrist injury, was informed he needed surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, and would be out from 3 to 6 months. “There are other ligaments in the wrist that if they’re torn you can play through, but this one is significant, and if gets damaged any more it could be a problem for the rest of his career,” general manager George McPhee said. “So we have to look at what’s in the best interest of the player.”
Konowalchuk had the surgery on April 28th. “It’s really hard, really hard,” Konowalchuk said. “It’s probably one of the toughest things I’ve faced in my career to this point. With the way I was playing when it happened, it’s even tougher, but at least the team is playing pretty well right now. If I have to sit and watch, I’d rather watch us do well.”
April 24th, 1998 – Game 2
Heading into Game 2, the Capitals looked to grow their series lead, and in the first period Esa Tikkanen scored on the powerplay to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead. In the second period Calle Johansson scored his first of the playoffs to grow the Capitals lead to two over the Bruins. Then in the third period the Bruins offense woke up getting goals from Jason Allison, Per Axelsson, and Darren Van Impe to take a 3-2 lead. However, Sergei Gonchar’s tally in the final minute of regulation tied the game at three, forcing overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, the game went into a second overtime period. The Bruins only needed 54 seconds for Van Impe to record his second goal of the game, taking a 4-3 victory and tying the series at one.
“We were all pretty upset for the first five minutes after the game, but we shook it off and we’ll get back at it on Sunday [for Game Three],” goaltender Olaf Kolzig said after making 36 saves in the loss. “Give them credit. They really fought back after being down 2-0 and 1-0 in the series. I think we made a little too many mistakes for a playoff game. That’s something we’ll have to look at and rectify. We made too many mistakes. We had too many breakdowns when we had things under control. In the third period they got one right away that gave them confidence. If they don’t get that maybe they just say, ‘We’ll get ’em Sunday.’”
“We’ll rebound. We’ve rebounded all season,” coach Ron Wilson said. “It’s a long series, and it’s not the end of the series. Everyone here in Washington thinks if you lose a game it’s the end of the series, and if you win a game everyone’s ordering Stanley cup rings. There are ups and downs, and everyone’s going into this next game 1-1.”
Wilson also noted how he was unhappy with the officiating. The Capitals had to kill six penalties in the first two periods. “It was a pretty one-sided officiated game,” Wilson said. “We killed far too many penalties in the first two periods, and we didn’t have much left in the third. In overtime we hit the crossbar and had a couple of great chances. But those things are going to happen. It’s a seven game series.”
“They scored early in the third and we were set back on our heel,” defenseman Brendan Witt said after playing his first game in 2 weeks due to a wrist injury. “Our confidence went down. I thought we should have gone after them a little better. But that’s the way it went.”
Capitals’ forward Peter Bondra started the game, but he wasn’t seen after the first period. He remained in the trainer’s room, nursing his ankle injury from Game 1. Bondra returned to the bench for the start of the second overtime period to cheers from the Capitals’ fans before being silenced by Van Impe moments later. “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that if one of your best players is out, you’re shorthanded,” Wilson said.
“I tried at the start of the game, but there was too much pain,” Bondra said. “I’m going to see the doctor again [before Game 3], and if it hurts less, I’ll play. We’re just going to take it day-to-day.”
April 26th, 1998 – Game 3
Game 3 shifted to the FleetCenter in Boston, and in the first period defenseman Sergei Gonchar opened the scoring for the Capitals with a power play goal with 90 seconds left in the period for the 1-0 lead. In the second period, Gonchar scored his second of the game to grow the Capitals lead to two, but with a minute left in the period, Kyle McLaren scored to get the Bruins back within one. Then in the third period Dmitri Khristich rallied to tie the game at two, and force overtime for the Bruins. After a scoreless first overtime period which featured a goal being disallowed due to Bruins forward Tim Taylor’s foot being in the crease, the Capitals found themselves on the board with Joe Juneau scoring 6:31 into double overtime to give them the 3-2 victory and the 2-1 series lead.
“It’s highway robbery that we won the hockey game,” Wilson said. “We got a couple of breaks, actually, in overtime, and that’s what we said between the first and second overtimes. That we’ve done enough shooting ourselves in the foot, that we had to get to work. And we did.”
“We got tentative,” Wilson continued. “We had the 2-0 lead, the thing was pretty much in control, but we made a big mistake at the end of the second period and we came out tentative in the third. We’d been taking some pretty bad penalties. It almost seemed tonight that we thought that they called so many penalties that we could get away with one as the game went on, and they kept on calling it. We were daring him [referee Paul Devorski] to call penalties, and he was. We have to play smarter if we want to be successful in this series.”
The Bruins goal being disallowed in the first overtime saved the Capitals from going down 2-1 in the series, but when both Devorski and linesman Jay Sharrers said they saw Taylor’s foot in the crease, and went to the video judge for review and confirmed what they saw, 15,520 dismayed Bruins fans threw trash onto the ice.
“Getting the goal called back was like a second life,” Juneau, who was traded to Washington by Boston in 1994, said. “In my mind, they had scored. After that point, guys might have played better, because we felt very lucky. Sometimes to win a game, it only takes one chance, and that’s what happened.”
“This possibly could go seven games and be one of the more exciting series of the playoffs this year,” goaltender Olaf Kolzig said after making 52 saves in the victory. “We realize they have a heck of a hockey team over there and we have a heck of a hockey team over here, so I don’t think things are going to change. With the styles the two teams play, it has all the makings of having six overtime games.”
April 28th, 1998 – Game 4
Back at the FleetCenter, the Capitals found a way to shut down the Bruins despite their penalty woes continuing. In the first period while playing four-on-four due to penalties to Capitals defenseman Phil Housley and Bruins forward Dmitri Khristich, forward Adam Oates scored to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead. In the second period while on a power play, Oates struck again to grow the Capitals lead to two. Then in the third period defenseman Ken Klee, who was playing as a forward, scored to put the game out of reach and give the Capitals the 3-0 victory and the 3-1 series lead.
“We’ve been trying to find some editorial license on the script, and we got that with Kenny Klee’s goal,” Wilson said. “We relaxed at that point. You almost have that sense of deja vu when it seemed to be identical, the way the game was going, the pace of the game, but that goal really let the air out of their balloon.”
Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig stopped all 38 shots from the Bruins to earn his first career playoff shutout. “For us this is two big wins on the road, and Olie has been great the whole series,” Oates said. “You know, you watch Buffalo play every night, and you see Dominik Hasek and the way they play in front of him, and for us Olie has been that way all year long.”
“He was unbelievable. That’s about all you can say,” Wilson said. “He made some huge saves, especially on some of the penalty kills and a lot of the times when we got careless out there. It was the same script; it seems like that’s the way the games are going to go, 1-0, 2-0, then we start to get a little jittery, take some penalties and Olie tonight was up to the task. Especially in the first seven or eight minutes of the third period. The shots on goal were nine to one. Maybe six or seven of the shots were good quality scoring chances.”
“The last two games were carbon copies,” Kolzig said. “We got a 2-0 lead, and they started throwing everything at us. Fortunately we were able to hold them off. I’m taking advantage of my size. There were a lot of shots I didn’t see and I was fortunate enough to get my body behind them.”
“He’s been outstanding,” Klee said. “It’s no secret when you get to the playoffs the team with the best goalie is going to go far. He’s been awesome for us and that’s what you need to have. We have a lot of confidence in him, so we know we can rally and guys are going down to block shots for him and doing the little things. And we know he’s there for us when we need him.”
Chris Simon returned to the Capitals lineup for Game 4 after missing the last several months due to a shoulder injury.
May 1st, 1998 – Game 5
Back home at the MCI Center, the Capitals had the opportunity to eliminate the Bruins, but it was former Capital goaltender Byron Dafoe who stole the show with his first career playoff shutout.
After a scoreless first period, Bruins forward Sergei Samsonov kicked off a three goal period for Boston with forwards Jason Allison and Rob DiMaio following suit with goals of their own for the 3-0 lead. Then in the third period Bruins defenseman and captain Ray Bourque ended any hope for the Capitals to comeback as the Bruins defeated the Capitals 4-0 and sent the series back to Boston for Game 6.
“It almost looked like we wanted the Bruins to roll over and play dead, and we learned a hard lesson,” Capitals coach Ron Wilson said. “So it’s a little bit of a wake-up call. We have to dig in, go to Boston and try to win the game there.”
“That’s why you play seven games — it’s not a best out of five,” Capitals defenseman Calle Johansson said. “You have to win four, and we didn’t win the fourth one. It’s always the toughest to win. We played a pretty good first period, but basically a few mistakes in the second period put us back.”
“We weathered the storm in the first period,” Bruins forward Rob DiMaio said. “We knew they were going to come out hard, but we just did the simple things and that paid off for us.”
Capitals’ goaltender Olaf Kolzig made 26 saves on 30 shots, and had his shutout streak ended at 117 minutes and 52 seconds, which set a new franchise playoff record surpassing Don Beaupre’s 91 minutes and 9 seconds set in 1991. “They were trying to pass around me rather than shoot at me, and they did a good job of that,” Kolzig said. “We’ve got to pick up those guys going down the far sides [forcing the Bruins to pass to the middle and take the shot from there] and just let the goalie take the shot. The first two goals were a result of that. The third one I obviously have to have.”
“You have to give the Bruins credit,” Wilson said. “They came out tonight and they were patient. It’s kind of funny. We had a first period the way that they had [in previous games]. We couldn’t score the first goal. Their goaltender [Byron Dafoe] was sharper than he has been earlier in the series.”
“We took two games on the road,” Kolzig said. “They play better on the road than they do at home. Maybe we can take advantage of that. Everybody said this was going to be a six or seven-game series and that’s what it’s going to be. There’s no easy way out. The fourth game is always hardest to win. We’ve got to put our work boots on now.”
Capitals’ rookie forward Richard Zednik returned to the lineup in Game 5 after missing time due to a concussion and an abdominal injury.
When the Capitals left the ice after the loss, the fans booed them, with recent playoff failures fresh in their minds.
May 3rd, 1998 – Game 6
Heading into Game 6 at the FleetCenter, the Washington Capitals got a much needed boost. Forward Peter Bondra returned to the lineup after missing the past three games due to an ankle injury. I’m going to play,” Bondra said. “I don’t think I was out for long really, maybe seven days, so I’m in good shape, too. I wasn’t tried in practice at all.”
“He’s definitely a weapon,” Capitals’ forward Adam Oates said. “He scored 52 goals in the regular season, so they’ve got to pay attention to him. It’s going to make them make some decisions on who they cover.”
In the first period of Game 6, Capitals’ forward Richard Zednik opened the scoring to take the 1-0 lead. The Bruins responded in the second period as forward Sergei Samsonov scored to tie the game at one, but 28 seconds later, forward Adam Oates scored to retake the lead for the Capitals. Then in the third period, forward Anson Carter’s first of the playoffs would tie the game at two for the Bruins to force overtime. In the extra frame, forward Brian Bellows scored with less than 5 minutes left in the overtime period to give the Capitals the 3-2 victory and the 4-2 series victory to eliminate the Bruins.
“It feels great,” coach Ron Wilson said. “I’m really happy for our guys because we’ve been carrying all these demons around, especially the older guys. A lot of players sort of feel like our demons have been exorcised, and then you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourselves, but you have the possibility of home ice in the next two rounds.”
“We’re going to enjoy this one,” Oates said. “I’m happy for [former Bruin] Joe Juneau and myself. You’re always happy to beat your old mates, that’s for sure. They kept coming and coming and coming and we just held our ground, and we got a nice break.”
Bellows had the distinction of scoring the first goal of the series and the last goal of the series. “I’ve learned one thing,” said Bellows. “Being negative only hurts the guys around you, and it hurts yourself. You just stay positive, build the guy up next to you, and he’s going to play that much better.”
Bellows described his series-winning 50-footer past goaltender Byron Dafoe. “It was a turnover play. It caught the Bruins going the other way. Joe [Juneau] made a great pass across the zone. He hit me going toward the goal line. It was actually one of the few times I was on the wing and able to take a good shot.”
Before Bellows’ game-winning goal, both Bruins’ forward Ted Donato and Capitals’ forward Peter Bondra traded shots off the post. “That’s a tough situation [for Donato], the puck was bouncing,” Capitals’ goaltender Olaf Kolzig said after making 47 saves in Game 6. “I just thought, there’s our break, let’s go down and get a goal. Then Bonzai hit the post, and I think, uh-oh, it’s up for grabs again. But we took that timeout and told the guys to get everything at the net, just shoot the puck. That’s what Boston was doing all series. They outshot us by a wide margin, just trying to get the puck at the net and creating chances from that. So, Brian Bellows listened, and he did just that.”
“The pressure was definitely on the Bruins [the whole game],” Bellows said. “The ghosts are gone for the Caps. You’ve got to look at it as a new start, a new team, new management. We’re off and rolling, and I hope we keep going.”
Capitals’ defenseman Calle Johansson, who had been with the team since 1989, knew what that meant for the team and the fanbase. “It was one of those things where you want to prove yourself that you can do it,” Johansson said. “We would have liked to have done it in five games, but we did it in six, and that’s better than losing and better than doing it in seven. We proved to the fans and ourselves and anyone who doubted us that we’re not chokers, that we can get it done. We’re happy we won, but at the same time we know it’s only one series. There are seven other teams that have done the same thing, so we can’t be too happy about it; we just have to keep going.”
The Rest of the First Round Series
On April 29th, the St. Louis Blues (#4) eliminated the Los Angeles Kings (#5) in a four-game sweep.
On May 1st, the Buffalo Sabres (#6) eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers (#3) 4-1.
On May 2nd, the Ottawa Senators (#8) eliminated the New Jersey Devils (#1) 4-2.
On May 3rd, the Montreal Canadiens (#7) eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins (#2) 4-2, the Dallas Stars (#1) eliminated the San Jose Sharks (#8) 4-2, and the Detroit Red Wings (#3) eliminated the Phoenix Coyotes (#6) 4-2.
On May 4th, the Edmonton Oilers (#7) eliminated the Colorado Avalanche (#2) 4-3.
After eliminating the Boston Bruins in six games, stay tuned for Chapter 11 – Eastern Conference Semi Finals v. Ottawa Senators.
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