Sabres tie Leafs in delayed game
By Rick Anderson
March 3, 2002
During a pregame ceremony that payed homage to the best 26 players in Leafs history, there occurred a tragic incident that delayed the game even more. When former Leafs great Harvey "Busher" Jackson was announced, his nephew was supposed to come out on the ice to join the other former stars. However, Art Jackson bent down when he was about to come out of the players’ door and collapsed. He was taken to the medical facility inside the Centre and he later passed away.
The game was delayed once again when Chris Gratton’s hard slap shot shattered the glass behind Leafs goalie Corey Schwab and had to be replaced.
When game finally resumed, the Sabres and Leafs played a very entertaining game. Mats Sundin was the dominant force in the game, scoring twice and almost getting a hat trick as the Leafs were determined to play a solid game in front of their fans.
The Sabres actually scored first when Stu Barnes got behind the Leafs net and made a perfect pass out to Chris Gratton out in front with under 50 seconds left in the first period. Gratton’s one-timer was only his 6th goal this season.
In the second period, Sundin scored just 26 seconds in as he put one past Sabres goalie Martin Biron on a powerplay. A little over 3 minutes later, Miroslav Satan netted his 20th of the season when he shoveled the puck under Leafs goalie Corey Schwab during a Sabres powerplay.
With Sundin in the box late in the second stanza, Robert Reichel got the puck up to Gary Roberts, who broke in on Biron. He blasted it past Biron with just 25 seconds remaining to notch the game at 2. With the Leafs on the powerplay, Sundin scored his second powerplay goal of the night at the 2:04 mark of the final period..
The Leafs appeared to be on the verge of an impressive victory when J.P. Dumont finally netted a goal with 5:30 left. Dumont got a hold of the puck in front of Schwab and pushed it under the Leafs goalie to tie the game. It was Dumont’s first goal since January 16.
"That was a big goal and that's the kind of goal that we need and that's the kind of goal that I need, too," Dumont said with relief. "It's been a while."
The two teams played to a scoreless tie in the overtime and the Sabres at least got a point in Toronto.
The Sabres come home to host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night in the crammed remaining NHL schedule. It is going to be a tough haul for the Sabres to win the 17 games they need to in the final 23 games in order to qualify for the playoffs.
It was not revealed to the teams or the fans about Jackson passing away until after the game. Team doctors tried to revive Jackson for ten minutes, pumping his heart in attempts to get a pulse again. He was taken off on a stretcher so emergency medical attention could be administered. At that time, both teams were told to go back into their dressing rooms.
Jackson, who was the 78 year old nephew of “Busher” was introduced to the sellout crowd and when he was about to stip onto the blue carpet that led to the center ice from the players’ bench, his legs seem to give way and he fell down. The Ceremonies were in honor of Leafs' All-time "Top Twenty-Five Players."
"It was an awful thing," said Leafs coach Pat Quinn about the tragic death.
The game finally resumed 35 minutes later.
"You never want to see something like that happen," said Chris Gratton. "It threw a lot of the guys off. I know everybody was talking at the middle of the ice there (during the ceremonies), and the guys were rattled. It's an unfortunate incident, and it was a tough game to play, that's for sure."
Then Gratton’s rocket shot hit the glass and it delayed the game yet another 12 minutes.
"I thought once we did get it going it was kind of a quiet game for a while, and I think that's to be understood,” Said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. “Then there was some pretty good hockey, and then all of a sudden the glass breaks, too. Two big lulls - it was almost like playing three different games tonight."
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In a much delayed game, the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs played to a 3-3 draw in the Air Canada Centre Saturday night. The Sabres have not had a victory in Toronto’s modern arena in their last 8 trips.
Leafs goaltender Corey Schwab checks out the action in front of the net as Sabres defenseman Alexei Zhitnik receives a shove in the face by Leafs defenseman Bryan McCabe in an attempt to get Zhitnik out of the play. The Leafs sported special green jerseys honoring the Toronto St. Pats and the75th anniversary of the team being renamed the Maple Leafs.
[AP Photo/Frank Gunn]
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