NEW JERSEY VS. TORONTO BUFFALO VS. PITTSBURGH COLORADO VS. LOS ANGELES DALLAS VS. ST. LOUIS

Tuesday, May 1 Maple Leafs don't support Joseph By Brian A. Shactman ESPN.com TORONTO -- It was clear early in Game 3 between the Devils and Maple Leafs on Tuesday that Curtis Joseph was going to be difficult to beat. Less than 10 minutes into the game, with the Devils on the power play, forward Scott Gomez shot the puck toward what looked like an open net, only to have CuJo glove it out of mid-air and rip it -- to the naked eye -- right out of the net. Joseph stopped just about everything New Jersey threw at him, but it wasn't enough to win Game 3 on Tuesday night. "I knew it was going to be a night like that when right off the bat," said Devils coach Larry Robinson of what was ruled a save and not a goal. "We thought the goal went in and they ruled it inconclusive." Joseph made 42 saves in the 3-2 overtime loss, many of which seemed to defy logic. Breakaways? No problem. One-timers? Easy pickings. But when it came to the winning goal, it was another example of the Maple Leafs' defensemen not being able to get out of their own way. The game-winner that glanced off Cory Cross' foot and through Joseph's legs at 7:00 of OT wasn't even a shot. Instead, it was an intended pass from Brian Rafalski to Randy McKay, who was hurtling toward the net hoping something good would happen. "You never take anything for granted, and try and make as many saves as possible," Joseph said. "A lot of times OT goals happen like that, a funny bounce. A tough way to lose it, but you get it to the net, things are going to happen." CuJo now has faced 110 shots in three games, compared to 66 for his counterpart Martin Brodeur. Call it lucky or a random deflection, but too many times in the pivotal Game 3 loss -- which leaves Toronto trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series -- the Maple Leafs allowed New Jersey forwards to get too close to Joseph, so close that a bounce one way or another could result in a goal. Both sides admit that bounces -- lucky or unlucky -- are part of hockey. But two things help chance dictate a game's outcome: getting the puck to the net and working hard. "Every time you get the puck, you have to shoot because you never know what's going to happen in overtime," Rafalski said. The diminutive (5-foot-9) defenseman didn't care that the biggest goal of his two-year NHL career came off a deflection. "You take it any way you can get them." The other two New Jersey goals resulted from the same philosophy. Bobby Holik's tally in the first period was on a shot from the top of the circle and came when Toronto's defense couldn't clear the middle, leaving Joseph partially screened. Then, on Scott Gomez's game-tying goal, Rafalski simply threw the puck to the front of the net, where Gomez darted in to put it past a defenseless Joseph. CuJo's efforts Game Shots Saves 1 32 32 2 33 27 3 45 42 "If you want to win at this point in the season, everyone needs lucky bounces, so you just cannot stop working for it," Holik said. "The harder you work, the luckier you're going to be and that's a rule of thumb in hockey." After the game, Maple Leafs players weren't pleased about losing their second consecutive overtime game. They were even less pleased about wasting a great effort by their goalie. "When he carries a game like that for us, you want to reward him with a win," said Steve Thomas, who did his best to pitch in with his fourth postseason goal. "We gave them too many shots, and we have to help him more, taking some shots away," added defenseman Aki Berg. If Leafs players were aware of their inability to support Joseph, imagine coach Pat Quinn's perspective. "Check. Finish checks," was Quinn's formula for his defensemen to follow to reduce the Devils' 45-shot total. "We gave them too much room. They're too good individually to give them that type of space." Losing when Joseph has a poor outing -- as he did in Toronto's 6-5 loss in Game 2 -- is one thing, but squandering his 42-save effort Tuesday doesn't bode well for the Maple Leafs' chances. Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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