OTTAWA, 25 May 2003 — New Jersey Devils winger Jeff Friesen scored a dramatic late goal to lift his side to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Friday and secure a third Stanley Cup finals appearance in four years.
An enthralling game seemed destined for overtime when Friesen scored from close range on a two-on-one play at 17:46 in the third period to set up a showdown with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Game One will be in New Jersey on Tuesday.
The Senators had fought back from 3-1 down in the series to tie the Eastern Conference Finals but in the end could not match the Devils, for whom Jamie Langenbrunner scored two quickfire second-period goals.
The Devils will now be favored to beat the Mighty Ducks, who are making their first-ever appearance in the finals. New Jersey beat Dallas 4-2 to win the Stanley Cup in 2000 but lost to Colorado 4-3 in 2001.
“I think the resiliency of this team showed all year long. We had to battle,” New Jersey coach Pat Burns told reporters.
He said the players had been inspired by the sight of experienced center Joe Nieuwendyk crying in the dressing room because an injury prevented him from finishing the game.
Ottawa coach Jacques Martin, pointing out that 15 of the Devils have Stanley Cup rings, said the main reason New Jersey won was their experience.
The Senators — cheered on by prospective new owner Eugene Melnyk and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien — opened the scoring at 3:33 in the first period when forward Magnus Arvedsson broke away and easily beat goaltender Martin Brodeur for his first goal of the playoffs.
But Ottawa’s defense always looked shaky and it was no surprise when Langenbrunner put the puck between Patrick Lalime’s legs and it bounced in off the skate of Anton Volchenkov at 3:52 of the second period to tie the game.
At 5:46, Langenbrunner smacked a long range shot past a screened Lalime, prompting Ottawa coach Jacques Martin to call a time-out in a bid to revive his rattled team.
Lalime, who had an inconsistent series, let in two of the five shots he faced in the second period. Both goaltenders made 24 saves.
Center Radek Bonk tied the game for the Senators early in the third period when he took advantage of a turnover to put a shot past Brodeur from the edge of the face-off circle and make the score 2-2.
The defeat ended a dramatic season for the Senators, who started the season heavily in debt and were forced to seek bankruptcy protection in January after missing a player payroll. Nevertheless, they rallied to end the regular season as the best team.
