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After 104 Minutes, Colorado Wins the Cup
The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup this morning with a piece of exquisite drama, an epic 1-0 victory over the Florida Panthers in triple overtime on a goal by defenseman Uwe Krupp.
The victory gave Colorado a four-game sweep of the championship round. It was by far the best game of the series, with the overmatched Panthers salvaging respect before their appreciative fans in the final moments of a surprising season.
Krupp scored after 104 minutes 31 seconds of play that took about five hours to complete. He fired a slap shot from the right side of the blue line that cleanly beat goalie John Vanbiesbrouck.
It was a notable conclusion for Krupp, who came close to scoring earlier in overtime. A native of Germany who used to play for the Islanders, Krupp suffered a severe knee injury in the first game of the season and missed most of the year while rehabilitating.
"It's like a dream come true," Krupp said. "I wanted it as bad as anyone who has grown up in North America."
Krupp said he took the puck after Colorado won the face-off. "I tried to get rid of it as quick as I could," Krupp said. "I leaned into it."
Colorado's Joe Sakic won the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player of the eight-week tournament; he scored 18 goals, 1 short of the league record.
After Commissioner Gary Bettman presented Sakic with that trophy, he then called him back for another, bigger one. Because Sakic is the captain, Bettman handed him the silvery Stanley Cup, which he carried high above his head on a slow parade route around the rink.
"I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life," Sakic said. "It's a childhood dream come true."
Goalie Patrick Roy of the Avalanche stopped 63 shots for the shutout. The Panthers did not score after the first period of Game 3 and managed only four goals in the four games. Vanbiesbrouck of the Panthers stopped 55 of 56 shots in Game 4, missing only the final one.
The championship ended a remarkable first season for the Colorado team, which played last year in Quebec as the Nordiques. For the Panthers, it was also the end of a special season. They are a third-year expansion team, making their first appearance in the post-season tournament.
"I stand here very disappointed," Vanbiesbrouck said, "but very proud. This is something that I'll always remember. Hopefully, there are finer hours ahead. This game was immense. It was an epic game. I'm exhausted, I'm disappointed, but -- in the same breath -- I'm proud of our accomplishment."
When the game ended, their fans showered the ice with toy plastic rats, a demonstration usually saved for goals by the home team. But this was the only goal of the night, so they used the opportunity.
In the history of the Stanley Cup finals, no game had gone scoreless for longer. The longest scoreless game in finals history before this one took place on April 10, 1934, when Mush March of Chicago scored to defeat Detroit by 1-0 at 30 minutes 5 seconds of extra time.
The Avalanche nearly won it in the 17th minute of the second overtime when Adam Deadmarsh hit the cross bar behind the sprawled Vanbiesbrouck. Colorado's Scott Young pounced on the rebound, but batted it into a knot of players at the goal line.
Earlier in the same session, Krupp missed on his first good chance at scoring after an end-to-end rush. And Valery Kamensky of Colorado streaked into the Florida zone, danced around Robert Svehla of the Panthers, and fired the puck off the side of the net, near the post.
In the first overtime, Vanbiesbrouck made two key saves against Colorado's Sandis Ozolinsh, both from close range. He also gloved a slap shot by Peter Forsberg. And Kamensky fired wide of Vanbiesbrouck's net on a backhander.
Florida's chances were not as pretty, but the Panthers also came close. One of the most dangerous moments was a rush by Rob Niedermayer, who cut down the right boards and fought off a check by Sylvain Lefebvre, who lost his stick in the effort. But as Niedermayer forced himself to the net, Roy maintained his position and gave him little room to maneuver.
In the first period of regulation, the teams exchanged good chances. The Panthers nearly scored into an empty Colorado net after intercepting a poor clearing pass by Roy. It is a flaw in his game that the Panthers have tried to exploit.
Bill McCreary, the referee, called only one penalty in the period, for roughing against Svehla of Florida after a post-whistle scrum with 1:03 remaining.
Most dangerous for Colorado was the line of Forsberg, Claude Lemieux and Kamensky, which frequently put pressure on Vanbiesbrouck.
The second period was even better, as the tension mounted. The Panthers failed on three power plays. They outshot Colorado, 17-10, but Roy frustrated them.
Florida's Tom Fitzgerald was involved in a spectacular play when he was carrying the puck down the left boards and into the Avalanche zone. Forsberg pursued him and slid across for what might have been a low check. Fitzgerald leaped out of the way of contact, surrendering the puck.
Colorado's best scoring chance of the period came on a two-on-one rush late in a shift for the Forsberg line. With Lemieux breaking down the right side, Forsberg elected to pass, and it was intercepted neatly by Florida's Terry Carkner.
The third period was filled with sweet tension. Lemieux fired just wide of Vanbiesbrouck's post on a slap shot. Vanbiesbrouck foiled Sakic's low wrist shot with a thudding right-pad save with just over six minutes left.
With a little more than three minutes left, Scott Mellanby's short shot from a crowded slot was stopped by Roy. Then, in the final minute, Roy somehow stopped Ray Sheppard's rebound of Carkner's close-range shot. Anticipating a goal, the fans showered the ice with plastic rats, a celebration that would prove to be the next-to-last of Florida's season.
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