Modin rises above the rest, scoring twice to lead the Lightning to victory in the playoff opener
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published April 9, 2004
[Times photo: Bill Serne]
Fredrik Modin celebrates his second goal of the night, which gave the Lightning a 3-0 lead and left goalie Rick DiPietro and Roman Hamrlik dejected. Modin's first goal made it 2-0. Photo gallery Gary Shelton: Coming up huge in the Nik of time Bolts coverage
TAMPA - Fredrik Modin sat in front of his locker Thursday night and answered every question in his usual thoughtful way.
The Lightning had just scored a 3-0 victory over the Islanders in Game 1 of the East quarterfinals. And the left wing's two goals were key. But Modin would not get drawn into the hoopla.
"It's one game. We won one game," he said. "It's great, and we're very happy. But this is far, far from over. That's just the attitude we have. It's great, but we need three more."
Modin was doing more than stating the obvious. He was acknowledging not everything went Tampa Bay's way in front of a not-soldout crowd of 18,536 at the St. Pete Times Forum.
The Lightning's 18 shots were the fewest, by four, in a playoff game. The Islanders' ferocious forecheck made it difficult for Tampa Bay to get its offense going. New York even outshot Tampa Bay 15-5 in the second period.
And other than Modin, the Lightning got little offense and just nine shots from its top two lines.
But as coach John Tortorella said, "When it comes to the playoffs, you don't overanalyze. You take your win, and you move on."
Especially when Modin and Andre Roy give you goals on two of your five second-period shots. You kill off 5 of 5 power-play situations, including three crucial ones in the game's first 11 minutes. And you get a monster game from your goaltender.
Nikolai Khabibulin, benched in the deciding Game 5 of last season's East semifinals against the Devils, brushed aside this season's doubts, not to mention the reporters who tried to talk to him afterward.
He also answered, with 30 saves, those who implied New York's Rick DiPietro, who entered the game with 15 minutes of playoff experience, is the better goaltender in this series.
"Nik was outstanding," Tortorella said. "That's good for Nik to play a game like that and get a win. It was tremendous for him. That was one of his better games."
He got some help. Defenseman Jassen Cullimore's skate stopped Adrian Aucoin's shot off a scramble in front of the net in the second period to preserve the 0-0 tie. And defenseman Dan Boyle stopped with his privates Michael Peca's second-period shot at an open net to keep the score 1-0.
"Hey, you need to give him credit," Islanders coach Steve Stirling said of Khabibulin. "He got a shutout. He must have been doing something right no matter how many shots we had. But you have to bury some of them."
As Roy did.
The right wing played just 4:20 on seven shifts but scored the winner, his first playoff goal, as part of a two-goal second period. Both goals came after New York defenseman Eric Cairns was stripped of the puck in the Islanders zone.
Interesting thing about Modin. He is so well-known for his big shot, many of his other assets, such as his penalty killing and forechecking ability, are missed.
That said, did you notice how his goals were scored on a backhander in front of the net and on a tip-in?
"He's going to be a very important guy in this series because of the strength (the Islanders) have down low with their defense as far as protecting the puck and holding onto it," Tortorella said.
Modin showed that strength with 8:54 left in the second period when he stole the puck off Cairns' stick in front of the net and sneaked it through DiPietro's legs.
He put the game away with a power-play goal with 9:01 left in the third period when he tipped in a shot from Darryl Sydor.
"I didn't have any idea I would score a couple of goals," said Modin, who had two goals in 11 previous playoff games. "I always go out there with the attitude I'm going to contribute. It was nice that I got a chance to do that.
"But there are a lot of games left. It's going to be a tough series."
