Arnott, Elias ready to share Cup with Sykora
Associated Press
DALLAS -- Before the Stanley Cup makes it to New Jersey,
Jason Arnott and Patrik Elias are taking it on a side trip to a
friend, Petr Sykora.
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| Arnott |
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| Sykora |
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| Elias |
Sykora missed the celebration of the Devils' Stanley Cup
championship early Sunday morning because he was at Baylor
University Medical Center for observation following a scary
collision with Derian Hatcher of the Dallas Stars in the first
period.
It was roughly four hours later that Elias and Arnott combined
to score the Stanley Cup-winning goal at 8:20 of the second
overtime to give the Devils a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars and
their second Cup since 1995.
It was a goal that Arnott and Elias dedicated to their linemate.
Arnott took the pass from Elias and snapped a shot past Ed
Belfour.
"Everyone dreams of scoring the winning goal in the Stanley Cup
finals but I scored that one for Petr Sykora," Arnott said.
"I just spoke with him, he's OK," Elias said of a telephone
conversation in the crowded and cigar-scented Devils locker room.
"We're going to go see him as soon as we get out of here and bring
the Cup to him."
While there was great concern about Sykora because he didn't
move his arms and legs after the hit, Elias said not to worry.
"He said that when we scored, he was jumping out of the bed,"
Elias said. "We know he'll be OK."
That didn't seem so after the hit with 7:52 left in the first
period.
Sykora was crunched by Hatcher after flipping a shot at Belfour,
and he fell back to the ice on his back, his hands held out as if
frozen.
Trainers and doctors immediately came out to attend him as
players from both teams watched with concern.
Sykora was taken off the ice on a stretcher and taken to the
hospital where a CT scan was negative.
While he was being treated, the Devils went about the job of
trying to wrest the Cup from the defending champions.
Arnott and Elias, who played with a variety of wings for the
rest of the game, had a couple of chances to break the 1-1 tie, but
the end came on somewhat on a broken play.
Scott Stevens, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the MVP of the
playoffs, sent the puck into the right corner. Elias retrieved it
and sent a blind backhand pass across the goalmouth, a play the
line has used all year.
"In overtime, you just have to throw the puck in front of the
net as much as you can,' Elias said. "I just took a look over my
shoulder and threw it, and Arnie was at the right place at the
right time."
The puck went right in front of Belfour and found Arnott all
alone.
Arnott, who had been run out of Edmonton because of poor play
and acquired by the Devils in January 1998, didn't hesitate to pop
it past a defenseless Belfour, who was phenomenal the final two
games of the series.
"I don't know how Patty got the puck but he ended up getting
it," Arnott said. "We've just been working on passing and seeing
each other all over the ice the whole season. He saw me in the open
and I had to roof it. I shot it as hard as I could cause that was
the only way we were going to beat Eddie Belfour."
As he Cup was handed to the Devils, Elias had Sykora's jersey
draped over his shoulders.
The goal capped a great playoffs for Arnott, who emerged as a
budding star in the postseason. He and Elias led the Devils in
scoring with 20 points apiece.
Arnott's goal came about 10 minutes after he nearly gave away
the game by picking up a bad crosschecking penalty late in the
first overtime.
"It wasn't a smart penalty, but he more than made up for it,"
coach Larry Robinson said.
Arnott had eight goals and 12 assists while Elias had seven
goals and 13 assists. Sykora, a resident of the Czech Republic like
Elias, had nine goals and eight assists.
On this night, they shared something else besides friendship: a
Stanley Cup, the first for each. |
