CuJo Blanks Sens

Ottawa
Senators

"You like to get the momentum that a first-game win gives you," Joseph said. "It's a big part of any game, even when you're playing checkers."

Tucker gave the Leafs 1-0 lead in the second period and it stood until Sundin added an empty-netter with 20.8 seconds left.

"It's a fine line when it comes to the playoffs," Sundin said. "The teams were evenly matched, and Cujo was the difference. He had a great game, as usual."

The win didn't come without a price. The Leaf's might have lost Yanic Perreault for the rest of the playoffs after he suffered a knee injury in the third period.

Leafs coach Pat Quinn was happy to get the win, but didn't like his squad's performance.

"We survived, I'd say that," Leafs coach Pat Quinn said. "We weren't where we need to be. They beat us in a lot of areas tonight. Not the score, which is the ultimate thing, but we had to depend too much on Curtis to win the hockey game."

The Senators outshot Toronto 30-21, but didn't find a way to score on Joseph.

"It tough to win a game when you don't score any goals," Vaclav Prospal said. "Joseph played well tonight, he shut the door for them. He may have been a bit lucky out there. He won the game, basically, for them."