Originally published on Feb. 24, 2024
By Zane Miller
On Tuesday, February 24th, 2004, the Boston
Bruins and New York Islanders played to 0-0 tie at the Nassau Veterans Memorial
Coliseum, putting the Islanders at an overall record of 29-31-2 while the
Bruins went to a similar 30-28-6 overall showing. However, little did either
side know that this game would become historic, as this is the last scoreless
tie in the National Hockey League to date.
After a somewhat disappointing 2002-03 season which saw
them finish with a losing record and be eliminated in the first round of the
playoffs, the Islanders were looking to improve, starting with moving previous
starting goaltender Garth Snow to a backup role while newcomer Rick DiPietro
took over as the starter for 2003-04.
DiPietro entered the fray for the Islanders under
controversial circumstances to put it mildly, as he was drafted with the first
overall pick in 2000 despite the team just having drafted goaltender Roberto
Luongo with a top-five pick just three years earlier. In case you’re wondering
who won that deal, Luongo went on to win nearly 500 games for teams not named
the Islanders and was a first-ballot inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame, while
Islanders general manager Mike Milbury was fired after the 2005-06 season.
Regardless, after spending his first three years in the organization building up
his game with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, DiPietro was having a
successful rookie season heading into the matchup against Boston with a record
of 15-11-4, a .914 save percentage and two shutouts.
As for the Bruins, their 2002-03 campaign also
featured a roughly average regular season record and first-round playoff exit, with
their 2003-04 season playing out similarly as they traveled to Long Island.
Still, the Bruins remained in playoff contention thanks in large part to the
emergence of rookie goaltender Andrew Raycroft, though he would have the night
off as he had just faced 32 shots in a game against the Florida Panthers the
night before. Instead, Boston would trust its net to veteran backup Felix
Potvin, who had briefly played for the Islanders earlier in his career and held
a 9-7-5 record with an .897 save percentage and three shutouts to this point in
the season.
Before the Bruins-Islanders matchup could even have a
chance to get underway, however, the fans and players would be forced to wait
through a delay of an hour and a half due to ice quality issues around the
Islanders’ goal crease. Reportedly, this was due to the Arena Football League’s
New York Dragons playing a game two days before, in which they lost to the
Dallas Desperados 56-44. The placement of the field apparently caused the ice underneath
to soften, leading to the Zamboni inadvertently digging into the goal crease
area. This led to an unconventional warmup period for the Islanders, as the
arena crew moved the net in front of the crease while putting up orange traffic
cones around the area while waiting for the ice to refreeze following repairs.
Despite the crew’s efforts, the crease still seemed to
have some issues once play was able to begin, as DiPietro lost his footing at
least once during the opening period. Other than that, however, the first frame
was largely uneventful, as great defense from both teams kept the contest
scoreless. The second period would be a different story, however, as the Bruins
had a two-on-one scoring chance just six minutes in. As captain Joe Thornton
passed to fellow forward Glen Murray, Murray followed with a one-timer which
DiPietro had just enough time to jump in front of and block down with a chest
save. Not to be outdone, Potvin would make an impressive save of his own later
in the period as Islanders forward Mariusz Czerkawski was able to cut through the
defense and find himself right in front of the Bruins’ net. However, before he
could get a solid shot off, Potvin knocked the puck from off his stick to
maintain the 0-0 deadlock.
Potvin made another great save to kick off the third
period, denying forward Arron Asham on a wrap-around attempt, with the
collective efforts of both defenses thwarting any chance of the game being
decided in regulation time. Despite this, the Bruins looked as though they
received a huge break as Islanders rookie Trent Hunter took a hooking penalty with
just 30 seconds left, which would have seen a power play carry into overtime.
However, just 21 seconds later, the penalty would be nullified after Murray was
called for slashing, sending the contest into overtime with an even number of
skaters.
Fittingly, the five-minute overtime period saw great
saves from both netminders, as Bruins forward PJ Axelsson was denied by
DiPietro in a scramble in front of the net and Islanders captain Michael Peca was
also stopped by Potvin after receiving a behind-the-net pass from defenseman
Adrian Aucoin. Speaking of Aucoin, he would be the one to take the final shot
of the game as he hammered the puck towards the net from a distance, though the
shot would go off of teammate Kenny Jonsson as time expired to seal the 0-0
draw.
DiPietro saved all 28 shots that came his way, while
also taking his third of what would be five shutouts on the season. As for
Potvin, however, this would be his 32nd and final shutout of his NHL
career, stopping all 33 chances in what would be his best performance of the
season, though he would not play again after the 2003-04 campaign. Both the
Bruins and Islanders would suffer the same playoff fate as the year before,
with both teams falling out in the first round as Boston was eliminated in
seven games by their bitter rivals in the Montreal Canadiens, while New York
fell to the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Following
the cancellation of the 2004-05 season as a result of a lockout, the NHL
instituted new rules for overtime games starting with the 2005-06 season
claiming that the five-minute overtime would be followed by an indefinite
shootout round should neither team score in the overtime period, all but
assuring that at least one goal will have to be scored in a given game as long
as the rules are still in place.
Thank you for reading!
Link to stats database: https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200402240NYI.html
Game highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTesPOJyoKc
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