"Series F:" Ottawa or Toronto?

[lmanchur.]

Who will win the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals between the Ottawa Senators (2) and Toronto Maple Leafs (7)?

Well, budman2, I know I'm going to disappoint you, but the Sens ARE my favorite NHL team... HAVE been my favorite NHL team for quite a while... and will walk all over Toronto. They keep saying, "Toronto is made for the playoffs," but they have A LOT of proving to do. They are definitely more grittier than the Senators, but other than that, the Sens have a much better overall team defensive and offensive game. The only possible edge the Leafs have right now is in goal, where Ottawa is lacking not really experience, but PLAYOFF experience.

Ottawa will win this round of the "Battle of Ontario" after losing last year's war.


(Check Sports Central (http://sports-central.org) on April 10 for my NHL Playoff Preview article, featuring my "offical" picks, and analysis of each Quarter Final series. Also featured on Sports Central during the playoffs will be a printable playoff tree, as well as live, up-to-the minute scores.)

[NickHammy]

I agree....but I think it will take about six games...

[Wedge231]

I'm going with Toronto as the upset. I just feel like rooting for the underdog in this one.

[budman2]

you know, as an experienced hockey fan i have to say that it looks bad right now for toronto!theres something going on in the dressing room ! i don't know what but if you look at the starting line up for the leafs you could be very impressed. there not clicking on the ice !!!!things have to be worked out , or it's lights out for this season. some are sating that quinn has lost the respect of the players and a sports comintater on the sports central said that he is just not up with the times in as far as practicing is concerned. have to agree with that . there power play could use some work and ther is just no break out power. barazin could arguably be the fastest player in the league, use him !!!!! he is a puck hog though.manson ?? please retire!!!:rooleyes: please." WE WILL SEE " friday seems like a whole season away !

[lmanchur.]

Originally posted by budman2
...a sports comintater on the sports central said that he is just not up with the times in as far as practicing is concerned. have to agree with that . there power play could use some work and ther is just no break out power. ..I saw that segment of CTV SportsNet's Sports Central also... that was Mike Brophy -- editor of The Hockey News... he basically said what you did -- terrible practices, and the team has NO breakout plan...

[PeterDewar]

I really like Toronto in the small upset here. They have the talent, and with CuJo in net if they can put it all together they have something going for them.

[icas]

No upset here... Sens are the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference... Lalime will prove himself in this series... also the late aquissitions done by the Sens can only help booster this team... i mean who'd Toronto get... Aki Berg, c'mon he was a bust with the Kings and he'll probably remain one with the Leafs...and Toronto gave up Adam Mair a promissing prospect and draft pick!! The Sens players are not worried with Lalime and Jani Hurme, Lalime's back-up, has been playing excellent as well... you could say that the fact that Hurme is a rookie and Lalime has never been in the playoffs will hurt them but i don't see that happening... the support cast is excellent... Alfredson, Hossa, Yashin, under-rated McEachern, and the depth at defense for the senators is just way too good for toronto to handle.... and for that matter any team! and the sens record this season against the leafs...5 wins 0 losses

i bet the Pens and Ducks wish they hadn't given away Lalime...

[lmanchur.]

good points, icas.

However, I think the Aki Berg deal was a good one for Toronto. I mean, they needed some defense, and they're HOPING Berg can develop into something good... I guess we'll see now if the Leafs were fools in 3 or 4 or 5 years when both Berg and Mair reach their peaks.

...the regular season means abosultely nothing now... 5-0 versus the team you're facing in the first round of the playoffs is very good, and that's more than the four you need to beat them in the playoffs, but I guess we'll see.

I'm going with the Sens, though, as I said above. They had a few bad bounces (in Game 5, I think it was, in particular) last year, and now they have better talent, better depth, and those bounces should now be in their favor.

[budman2]

all i can say is " what a game", we would have won the game in regulation, on the goal called back, if it had not been touched, it was going in the goal, but , alls well that ends well! next up, game two, so strap yourself in and hold on, it's gona get abit bumpy!!:D

[lmanchur.]

Agreed -- GREAT game... even though the wrong team won ;) :)

...both Patrick Lalime and Cujo played AMAZING!!!!..... I get FOUR CONSECUTIVE games on TV today, and TOR/OTT was the one I was going to not watch to give my eyes a break... maybe I'll change my mind! :)

[budman2]

oh how sweet it is....now i think we can get through ottawa, eventually, next will be filly i hope, i would rather play filly then buffalow, just can't beat that hasek. i may be selabrating a little early but after looking at the game from al angles , lalime is no cujo , not by a long shot.:D:D:D:D

[lmanchur.]

Lalime's played fine... he's just let in a lot of soft ones like Turek did last year... ALL the goals he let in he should have had, except possibly Roberts' 1st wrap-around goal.

The problem for the Sens is not Lalime... it's the offense.

That's now what? -- six or seven straight playoff games Yashin has not scored a POINT... let a lone a single GOAL!

[PeterDewar]

Toronto is really fighting Ottawa, great games so far esp if you are cheering for them leafs :)

[budman2]

i said it before and i'll say it again "yashin sucks" hes aeurapien hockey [player that plays for the buck, he doesn't care who wins , he still will get paid lots of money and live the amarican dream, to bad for ottawa, first it was all ther hopes in daigle who also turned out to suck, and then yashen "not good" but, there loss is our gain. see you in the next round:D:D:D

[NickHammy]

WOW...3-0....could we possibly see a sweep in Toronto Wednesday. That would be huge for the Leafs.

[lmanchur.]

Originally posted by NickHammy
WOW...3-0....could we possibly see a sweep in Toronto Wednesday. That would be huge for the Leafs. True... but then they would play New Jersey (again) in the second round... UNLESS CAR pulls of the VERY unlikely upset... then they'd play Washington OR, if WAS loses, then they'd play BUF/PHI... but they'll porbably play NJD

TOR made all the right moves in the offseason, but, really, ALL but TWO of the goals Toronto has scored (Roberts 1st and the winner 2nite) were ones Lalime should have had... Brodeur is going to stop all the other ones.... No chance for the Leafs (although, at the start of the year, I did predict TOR to win the East! :) ...i quit that prediction, though )

[budman2]

better pick a bandwagon and stick with it lee, you can't have it both ways, either your a beleafer :D or your not!!

[lmanchur.]

...I'm not a "bandwagonder"... I'm cheering for my fav team Ottawa all the way... but I ALWAYS cheer for the Canadian team in the playoffs... so if Toronto's going to be it.. then i guess it's going to be toronto.. I'm just saying that I PREDICTED Toronto from the start to make hte finals, but I am CHEERING for Ottawa and hope they can pull off the "un-pullable"! :)

[budman2]

to much pulling in that last post lee :D stop! just stop right there because it's not going to happen. your talking like the leaf fans of the 70's and 80's ." were going to win" "were going to win" " i hope we win" "NOT" "NOT AND "NOT" ottawa nd especially yashen are chokers, period . they might pull one win out of the bag , i'm not saying there not capable, but come on! toronto has won this series! time to hope the devils get real banged up!
man! yashen really sucks! i can't believe a man with that much talent sucks so bad,i mean like i said before , not sence alexandre daigle , has a senetor sucked so bad ( of course not sence yashen played the last time i mean) :D

[lmanchur.]

It's not Yashen, budman2,... the "proper" spelling of it is EITHER Yashin or Ya$hin... either way.... but not Yashen! :)

But for Ya$hin.... the playoffs are just a nuicance getting in the way of his tee-off time! :rolleyes: ...at least, that's what it seems like by his playoff play.... HOWEVER, I think he finally got an assist, the other day! :)

[J_Sinclair]

I'm watching the leafs game right now, 3-1 in the third......i smell a sweeep. Thats pretty cool, everyones saying ottaway in 5, or 6, and then BAM leafs sweep

[lmanchur.]

No one believed in them but Don Cherry, Pat Quinn, and the 23 guys on the roster.

No one but them.

Congrats to the Leafs on ousting the top team in the division but, once again, the Regular Season means NOTHING.

Looks like I'll be cheerin' for Toronto the rest of the way -- have to support the Canadian teams... if they beat NJD... they're going to the Stanley Cup Finals FOR SURE... Philly/Was/Pit/Buffalo won't be much of a challenge, IMO, after the way they played Ottawa.... NJD is the real test, and rightfully so... seeing as how they won "some trophy" last year.. hmmmmmm... I wonder what that could have been :D

[budman2]

assist off the ice........ for the season:D:D

[lmanchur.]

Originally posted by budman2
assist off the ice........ for the season:D:D What? :confused:

[J_Sinclair]

I think that the leafs can beat NJ because of the players they have this playoffs compared to the players they had last playoffs
1. Gary Roberts
2. Shayne Corson
3. Dave Manson
4. Yanic Perreault (was injured)
5. Nik Antropov (injured)
6. Aki Berg

This team is much different then last year when toronto lost to NJ in 6

p.s If toronto still had Bryan Berard the leafs would be the best team in the NHL!

[PeterDewar]

I would like to congrad. everyone who picked TOR to win this series in this post, myself included :) (Good job Peter) (Budman and Wedge were the other 2 to do so that I saw anyway.)

I like the TOR NJ matchup, should be a good one. I see TOR with an upset again, but it will take a full series. Cujo/Brodeur, no sweeter!

[budman2]

last post was yashin crashin,don't know how it ended up on this thread but oh well, he's history anyway.:D
n.j well now, i think if quinn plays corson on either stevens( heaven forbid)or magilny, we can nutralize that part of the game and thats a big part. brodoure , is a real good goalie , a carbon copy of roy, but not quite the caliper of cujo, i give him the edge.toronto in 7!
I will say this , n.j. is no ottawa , there the oppisite, mean as hll. no question of grit here . the leafs have got to keep there heads up in the neutril zone, and everywhere else for that matter! especially guys like mcauly, hes had his bell rung and i think he's a little gun shy.sports central says the long rest will go against them but i disagree, they had a 82 game rest and that did not slow them down ;). it will give tucker and corson the time to heal.love those leafs:D love the bruise brothers thing too, got to get me one of them hats.

[J_Sinclair]

If Toronto can sweep the second place team but NJ is up 3 games to 2 against the 8th place team, i think Toronto has a grrrreat chance of beating Ottawa

[NickHammy]

they already beat Ottawa.

[Wedge231]

This series was amazing. Shows what Toronto can do, I did not expect them to sweep although I thought they would win the series.