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LeaF
Top Prospect
Joined: 07 Aug 2002
Posts: 84
Location: Ontario, Canada
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 Posted: 2/25/2003, 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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yea, I'm looking forward to it. Belfour Vs. Coju, it has potential  And Dallas may be the team to beat but I wouldn't rule out Vancouver or Detroit just yet
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Madbulgarian
Prospect
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
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| Posted: 2/25/2003, 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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Well depending on the injuries but if all is equal I predict New Jersey and Ottawa Senators in the Eastern final.. In the West Dallas and either Colorado or Vancouver in their final..
Unless Toronto makes a major move to improve their defence they will not go far,, in fact as it seems to be looming they will play Philly in round one and if that happens I pick Philly in six games..
The Leafs are focusing on Owan Nolan which to me is a huge mistake,, they need help on defence,, the game in the playoffs is not what you get its what you give and their defence is not very good..
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harrack52
Prospect
Joined: 23 Feb 2003
Posts: 35
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| Posted: 2/25/2003, 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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well Philly has had a lot of problems in the playoffs, Cechmanek is good during the regular season but there's not much to say on his playoff performances. Ken Hitchcock obviously knows how to win though, so it's tough to say if they're gonna go far.
The leafs have slow defensemen who like to hook and play dirty, you can count on them to take out one or two very good players on the opposite side so because of that, they could get past the second round. They're gonna need a little luck though, because if the playoffs started today, you can assume Ottawa, New Jersey and, imo, Toronto are gonna go through, if Toronto is lucky, the caps are gonna beat the isles, permitting them to meat Ottawa in the second round, if not, they're meeting New Jersey, which they won't beat I think, Belfour's good, but Brodeur is simply better.
The reason I'm counting out Boston is because they have no momentum whatsoever, unless they get on a winning streak at the end of the season, which is doubtful, they're not getting passed the first round, for the second year in a row.
For Colorado, if the standings remain like that, they run the risk of meeting Dallas in the second round, right now Vancouver is well positioned because they could meet either minnesota, which are unexperienced or Anaheim, Edmonton could prove to be troublesome though. The fact that Colorado is not one of the top 3 teams in the standings will hurt them imo, plus they have an unexperienced coach.
For Detroit, something tells me it's not their year, but you never know, Yzerman just came back, it could give them a big boost just like Koivu did for Mtl last year. |
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LeaF
Top Prospect
Joined: 07 Aug 2002
Posts: 84
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: 2/25/2003, 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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yea I agree, I don't think this will be detriots big year. As for Toronto's defense yea we have alot of big, slow players but whe have some pretty good ones too, ie Kaberle. This think our defensive core has improved drastically over the coarse of the season. I think the leafs should try to focus on someone like Miller (he was gonna be traded) or some other solid defensive players, as they are not lacking on offense. As for Ottawa for some reason or another I just don't see them making the conference finals, too much youth and lack of playoff expirence. Teams like Jersey and Toronto I could see happening. I only mention Toronto because when under pressure these guys really show the grit and determination they have, and I don't think their regular season has done the team justice, and shown what they are caplable of. Frankly I don't really think getting Nolan is a priority. Sure it would be nice to have another power forward, but this team is built on grit and already has strong leaders, so that does not seem to required.
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Madbulgarian
Prospect
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
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| Posted: 2/26/2003, 9:16 am Post subject: |
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Now that Ottawa has acquired Vaclav Varada it adds not only physical grit but mental as well. I expect there will be one more addition from either Scott Thornton, Brad May or even Bates Battagglia.. Defence wise the only defenceman Ottawa might give up would be Karel Rachunek ( a youngster ) for Aaron Miller but once again the question of dollars is a factor. Ottawa's chances in the race for the Holy Grail has improved quite a bit. Additonally Mike Fisher a centerman might be in the mix for a trade as we have Jason Spezza and Anton Vermette two really good young centermen down on the farm.. In short there are some interesting possibilities.. Time will tell...
| harrack52 wrote: |
well Philly has had a lot of problems in the playoffs, Cechmanek is good during the regular season but there's not much to say on his playoff performances. Ken Hitchcock obviously knows how to win though, so it's tough to say if they're gonna go far.
The leafs have slow defensemen who like to hook and play dirty, you can count on them to take out one or two very good players on the opposite side so because of that, they could get past the second round. They're gonna need a little luck though, because if the playoffs started today, you can assume Ottawa, New Jersey and, imo, Toronto are gonna go through, if Toronto is lucky, the caps are gonna beat the isles, permitting them to meat Ottawa in the second round, if not, they're meeting New Jersey, which they won't beat I think, Belfour's good, but Brodeur is simply better.
The reason I'm counting out Boston is because they have no momentum whatsoever, unless they get on a winning streak at the end of the season, which is doubtful, they're not getting passed the first round, for the second year in a row.
For Colorado, if the standings remain like that, they run the risk of meeting Dallas in the second round, right now Vancouver is well positioned because they could meet either minnesota, which are unexperienced or Anaheim, Edmonton could prove to be troublesome though. The fact that Colorado is not one of the top 3 teams in the standings will hurt them imo, plus they have an unexperienced coach.
For Detroit, something tells me it's not their year, but you never know, Yzerman just came back, it could give them a big boost just like Koivu did for Mtl last year. |
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Madbulgarian
Prospect
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
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| Posted: 2/26/2003, 9:41 am Post subject: |
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Well now that we obtained Vaclav Varada our chances have improved a lot.
If we could only get rid of Radek Bonk we would be better off. He is big , strong and very talented but he doesn't seem to have the heart.
With two young talented centermen down on the farm like Jason Spezza and Anton Vermette we could easily bring up Jason and trade Bonk for say an Aaron Miller or Scott Thornton whomever..
| harrack52 wrote: |
madbulgarian: True, the sens still don't really know how to win in the playoffs, but they certainly know what not to do in the playoffs. Plus, being one of the dirtiest team in the league, the leafs have an advantage in the playoffs because referees seem to leave their whistle in the dressing room during those games. You just have to look at the hits Gary Roberts gave against the isles, the one on johnsson for instance. Darcy Tucker is another dirty player who took out Mike Peca. Bryan McCabe had a hard time at the start of the season because the refs were calling obstruction, now that they dropped this rule, McCabe is one of the key players for the leafs.
We also must remember that Zdeno Chara was missing during the playoffs for the sens, if he stays healthy, the sens will be a much stronger team, but if the stars survive the first 3 rounds in the west, no team in the east can beat them in a best of seven series.
I certainly hope the sens will beat the leafs, and beat them bad ! |
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Patrick
Administrator
Joined: 16 Mar 2001
Posts: 14737
Location: Harbinger, NC, U.S.A.
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Madbulgarian
Prospect
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
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| Posted: 2/26/2003, 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you glad to be on board. As a newcomer I have noticed that some members are prospects, some are top prospects and a few others are Lead Moderators. If you have the time can you explain to me what all of this means? Or is there somewhere I can go to find this out?
Thank You..
| Patrick wrote: |
Welcome madbulgarian.
Feel free to post an introduction in the introductions forum, guys. |
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Patrick
Administrator
Joined: 16 Mar 2001
Posts: 14737
Location: Harbinger, NC, U.S.A.
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Madbulgarian
Prospect
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
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| Posted: 2/27/2003, 12:04 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Patrick appreciate the info..
Secondly I am not hard on the Leaf fans its the management and what they did to the franchise over 36 years that I am critical of. In short its been the Leaf management thats been hard on their fans.. Anyway times seem to be changing so we shall see what we shall see.. |
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