Thursday Morning Mashup: Sevens in the East
In another wild playoff game, the Eastern Conference final was pushed to seven games last night. Despite a David Krejci hat-trick, the Bruins just couldn’t outscore the Lightning in what turned out to be a goal scorer’s field day from the outset.
If goaltending is essential in winning the Stanley Cup, the only evidence of that seems to be coming from the West. Either of these teams will need a much better effort over the course of their meeting with Canucks starting next Wednesday, or else they’ll be steamrolled.
Game seven goes tomorrow night in Boston, and you have to think both tenders will bring their game and keep the score reasonable (by playoff standards).
On to the links!
Window Shopping in the Pacific Division
Jon at Puckineh.com gives us the rundown
Just How Dominant are the Leafs in Toronto?
TorontoSportsMedia has the poll, go cast your vote
NHL Playoff goaltending not what it used to be
Tell me about it. Ken Campbell at THN has the story
Colborne’s focus on staying with Leafs
Not sure if this story has already been posted (it’s five days old), but I thought it was a good read regardless
Ex-Leafs go up against Canucks in Stanley Cup Final
Our friend Michael Langlois discusses Kubina and co. at Vintage Leaf Memories
Bieksa’s value just keeps going up
Matthew Sekeres of the Globe and Mail has more
THN Rumor Roundup: What Rafalski’s retirement means to Detroit
The Hockey News with their rumor roundup. Kaberle to Detroit, anyone?
Puck Daddy has the three stars from last night’s game six
Newfoundlanders get dealt a serious blow in their hopes for an AHL team
Mirtle has the story on the happenings at the Memorial Cup
Kyle Okposo signs a five year deal. Will he be the Isles’ new captain? Puck Daddy has the story
At the live chat on Bourne’s Blog last night, a few of us discussed the fact that the Leafs and Isles could start to peak at around the same time. While I believe the Leafs are probably set to peak sooner, it’s an interesting thought.
It’s quite unlikely either will make the post-season next year, unless the Leafs add a significant piece up front. But both teams seem destined for good things in the next 3-4 years for sure.
What do you think? How far are the Leafs from playoff contention, and seperately, actual Cup contention?
Email [email protected] and follow on twitter/maplestirup
