Stanley Cup Playoffs
Toronto looks for their 1st win on home ice in this series (and in 9 years) and you can expect that they will be a little less tight in the 1st period than they were in their 1st playoff game at the ACC on Monday night. Toronto has been getting progressively better during the series and looks to be the match of Boston if they play their system and don't gift them goals like did the entire game on Monday. [more…]
After a game in which the Leafs sat back, tried to limit the damage and relied on the counterattack against Boston, tonight you hope to see the Leafs exhibit spells of dominance against the 30th-placed Florida Panthers. It's a back to back scenario with travel in between, but we would love to see some killer instinct out of the Leafs knowing the state of the opponent and the importance of the two points. [more…]
The Chicago Blackhawks are just 60 minutes away from drinking out of Lord Stanley, and it will be present at tonight's game at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Should the Blackhawks win, it will be their first championship in 49 years.
"It has been flashing in my head since Game 1 of the playoffs," said Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. "Every time you win one game, it feels like you're going all the way to the Cup. I've always said when you lose a game it feels like your season is going to be over. It just has been such a crazy ride."
While many didn't predict the Blackhawks and Flyers to be in the Stanley Cup Finals, there are plenty of historical facts that may prove the hockey Gods have decided this would be the match-up for the Stanley Cup before the year even started.
While the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing and continue to provide us with some fantastic moments of triumph, the fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are now forced to once again shift their focus to off ice activities.
And so too has Leafs brass.
Despite his team sitting on the sidelines, Leafs GM Brian Burke made quick work of two signing he was keying in on, signing goaltenders Jonas Gustavsson and newcomer Jussi Rynnas to contracts. Â Continuing with the in-house theme, Burke will now certainly turn his attention to Nikolai Kulemin, if he hasn't done so already.
And while we are seemingly quite far away this point, it won't be long before the draft and subsequent free agency period rolls around.
It's that time of year again. Â The most wonderful time of the year. Â No, not Christmas, and no, you won't see any of those silly Staples commercials.
It's time for the NHL playoffs.
The annual spring tournament that features some of the most exciting hockey of the season.  It's  triple overtime games that rage on long into the night, games so long that you'll hope you saved some sick days.  It's players skating through pain, all for the common goal of lifting Lord Stanley's Cup.
And the great fans of the NHL, well they have the best seat in the house.
Around this time of year, especially the first round, marriages are postponed. Â Assignments are left on desks unfinished. Â Scheduled are cleared, or built around. Â Kiss your wife or girlfriend, and tell her you'll see her in a few months, a better person than when you last saw her.
* aka "Operation: Basement Breakout"
With last night's loss, the Maple Leafs were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the 5th straight year. This was not really news - even the most optimistic of Leafs' fans pretty much knew this to be the case since early into the New Year, if not sooner.
However, a more prevalent question regarding the season standings remains: is getting out of last place in the Eastern Conference still possible?
In case you missed tonight's shootout (or just want to watch it again), watch three Leafs shooters make Danis look pathetic, while Parise burns Giguere [more…]
Fresh off last night's hard-hitting victory over the Ottawa Senators, the Maple Leafs face another physical game tonight as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tonight's game will be the fourth in six nights for a Toronto squad which has undergone some significant changes in the past week. The Leafs will enter the game physically tired, but mentally inspired following Saturday's victory over Ottawa and a terrific effort in a shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Canada’s Men’s Hockey team has met its first challenge in the 2010 Olympics. Team Switzerland came in to upset Canada the same way they did 4 years ago with a 2-0 victory in Turin. Martin Brodeur’s 21 saves in the 3-2 win were not as impressive as his clutch saves in the shootout.
It's starting to feel like Groundhog Day.
For the 3rd time in a week, the Maple Leafs face the Devils. To be fair, the matchups have all been unique in that both teams have undergone significant overhaul between each game.
The Toronto Maple Leafs just can't seem to do anything right. The Maple Leafs surrendered another lead in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Maple Leafs fell to 1-10 in games decided beyond regulation and more specifically, 0-8 in overtime.
Some surprisingly good special teams had the Leafs ahead 2-1 late in the third, but a couple of 4-on-3 power-plays stemming from bad penalties resulted in the tying and winning goals for the Lightning. [more…]
