Thursday, April 15, 2004
Slaying the Eagle
The Sens finally scored on Ed Belfour after two consecutive shutouts. But the Sens didn't really seem to be any better then they have been the previous three nights. They just had puck luck on their side.
The Leafs look like a team that is just praying they can capitalize on their opportunities while hoping Belfour can bail them out in their own end. But that's not to say they should be counted out. I'll never count the Leafs out until their shaking hands with opponents that have big grins on their faces. Gary Roberts, who used to be thought of as the prototypical playoff warrior, is no longer intimidating anyone physically and has to resort to diving and faking to try and help his team. Even the smaller Sens aren't afraid to lay a hit on Roberts.
As for the Leaf fans at the Corel Centre last night, I didn't witness any incidents. However, when I was leaving one of the ushers mentioned that there were a lot of Leaf fans kicked out of the building. There was also a report on the radio this morning about fights in the building.
As for the game tomorrow night, I would bet money that Mats Sundin will be in the Leafs' lineup. But I have no clue about Joe Nieuwendyk. Last year in the New Jersey-Ottawa series, it always seemed like Joe was a game time decision but he never did make it back into the lineup for the rest of the playoffs.
It doesn't really matter who the Leafs have in or out of the lineup as long as Belfour is in it if the Sens keep playing the way they have this series. If Belfour comes up huge, the Leafs will probably take the game but if he doesn't, it should be a Sens win.
The Leafs look like a team that is just praying they can capitalize on their opportunities while hoping Belfour can bail them out in their own end. But that's not to say they should be counted out. I'll never count the Leafs out until their shaking hands with opponents that have big grins on their faces. Gary Roberts, who used to be thought of as the prototypical playoff warrior, is no longer intimidating anyone physically and has to resort to diving and faking to try and help his team. Even the smaller Sens aren't afraid to lay a hit on Roberts.
As for the Leaf fans at the Corel Centre last night, I didn't witness any incidents. However, when I was leaving one of the ushers mentioned that there were a lot of Leaf fans kicked out of the building. There was also a report on the radio this morning about fights in the building.
As for the game tomorrow night, I would bet money that Mats Sundin will be in the Leafs' lineup. But I have no clue about Joe Nieuwendyk. Last year in the New Jersey-Ottawa series, it always seemed like Joe was a game time decision but he never did make it back into the lineup for the rest of the playoffs.
It doesn't really matter who the Leafs have in or out of the lineup as long as Belfour is in it if the Sens keep playing the way they have this series. If Belfour comes up huge, the Leafs will probably take the game but if he doesn't, it should be a Sens win.