The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

THN Globe and Mail Edition

The Hockey News THN Globe and Mail Edition

<p>Have you spotted these two personalities in the same room at the same time? Submitted by Casey Terreri of Warwick, R.I.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04247/8658405-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="236" height="258"></div><h2><b>Chris Mason</b></h2><p>Predators goalie has been Vokoun&rsquo;s credible back-up.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05209/8658398-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="229" height="252"></div><h2><b>Vanilla Ice</b></h2><p>Rapper claimed to have street cred, couldn&rsquo;t back it up.</p><p>Submit ideas for Seperated at Birth to <a href="mailto:separated@thehockeynews.com">separated@thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-04

DEPARTMENTS

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

<div class="byline">By DAVID SHOALTS </div><div class="byline">The Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02828/8657588-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Darcy Tucker</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011241/8657595-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="174" height="198"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b> mid the doom and gloom in Toronto, when fans were lamenting the absence of the Maple Leafs from the playoffs, someone burst into the offices of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment with the best possible news:</p><p>&ldquo;Phase two of Maple Leaf Square is almost sold out!&rdquo;</p><p>So don&rsquo;t worry hockey fans, the Leafs and even the NBA&rsquo;s powerhouse Toronto Raptors may be out of the playoffs this year, but there is always good news around the corner for the condo salesmen who run your hockey team. Even without the $3 million or so that every playoff game brings into the MLSE coffers, the ledgers are all showing healthy amounts of profit thanks to the NHL&rsquo;s salary cap.</p><p>Well, OK, maybe some people are feeling down that the Leafs are out of the playoffs for the first time in eight years. But look on the bright side: No impromptu drunken parades up and down Bay Street with screaming fans and honking horns well into the wee hours after a Leafs playoff win.</p><p>Since we are here to help as well as inform, we will try to answer a most vexing question: What in the name of Harold Ballard is the Center of the Hockey Universe to do without the Leafs in the playoffs?</p><p>First is to scrap the suggestion that Leaf fans can watch some great matchups in the first Stanley Cup tournament of the post-lockout, post-obstruction NHL. All self-respecting Leaf fans will be left cold. As anyone who has spent more than 24 hours in the Centre of the Hockey Universe knows, the folks here are not hockey fans, they are Maple Leaf fans. If the game does not feature the blue-and-white logo, nobody goes.</p><p>Just ask the proprietors of the three major junior hockey teams in the Greater Toronto Area. Better yet, ask the former proprietors of the Toronto Roadrunners, the poor fellows whose love of hockey made them forget that cardinal rule, much to the distress of their bankers.</p><p>You could also ask the proprietors of the Toronto Marlies, the Roadrunners&rsquo; replacement as the city&rsquo;s AHL team, but they happen to work for MLSE. Yes, even putting the official Leafs farm team in Toronto, complete with blue-and-white sweaters and the revival of a historic nickname, still meant lots of empty seats.</p><p>A different form of hockey might do the trick. Sidney Crosby should be the featured player for Canada at the world championship in Latvia. Since Alex Ovechkin, who outshone Crosby this season, will star for Russia, this has some promise.</p><p>Alas, Canadians are a lot like Leaf fans when it comes to the worlds. Unless the NHL is doing something stupid like having a lockout, your average hockey fan would close the drapes if the gold medal game was being held in his backyard rink.</p><p>No, the best recommendation, aside from catching up on <i>The Sopranos</i>, is to turn to a different sport entirely. And it seems Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Riccardi has anticipated the arrival of legions of Leaf fans. Why, just the other day Ricciardi seemed to be awfully evasive about the health of one of his starting pitchers, A.J. Burnett. A guy could have sworn it was Leafs GM John Ferguson talking about Ed Belfour.</p><p>So head down to the dome for some baseball, Leaf fans. You&rsquo;ll feel right at home. Well, unless the Blue Jays start winning as much as everybody says they will.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-02

Leafs in daze? Try the Jays

<div class="byline">- Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04572/8656695-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="750" height="1141"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Leggo</b> <span class="photo-credit">(LEGGO: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>A fouls the NHL clamped down on this season. hook is a hook is a hook. Same goes for holding, interference and all the other obstruction</p><p>And if you think that will change when the playoffs roll around, you had better think again. Just ask Stephen Walkom. Again.</p><p>&ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you sick of talking about this by now?&rdquo; laughs Walkom, the NHL&rsquo;s supervisor of officials who has worked hard to make sure his crew has maintained a high standard for calling obstruction fouls this season. &ldquo;Our guys are committed to it. They have been committed to it all year.</p><p>&ldquo;Obviously when the games get tough and the games get close, and there are playoff ramifications, there is a lot of interest in how the games are called. But we just want the guys to go out and if they see it, call it.&rdquo;</p><p>That has not always been the case in the NHL where cheaters were rewarded and the game&rsquo;s most skilled players took a back seat to grinders and pluggers at the most important time of the season. The lesser-skilled players who interfere and clutch and grab often had a greater affect on the outcome of games than more talented players.</p><p>Those days, Walkom insists, are gone for good.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve tried to give a consistent message and I hope we&rsquo;re making believers out of people,&rdquo; Walkom says. &ldquo;Our team of officials have done a good job and the guys who continue to do a good job will move forward in the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>The NHL will open the playoffs with 22 referees and 19 linesmen and the numbers will decrease through the four rounds. It will be 14 and 10 in the second round; nine and eight in the third round and four and four in the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>Walkom says he won&rsquo;t announce the playoff officials until the regular season concludes.</p><p>&ldquo;Our focus is on the remaining games,&rdquo; he says.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-04

COVER STORY

Standard will remain

<div class="byline">By TIM GRAHAM </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02741/8657782-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Maxim Afinogenov</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011099/8657789-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="186" height="156"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>ne of the NHL&rsquo;s most surprising teams became one of its most enigmatic at the most troubling of times. Few teams were as hot as the Sabres for three-quarters of the season. They had the best special teams in the East. No offense was more balanced. Their goalie was so good hockey experts were aghast when he was overlooked for the U.S. Olympic squad.</p><p>The Sabres won eight straight games after the break. Then, chaos. Six losses in a row and one victory in nine games heading into April, including a rock-bottom 7-0 whitewash at the hands of the Maple Leafs that caused hearts to sink just as Sabres fans were set to to enjoy their first post-season since 2001. The timing couldn&rsquo;t be worse.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Sabres&rsquo; skating prowess is surpassed only by their selflessness. They owned the East&rsquo;s best power play and penalty kill for much of the season. And while they don&rsquo;t claim a single player among the top 65 scorers, they have 11 skaters with 30 points or more.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Sabres have struggled against the league&rsquo;s better-skating teams, and lately they&rsquo;re suffering from a crisis of confidence. They entered a March 18 game against the Senators one point behind the Northeast leaders and got walloped. The Sabres haven&rsquo;t played with the same edge since.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Post-season experience is a concern. They&rsquo;ve missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, a franchise record. There are 13 players on Buffalo&rsquo;s roster, including both goalies, who have never experienced an NHL playoff game. Chris Drury, with 80 post-season games on his resume, has 10 more than his 20 teammates combined, and is the only Sabre to have won a Stanley Cup.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The Sabres entered April having been outscored away from HSBC Arena, but still had a 21-12-3 road record.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Buffalo&rsquo;s ability to constantly dip into the AHL and find an effective injury replacement has been remarkable, but repeated injuries forced those reserves into permanent duty. The blueline is thin and can&rsquo;t sustain any additional injuries or funks.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Ryan Miller and Martin Biron, impeccable through the Olympic break, have stumbled. Entering April, Miller was pulled twice and surrendered five goals four times in an 11-game span. He gave up five goals only once through his first 32 games. Biron, who won a team-record 13 straight starts before Christmas, had two wins since.</p><p><b>COACH LINDY RUFF SAYS</b> &ldquo;This is a give and take. (The goaltenders) have been strong for us throughout the year. They&rsquo;re having a tough time, and now we need to support them.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03580/8657775-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="1151" height="861"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04459/8657768-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="850" height="896"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0033-02

Rattled Sabres limp to finish

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012019/8656310-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COVER: ANDRE RINGUETTE; CONTENTS: BILL WIPPERT)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>EXTRA! EXTRA!</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he experts at The Hockey News and The Globe and Mail have teamed up to provide this unique and authoritative preview of the 2006 NHL playoffs. It&rsquo;s your guide to everything post-season and a great resource to become king of the water cooler.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-01

IN THIS ISSUE

Spring Fever

<div class="byline">Jason Kay</div><p><b>K</b>en Dryden. Andy Moog. Mike Vernon. Chris Osgood. These are all the precedents&rsquo; men.</p><p>While it&rsquo;s true goaltenders still hold an inordinate amount of influence in NHL games, it&rsquo;s a myth you need a sensational, proven netminder to win the Stanley Cup. It helps to have Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy, but it&rsquo;s not imperative.</p><p>And it&rsquo;s that line of thinking that has us in the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; corner as Stanley Cup favorite, no matter who&rsquo;s tending goal for them this spring.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011972/8656348-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="350" height="526"></div><p>A quick history review tells us: Dryden was a rookie with six NHL games&rsquo; experience when he backboned the Canadiens to Stanley Cup glory in 1971; Moog platooned with Grant Fuhr during the Oilers&rsquo; first championship run in 1984; Vernon ranked 33rd in save percentage in 1997, the year he led Detroit to the title; and Osgood quieted all the critics the following season by anchoring the Wings&rsquo; repeat.</p><p>Besides, odds are decent the masked men vying for the Cup this spring will be green. Other than Brodeur, the playoff-bound Eastern Conference goalies could fit their post-season experience in a thimble. Of the top contenders in the West, only Miikka Kiprusoff (and Osgood, should he play) has the &lsquo;been-there, done that&rsquo; T-shirt.</p><p>We believe the Senators have enough talent, grit and depth to get by if their netminding proves steady rather than spectacular. And we&rsquo;re confident should Dominik Hasek not be ready to go, Ray Emery, the NHL rookie and defensive player of the month for March, is capable of steady.</p><p>Mike Brophy, senior writer for The Hockey News, expands on why we believe the Sens are the sensible choice <i>(see pg. 6).</i> Of course, there are 15 other teams who will try to prove us wrong and we&rsquo;ve analyzed their chances in this special Playoff Preview edition, crafted jointly by The Hockey News and The Globe and Mail. Highlights of the next 43 pages include:</p><p>&bull; Stanley Cup odds for all playoff-bound teams</p><p>&bull; In-depth dissection of how teams win and how they&rsquo;re beaten, paying special attention to the Canadian clubs</p><p>&bull; Expert opinion from some of the industry&rsquo;s top writers, including Eric Duhatschek, Mike Brophy, Stephen Brunt and Mark Brender</p><p>&bull; Features on the magic of NHL overtime, the role of special teams, 10 unlikely heroes, the mystery of post-season injuries, playoff strategy and under-recognized Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov</p><p>&bull; Walks on the wacky side with TSN hockey host James Duthie and <a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> columnist Adam Proteau</p><p>&bull; Pertinent statistical analyses and number crunches</p><p>&bull; Tips for pool players on how to outmaneuver their rivals</p><p>All told, the magazine is a unique blend of playoff insight and forecasting, boasting a depth of coverage you won&rsquo;t find anywhere else. We figured with the cumulative shinny expertise of The Hockey News and The Globe and Mail, we couldn&rsquo;t go wrong &ndash; kind of like the Oilers with Moog and Fuhr.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021655/8656341-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="457" height="244"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-01

It just makes Sens

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031347/8656379-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="930" height="1420"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Marc Savard</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>CONSTANT WATCH ON BUBBLE</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>s Phil Mickelson cruised to victory at a PGA Tour event, we noticed his intense interest in how his favorite hockey team, the Atlanta Thrashers, were doing that day. We were, too, Phil. Day after day after day. Not just the Thrashers, but the Maple Leafs, Kings and Panthers. NHL teams on the bubble of playoff qualification. As we join forces with Canada&rsquo;s national daily newspaper, The Globe and Mail, we remain very much tied to weekly deadlines that keep our focus constantly on these bubble teams. We know only 16 teams qualify for the playoffs, but because we have print deadlines to adhere to, we&rsquo;re compelled to include several teams that probably won&rsquo;t, or didn&rsquo;t, qualify. By now you know who they are. Sorry Phil, that surely means your team, too.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-03

IN THE NEWSROOM

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MARK BRENDER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011982/8656441-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Cristobal Huet</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>artin St-Louis has been a weak version of his 2004, award-winning self. There is less depth on the blueline and less leadership in the dressing room. Their special teams have taken a year-long vacation, last seen headed south out of Paraguay.</p><p>Yet for all that, the main reason the Tampa Bay Lightning enter these playoffs as an afterthought rather than a champ to be dethroned is the man <i>not</i> between the pipes.</p><p>Nikolai Khabibulin stunk out the joint in Chicago this season. He hasn&rsquo;t been any better than the John Grahame-Sean Burke duo has performed as his Tampa replacements. Knowing that, the Bolts would take him back for the next two months in a heartbeat. If he&rsquo;s done it before, there&rsquo;s a chance he can do it again.</p><p>That kind of thinking has pervaded NHL playoff landscape for decades. It&rsquo;s what Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix was counting on when he traded a month ago for Jose Theodore, who was not only having arguably the worst season of his career, but also arrived with a cracked heel (Theodore has never even been to a Cup final; that Lacroix still went after him only shows how hard it is to find &ldquo;experienced&rdquo; goalies).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021415/8656434-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="246" height="276"></div><p>But does the win-once, win-again theory fit facts? Is the investment in a playoff-proven goalie worth it, given the alternatives?</p><p>Khabibulin had all of one playoff series victory to his credit and didn&rsquo;t even win Tampa&rsquo;s No. 1 job until mid-season before going on his Cup-wining run.</p><p>At the other end in the Cup final, Calgary&rsquo;s Miikka Kiprusoff had played in parts of just four NHL playoff games before his own post-season heroics.</p><p>While the experience of Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur won multiple Stanley Cups for Colorado and New Jersey over the past decade, those two goalies had playoff success from the very beginning of their careers. They, along with the injured Dominik Hasek, are special cases.</p><p>As for the rest, there&rsquo;s no real reason to expect San Jose&rsquo;s Vesa Toskala to crumble to pressure any more than Conn Smythe winner J-S Giguere of Anaheim, for example. In the East, where at least six of eight starting goalies figure to be playoff neophytes, no one can say whether it even matters that Cristobal Huet (Montreal) and Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers) and Ryan Miller (Buffalo) have never played a minute of playoff action. Maybe they&rsquo;ll flop, but it&rsquo;s just as likely one will pull a Kiprusoff and become a playoff star.</p><p>The real pressure will be on Dallas&rsquo; Marty Turco. When it comes to playoffs and winning, Turco has been there, hasn&rsquo;t done that. The clock is ticking on his time to prove that he can.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-01

Show stoppers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03921/8656479-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="751" height="535"><figcaption class="caption-body">2002/2007 Bell Canadian Open. 2001 Telus Skin&rsquo;s Game. 2001 Bank of Montreal Canadian Women&rsquo;s Open.</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span> million memorable moments&hellip; from world-class events to intimate family gatherings, they&rsquo;ve all happened at Angus Glen. There have been holes-in-one and thirty-foot putts. There have been weddings with tears and laughter and tournaments that achieved lofty charitable goals. There have been people who&rsquo;ve started a love affair with golf and people who&rsquo;ve renewed a love affair with dancing and dinner on a Friday night. Come to Angus Glen and live for a moment you&rsquo;ll remember forever.</p><p>Golf Academy Corporate Events Weddings Public Golf Tournaments Dining Special Events</p><p>10080 Kennedy Rd. Markham ON. L6C 1N9 Call (905) 887-5157, email <a href="mailto:events@angusglen.com">events@angusglen.com</a> or book online at <a href="http://angusglen.com">angusglen.com</a></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04592/8656472-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="251" height="282"></div><p>Live For The Moment<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-03

Live For The Moment

<div class="byline">MIKE BROPHY </div><div class="byline">Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012194/8656657-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CP PHOTO/JONATHAN HAYWARD)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011991/8656664-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="239" height="286"></div><p>A few years ago Daniel Alfredsson boldly announced his Ottawa Senators would win the Stanley Cup.</p><p>Then, a few days later, he backed off his ambitious statement by saying something to the affect of, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t say this year.&rdquo;</p><p>The Senators, of course, have not won a Stanley Cup; at least not since 1927. The current incarnation of the Ottawa Senators has yet to even make it to the final since joining the league in 1992-93.</p><p>So, any predictions for us this year, Daniel?</p><p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; Alfredsson says with a chuckle.</p><p>You&rsquo;re out of the prediction-making business?</p><p>&ldquo;Not exactly,&rdquo; he continues. &ldquo;I think it will be a great playoffs. There will be some upsets, as always, and it&rsquo;s going to be really fun playing in the playoffs and watching the other games as well.&rdquo;</p><p>OK, if you won&rsquo;t say your team is going to win the Stanley Cup, Daniel, we&rsquo;ll say it for you. With all due respect to a number of contenders in the new NHL, the Senators have what it takes to win the Cup, particularly since their nemesis, the Toronto Maple Leafs, aren&rsquo;t going to the dance. And to think, not long ago Ottawa&rsquo;s Stanley Cup was simply to get past the Leafs, who sent them golfing in four of the past five seasons.</p><p>Now, before you say the Senators don&rsquo;t have a chance if No. 1 goalie Dominik Hasek doesn&rsquo;t return from his groin injury, it must be said that rookie Ray Emery has proven himself to be good enough to carry the load. When a team is as good as the Senators, it doesn&rsquo;t necessarily need great goaltending to win it all; it just needs its goalie not to <i>lose</i> games. The Senators will be fine.</p><p>&ldquo;You need at least good goaltending and in the past that may have been one of the shortcomings I experienced,&rdquo; says Ottawa coach Bryan Murray. &ldquo;The other team&rsquo;s goalies played just a tad better than my goalies. We&rsquo;re hoping that just good goaltending this time will be adequate.&rdquo;</p><p>Alfredsson says his team is quietly confident about its chances in the post-season.</p><p>&ldquo;The biggest thing entering the playoffs is, we know we have a team that can win it all,&rdquo; Alfredsson says. &ldquo;But you need a lot of things to go right for you. You need to be healthy and you need to have a little good luck. More than anything, you need to play well in big games.</p><p>&ldquo;We feel this is a good opportunity for this group and we&rsquo;re going to try to make the most it and see what happens.&rdquo;</p><p>This group, as Alfredsson puts it, contains some the NHL&rsquo;s most dangerous scorers.</p><p>Dany Heatley, who has revived his career in Ottawa, ranked fourth in league scoring, having set the team record for goals in a season with 47 and totalling 96 points in 77 games. Alfredsson himself, who had established single-season highs in goals (41) and points (94) with five games remaining, was seventh in league scoring. Super playmaker Jason Spezza, despite missing 14 games with a chest injury, had 64 assists and 82 points in 63 games.</p><p>And that is just the tip of the iceberg. No team comes close to matching the Senators&rsquo; scoring depth up front with the likes of Peter Schaefer, Bryan Smolinski, newly acquired Tyler Arnason, Antoine Vermette, Patrick Eaves, Mike Fisher and even tough guy Chris Neil capable of lightning it up on any given night.</p><p>What is even more astounding is the fact the Senators also have one of the best and deepest bluelines in the NHL.</p><p>Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara are bona fide stars, solid at both ends of the rink, while Chris Phillips, Brian Pothier, Anton Volchenkov and rookie Andrej Meszaros, who leads the NHL with a plus-39, are all rock-solid.</p><p>Bryan Murray has coached and managed great teams in the past, most recently taking the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to the final as GM in 2003. But this year, he says, is different.</p><p>&ldquo;No. 1, I think our defensive corps is as good as I&rsquo;ve ever had&hellip;the depth of it,&rdquo; Murray says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had some good individual players on the blueline like (Rod) Langway and (Scott) Stevens, but to have the depth that we have is a little more than I&rsquo;ve had in the past. If we get everybody back, we have a lot of depth up front, too, with a lot of scoring ability.&rdquo;</p><p>The Senators, like all teams, will face some distractions, such as if and when will Hasek be back; and, can the team afford to sign both Chara and Redden, who will be unrestricted free agents in the summer. But Murray says it should not affect the way the team plays on the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;We just try to focus now on the team,&rdquo; Murray says. &ldquo;Obviously we&rsquo;re affected somewhat by what people say, but mostly we just play. As a coach, all you can do is prepare and play.&rdquo;</p><p>Before the season began, we chose the Philadelphia Flyers as our Cup favorite. And why not? They added superstar Peter Forsberg, along with monster defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje and big, scoring winger Mike Knuble, as well as a handful of blue chip prospects. That had us convinced the season would be nothing more than a formality. Just hand them the Cup.</p><p>The Flyers, though, have been woefully inconsistent. Injuries have taken a toll and there was never really a point during the season where it looked like they would ultimately live up to expectations. The thing about the Flyers is, you can&rsquo;t dismiss them completely because they have so much talent they are entirely capable of kicking it into gear and winning every game they play. In that regard, coach Ken Hitchcock may face his greatest challenge ever.</p><p>Other teams capable of upsetting the Senators include the Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. People waiting for the Prague Rangers to fold their tents in the playoffs may be disappointed. If goalie Henrik Lundqvist and superstar Jaromir Jagr, the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player, live up to their potential, they&rsquo;ll be a tough opponent for anybody. And don&rsquo;t discount the work their grunt players do, either.</p><p>While the Hurricanes have only played .500 hockey down the stretch, they, too, will not be a desirable opponent for anyone in the opening round.</p><p>As for the 2004 Stanley Cup-champion Lightning, unless goalie John Grahame goes to bed one night and wakes up the next morning as Bernie Parent, Tampa Bay doesn&rsquo;t stand a chance of repeating. The other finalist from two years ago, the Calgary Flames, have put a lot of trust in goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and may rue the day they failed to find an offense-minded center to play with Jarome Iginla.</p><p>While we think the Stanley Cup champion will come from the Eastern Conference, the most interesting and competitive hockey is in the West, where the team that finishes eighth &ndash; the San Jose Sharks, in all likelihood &ndash; could be a threat to make it all the way to the final.</p><p>Detroit and Dallas, the cream of the Western crop, both look like potential conference champions, but it won&rsquo;t be an easy trail to the final.</p><p>&ldquo;What people don&rsquo;t understand when a team from the East wins the Cup is, the Western Conference teams kick the crap out of each other just trying to make it to the final,&rdquo; says Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger.</p><p>Looking for a dark horse? Try Pronger&rsquo;s Oilers &ndash; if they made the playoffs, that is. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Oilers were sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference. The additions of defenseman Jaroslav Spacek and left winger Sergei Samsonov have added experience and skill at both ends. If Dwayne Roloson offers up solid goaltending, the Oilers certainly could pull off a first round upset.</p><p>And if that happens, they could go on a roll similar to the one the Flames went on two years ago.</p><p>Will being the Cup favorite make life tough for the Senators?</p><p>&ldquo;It can&rsquo;t matter that much, if we let outside factors be that big of a deal,&rdquo; Murray says.</p><p>&ldquo;But I think, from a confidence point of view, we talk about what we have to do and to have other people recognize a certain ability level doesn&rsquo;t hurt.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>Stanley Cup Odds</b></h2><p>Ottawa goes into the 2006 playoffs as the Stanley Cup favorite, while Dallas, Detroit, Carolina and Calgary are other top contenders.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021328/8656650-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Ottawa 3-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03830/8656643-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Dallas 4-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04531/8656636-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Detroit 4-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-05368/8656629-1-eng-US/f0007-052.jpg" title="f0007-05" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Carolina 6-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-06287/8656622-1-eng-US/f0007-062.jpg" title="f0007-06" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Calgary 7-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-07225/8656615-1-eng-US/f0007-072.jpg" title="f0007-07" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>NY Rangers 8-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-08180/8656608-1-eng-US/f0007-082.jpg" title="f0007-08" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Philadelphia 9-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-09137/8656601-1-eng-US/f0007-092.jpg" title="f0007-09" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Anaheim 10-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-10111/8656594-1-eng-US/f0007-102.jpg" title="f0007-10" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Buffalo 14-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1192/8656587-1-eng-US/f0007-112.jpg" title="f0007-11" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>San Jose 15-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1275/8656580-1-eng-US/f0007-122.jpg" title="f0007-12" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Tampa Bay 18-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1357/8656573-1-eng-US/f0007-132.jpg" title="f0007-13" width="145" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Edmonton 20-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1445/8656566-1-eng-US/f0007-142.jpg" title="f0007-14" width="144" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Colorado 20-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1538/8656559-1-eng-US/f0007-152.jpg" title="f0007-15" width="144" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Nashville 22-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1623/8656552-1-eng-US/f0007-162.jpg" title="f0007-16" width="144" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Montreal 25-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1723/8656545-1-eng-US/f0007-172.jpg" title="f0007-17" width="144" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>New Jersey 25-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1822/8656538-1-eng-US/f0007-182.jpg" title="f0007-18" width="144" height="99"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Vancouver 40-1</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-1921/8656531-1-eng-US/f0007-192.jpg" title="f0007-19" width="144" height="98"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Atlanta 75-1</b></p><h2><b>STAT SHOT</b></h2><p>Here&rsquo;s how teams that were still in the playoff picture through April 10 compare in goals scored per game, goals against per game and overall record in overtime and shootouts.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012084/8656524-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="615" height="1014"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021553/8656517-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="615" height="1014"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031086/8656510-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="615" height="1014"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0006-01

NEW SENSATION

<div class="byline">ERIC DUHATSCHEK </div><div class="byline">&nbsp;</div><div class="byline">Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021300/8656726-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MARGIN OF ERROR</b></p><p>Predictions often leave smart people looking stupid: Sort of like this play from the &rsquo;99 final.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011897/8656733-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="239" height="288"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b>irst, a confession: The only downside to an otherwise wonderful engaging way to earn a living &ndash; the sportswriting dodge &ndash; generally comes just before the NHL playoffs open, when everyone is looking for a prediction. Who will win&hellip;and why? It is an exercise fraught with peril and potential landmines.</p><p>Some years, there is a hint of an idea in the back of the brain as to what might happen; a favorite that seems destined to win, or an obvious darkhorse that could get on a roll. For example, just before the resumption of play the last time the NHL held a lockout, I picked the New Jersey Devils to win the 1995 Stanley Cup in these very pages &ndash; and probably was the most surprised person on the planet when they actually did.</p><p>This is all a lengthy preamble to the fact that in the new-look NHL, the science of picking a Stanley Cup winner is more convoluted than ever. Who do <i>you</i> like? The pre-season favorites: Ottawa, Philadelphia, Vancouver? The unexpectedly competitive: Carolina, Buffalo, the New York Rangers? The perennial winners: Detroit, Dallas, New Jersey? The 2004 finalists: Tampa and Calgary? Or do you put the names of all the contenders into a hat and pull out one name per conference? If so, then congratulations to the Buffalo Sabres and the Dallas Stars. It looks as if we&rsquo;re going to see a repeat of the 1999 Stanley Cup final. Maybe Brett Hull can keep his skate out of the crease this time.</p><p>The point is, in a year of unprecedented off-season change, you can build a case, for and against, just about every team that entertains a secret hope of playoff success. How about Ottawa? Considering the injuries to goaltender Dominik Hasek and Martin Havlat, the fact the Senators will probably go into the playoffs as a top seed in the East is a remarkable achievement. But Hasek is 41; his history of groin injuries is well-documented; he hasn&rsquo;t played an NHL playoff game since 2002; and even if he is ready to play at the start of the playoffs, are there any guarantees he will stay healthy throughout?</p><p>For that matter, is this the year Daniel Alfredsson follows up an absolutely spectacular 2005 playoff in the Swedish league (for Vastra Frolunda, where he scored virtually every goal that mattered in the victory over Farjestad), with a dominating NHL playoff performance? How will Dany Heatley do in his first-ever Cup run? Or Jason Spezza, in his second, after being mostly a spectator in 2004? If the answers are yes, yes, good and unbelievable, then book the victory parade.</p><p>If not, Carolina boasts surprising offensive depth, but needs Martin Gerber to prove he can be more than just J-S Giguere&rsquo;s playoff caddy. Philadelphia can ride a healthy Peter Forsberg all the way to the final, but if he&rsquo;s out again, then its chances greatly diminish. The questions run that way all through the league. Chris Drury&rsquo;s playoff experience matches that of virtually every other Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; player combined. Teams with a rookie goalie seldom go all the way, but the New York Rangers (and Henrik Lundqvist) can look 20 years into the rearview mirror and spot a 1986 Stanley Cup final between two first-year goalies, Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon. Can Tampa follow the mold of a couple of those teams from the Islanders dynasty who had rather average regular seasons but still won championships?</p><p>And that&rsquo;s just the uncertainty prevailing in the Eastern Conference. Calgary has grit, but maybe not enough skill. Detroit has skill, but maybe not enough grit. Dallas has both, but a goalie with only one playoff series win to his credit. Anaheim is hot, Nashville is cooling off. And the only Western Conference goalie with a Stanley Cup ring, the Red Wings&rsquo; Chris Osgood, will likely start the playoffs on the bench.</p><p>Who do you like? Who knows? But that&rsquo;s what will make the playoffs of 2006 so compelling &ndash; and memorable, too. That prediction you can take to the bank.</p><h2><b>261</b></h2><p><b>Six teams have No. 1 goalies with more than one series of playoff experience.</b></p><p><b>TOTAL PLAYOFF GAMES FOR THOSE SIX GOALIES (Roloson 15, Turco 17, Giguere 21, Kiprusoff 30, Nabokov 34, Brodeur 144)</b></p><h2><b>20</b></h2><p><b>Thirteen teams have No. 1 goalies with fewer than one series of playoff experience.</b></p><p><b>TOTAL PLAYOFF GAMES FOR THOSE 13 GOALIES (Emery, Gerber, Lundqvist, Miller, Niittymaki, Huet, Grahame, Legace, Vokoun, Budaj, Auld, Garon, Lehtonen)</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

Count on fun, not forecasts

<div class="byline">By MIKE LOFTUS </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021300/8656771-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EXTRA! EXTRA!</b></p><p>Dallas has been deadly in extra time, thanks in part to shootout star Jussi Jokinen.</p></figcaption></div><p><b>I</b>t&rsquo;s back.</p><p>At some point later this month, a Stanley Cup playoff game will enter sudden death for the first time since Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Martin St-Louis stole the smile from the Red Mile on June 5, 2004, winning Game 6 of the final series 33 seconds into the second overtime at Calgary.</p><p>Two days later, the Lightning became champions. Nearly two years later, the post-season &ndash; and overtime &ndash; returns. No five-minute limit &ndash; although there&rsquo;ll be countless reminders that sudden death generally doesn&rsquo;t last long.</p><p>No shootouts &ndash; although if games are officiated as they were during the regular season, it won&rsquo;t be a shock if an OT or two ends on a penalty shot. At the very least, there are those who anticipate players being in the penalty box when the winners are scored.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m convinced they&rsquo;re going to keep calling games as they&rsquo;ve been calling them,&rdquo; said Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, who spent this season as a consultant to Boston&rsquo;s coaching staff. &ldquo;Before, you hardly ever saw power plays in overtime, but now you&rsquo;ll see more.&rdquo;</p><p>If Bourque is right, top power play teams such as Detroit and Ottawa will have more of an advantage than in years past, when man-advantage units were packed away with referees&rsquo; whistles after the 60-minute mark. By extension, bigtime, big-name power play strikers &ndash; New York Ranger Jaromir Jagr, the Red Wings&rsquo; Nicklas Lidstrom, Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators, etc., will have hero tags hanging off them by early May. Nothing wrong with that, nor with younger, emerging stars such as Carolina&rsquo;s Eric Staal and New Jersey&rsquo;s Brian Gionta getting the opportunity to score power play winners, either.</p><p>And it&rsquo;ll be intriguing, to say the least, to see if a team like Dallas, which had 13 extra-time victories with two weeks still left in the season, can dominate so thoroughly once the playoffs begin. Will Jussi Jokinen, the first star of shootouts, remain a factor once the stakes are raised, and the pressure is different?</p><p>Hopefully, rules and enforcement changes since 2004 won&rsquo;t remove one of playoff overtime&rsquo;s true charms &ndash; the unlikely hero &ndash; out of the picture.</p><p>Everybody knows one &ndash; for good reasons, or bad.</p><p>&ldquo;Game 7, (conference) semifinal against Pittsburgh, I was with the New York Islanders, 1993,&rdquo; said forward Tom Fitzgerald. &ldquo;We were playing Pittsburgh; they were going for the three-peat.</p><p>&ldquo;Overtime, and David Volek, who didn&rsquo;t play much, jumps on the ice. Slapshot, top of the circle, top shelf, and we&rsquo;re going to the Stanley Cup semifinal (against Montreal, which earned a record 10 overtime victories en route to the Stanley Cup).&rdquo;</p><p>That same spring, Bourque and the Bruins won 51 games and the Adams Division&rsquo;s title, but experienced death by overtime in the first playoff round against Buffalo. Boston was swept in four games, with three defeats &ndash; including Game 4 &ndash; coming in OT.</p><p>&ldquo;Brad May beat me 1-on-1, and went in and scored to win the series,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;I had that image of me getting beat all summer.&rdquo;</p><p>Besides the unexpected scorers, get ready to be reacquainted with improbable goals.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s guys you don&rsquo;t expect, and goals you don&rsquo;t expect &ndash; the ugly goals,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d always say it before OT: From anyplace on the ice, just put the puck on net whenever you get the chance. How many do you see every year that go in off a skate, a stick, a post?&rdquo;</p><p>It took until 2001 before Bourque, who&rsquo;d lost two finals in Boston (including 1990, when Petr Klima came off Edmonton&rsquo;s bench to win Game 1 at the Garden with 4:47 left in the third overtime), won his Cup in Colorado. He had to sweat out six OTs &ndash; three wins, three losses.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unbelievable when you win them,&rdquo; Bourque said, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s tough to take when you lose.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>LONG NIGHTS</b></h2><p>Fans got more than they bargained for watching the NHL&rsquo;s five longest playoff games.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011811/8656764-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1303" height="286"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0011-02

Playoffs, OT finally back

<div class="byline">By BOB DUFF </div><div class="byline">THN contributor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011997/8656816-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Manny Legace</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>D</b>etroit goaltender Manny Legace turned toward the back wall of the Red Wings dressing room and pointed a finger at four signs posted there.</p><p>The postings tabulated the NHL rankings in five major categories &ndash; overall standings, goals for and against and power play and penalty killing.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what counts,&rdquo; Legace said. &ldquo;At the end of the day, that&rsquo;s what matters most.&rdquo;</p><p>Especially the latter two departments.</p><p>Scotty Bowman posted those signs when he arrived as coach of the team in 1993 and since then they&rsquo;ve spelled out to the Wings a daily reminder of the significance of special teams to long-term success. And when the intensity is ratcheted up in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Wings, like every other team, understand the difference between going on and going home might be how well they perform during these odd-man situations.</p><p>&ldquo;You have to have both the power play and the penalty kill going to have a chance (to win the Stanley Cup),&rdquo; said Detroit goalie Chris Osgood.</p><p>History shows this to be true. Forty years ago, the Montreal Canadiens edged the Chicago Black Hawks 4-3 in an epic seven-game Stanley Cup final series. During the regular season, Chicago edged Montreal 24.9 per cent to 23.4 per cent, to see which squad would finish with the league&rsquo;s best power play.</p><p>Four decades later, much has changed about the game, but not this essential fact: Special teams make the difference.</p><p>&ldquo;A power play can win a series for you,&rdquo; Osgood said. &ldquo;They say a hot goalie can win a series for you, but if you get hot on the power play, that can win a series for you, too.&rdquo;</p><p>Case in point: the 2002-03 New Jersey Devils. During the regular season, the Devils&rsquo; power play finished 30th overall &ndash; dead-last in the NHL.</p><p>In the playoffs, New Jersey found its man-advantage edge, finishing seventh in the ratings and downing Anaheim 4-3 in a seven-game final.</p><p>&ldquo;So much of the game is special teams,&rdquo; said Detroit coach Mike Babcock, who was behind the Mighty Ducks&rsquo; bench against the Devils in 2003.</p><p>As significant as power play success is to overall success in the postseason, it pales in value compared to an effective group of penalty killers. New Jersey and Anaheim rated 1-2 in this department during 2002-03. Teams that can&rsquo;t kill penalties quickly turn to roadkill come playoff time. Of the past 10 Stanley Cup winners, only two &ndash; the 2001 Colorado Avalanche (19th overall) and the 1995 Devils (16th) &ndash; finished lower than 11th during the regular season in penalty-killing efficiency. And in each case, those teams picked up the slack come the playoffs. Both Colorado and New Jersey jumped to fifth overall on the PK.</p><p>Some of the most shocking Stanley Cup finalists in recent memory completed their Cinderella rides thanks in part to solid penalty-killing. The Minnesota North Stars were a woeful 27-39-14 during the 1990-91 season, but reached the final against Pittsburgh thanks to a penalty-killing unit that was 12th overall in the league. The North Stars were the seventh-best penalty-killers that spring, while their power play jumped from 10th during the regular season to fourth overall.</p><p>Bowman used to preach the key to success was that a team&rsquo;s special teams total &ndash; adding the power play ranking to its penalty-killing standing &ndash; should never add up to more than 10. His Wings accomplished that objective during their Cup victory in 2002, as did the Devils when they won the Cup in 2000 and the Avs in 1996.</p><p>Through April 6, three teams sat upon this lofty perch &ndash; Ottawa (second on power play and fourth on penalty kill), Detroit (first on power play, third on penalty kill) and Buffalo (third on power play, second on penalty kill).</p><p>Goals are always at a premium when the playoffs begin, another reason why special teams play becomes such a huge element in the game.</p><p>In 2003-04, goals per game dropped from 5.13 during the regular season to 4.40 in the playoffs. This season, with the NHL&rsquo;s crackdown on obstruction, power plays figure to be even more frequent come the playoffs.</p><p>Word from an NHL source is the league intends to call absolutely every infraction during opening round play, sending a message to teams that things aren&rsquo;t going to change in the post-season.</p><p>&ldquo;They said they&rsquo;re going to call the penalties and I think they should,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;There are going to be chances.&rdquo;</p><p>If that&rsquo;s the case, the chances that a squad with quality special teams will carry off the Cup are greater than ever.</p><h2><b>SPECIAL TEAMS</b></h2><p>When you combine the penalty-killing and power-play efficiencies of playoff-bound teams, the Sabres and Red Wings come out on top. Will it give them an edge?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021565/8656809-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="604" height="568"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031017/8656802-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="604" height="567"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0012-01

Special teams play big role

<h2><b>Tentative Playoff Schedule</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n the finale of the last NHL post-season, played almost two years ago, Tampa Bay edged Calgary 2-1 in Game 7 at the St. Pete Times Forum to capture the Stanley Cup on home ice.</p><p>The 2006 NHL playoffs begin Friday, April 21, with the last possible date for Game 7 of the Cup final being June 19.</p><p>Playoff dates are subject to change if a round ends earlier than expected, allowing the next round to start sooner.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011811/8656861-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="628" height="559"></div><h2><b>TV Coverage</b></h2><p><b>NBC</b> All four rounds. Regional coverage of first two rounds and two conference final games. Stanley Cup final coverage of Games 3 through 7. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Mike Emrick, John Davidson and Pierre McGuire.</p><p><b>OLN</b> 15-20 first and second round matchups and 8-12 conference final games. First two games of Stanley Cup final will be carried. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Emrick and Davidson.</p><p><b>CBC</b> All first/second round matchups featuring Canadian teams. First and second round coverage may include U.S. matchups. Full coverage of at least one conference final. All Stanley Cup final matchups. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Bob Cole, Harry Neale, Greg Millen, Jim Hughson, Don Whitman and Mark Lee.</p><p><b>TSN</b> First three rounds, including both Canadian and U.S. teams, starting April 21. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Gord Miller, Chris Cuthbert, Glenn Healy and McGuire.</p><h2><b>All-Time Active Scorers</b></h2><p>Here are the top 20 leading playoff scorers among active players:</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021269/8656854-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="628" height="969"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03930/8656847-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="1173" height="1319"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TASTE OF GLORY</b></p><p>Four years of service in Tampa Bay finally paid off for Cory Sarich in 2003-04.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0013-01

2006 playoff primer

<div class="byline">By DAVID VEST </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021491/8656899-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PLAYOFF ROOKIE</b></p><p>Playing on the top line, Kristian Huselius could light it up in his playoff debut for the Flames.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>E</b>very once in a while, an NHL player makes a name for himself when it matters most: during the Stanley Cup playoffs.</p><p>Anaheim&rsquo;s Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003 and Miikka Kiprusoff for Calgary in 2004 quickly come to mind. Here is a list of 10 players with the potential to become the next (unlikely) Stanley Cup hero.</p><h2><b>EASTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>Tyler Arnason, Ottawa</b>&nbsp;Arnason contributed little offense after being acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline and earned little trust from the Senators coaches. But his potential is undeniable. The 27-year-old must make an impact in the post-season if he hopes to be re-signed after the season.</p><p><b>Martin Gerber, Carolina</b>&nbsp;The Swiss goalie has only 20 minutes of playoff experience, but his confidence should be high after faring well at the Olympics, where he shut out Team Canada in a brilliant performance. Carolina&rsquo;s defense corps is not the team&rsquo;s strength, so Gerber needs to play well if the Canes are to win more than a series or two.</p><p><b>Cristobal Huet, Montreal</b>&nbsp;The 30-year-old goalie never has played in the NHL post-season, but seems poised to make a big splash given how well he has performed since replacing the ineffective and since-departed Jose Theodore. Huet posted seven shutouts in his first 32 games and keyed Montreal&rsquo;s run to the playoffs.</p><p><b>Freddy Meyer, Philadelphia</b>&nbsp;The rookie defenseman is averaging about 17 minutes per game since the trade that sent Dennis Seidenberg to Phoenix. He is plus-11 and gets plenty of power play time &ndash; pretty impressive for the guy who was ninth on Philadelphia&rsquo;s depth chart heading into training camp.</p><p><b>Petr Sykora, NY Rangers</b>&nbsp;With all eyes on likely Hart Trophy winner Jaromir Jagr and rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Sykora has another head-turning post-season like he did in 1999-2000, when he notched nine goals to help lead New Jersey to the Stanley Cup.</p><h2><b>WESTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>Niklas Kronwall, Detroit</b>&nbsp;The talented rookie defenseman missed almost all of the pre-Olympic portion of the season because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury. That may end up helping Kronwall&rsquo;s stamina as the Wings progress into the post-season. He&rsquo;s intelligent, fast and tough.</p><p><b>Mike Sillinger, Nashville</b>&nbsp;The Predators acquired Sillinger, who has played in just 33 playoff games during his lengthy career, because he can score, win faceoffs and kill penalties. His versatility could take Nashville deep into the post-season.</p><p><b>Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim</b>&nbsp;The 20-year-old center has developed quickly in his first NHL season and has been effective while playing the point on the power play. Getzlaf set a team rookie record for power play goals when he scored his ninth in just his 49th game.</p><p><b>Kristian Huselius, Calgary</b>&nbsp;The Swedish winger spent his first four NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers, so his playoff resume is blank. Coach Darryl Sutter had good results from Huselius after placing him on the top unit with Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow.</p><p><b>Georges Laraque, Edmonton</b>&nbsp;The Oilers tough guy usually thrives in the post-season when he keeps his gloves on and creates havoc for opposing defensemen by throwing his 243 pounds at them. Laraque likely won&rsquo;t score many goals, but his presence could be a huge factor for Edmonton.</p><h2><b>14</b></h2><p><b>Unheralded rookie</b>&nbsp;<b>John Druce scored 14 goals in 15 playoff games for the Washington Capitals in 1990.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011973/8656892-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="224" height="309"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-02

Stepping up in the crunch

<div class="byline">By RYAN KENNEDY </div><div class="byline">&nbsp;</div><div class="byline">The Hockey News</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021293/8656930-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bret Hedican</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>I</b>t was the type of situation every player dreams of.</p><p>Overtime in the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. And not just overtime &ndash; triple overtime.</p><p>What keeps a player going at that point? Guts? Moxy? Heart?</p><p>Perhaps. But more accurately, it&rsquo;s a trainer and his staff, who have to bring as much guts, moxy and heart to a long playoff run as any player.</p><p>Carolina&rsquo;s head trainer Pete Friesen knows all about Cup runs. He was right there with the Canes when they went to three overtime periods against Detroit in Game 3 of the 2002 final, when fatigue and dehydration was setting in on both benches.</p><p>&ldquo;Heddy (Bret Hedican) almost played an hour,&rdquo; Friesen recalled. &ldquo;You have to prepare for that.&rdquo;</p><p>In order to get his boys back on the ice in the best possible condition, Friesen and his staff had to find ways of replacing up to 10 pounds of water weight each player had dropped during the game.</p><p>That meant IVs between periods, and pressure garments to get the Canes hydrated even faster.</p><p>&ldquo;The Stanley Cup is the hardest (championship) for a team win,&rdquo; Friesen noted. &ldquo;Next to the Tour de France, it&rsquo;s the hardest to win.&rdquo;</p><p>With teams playing practically every second night for up to two months, Friesen had more than dehydration to worry about.</p><p>Regeneration of tissue is important, and for that, he got creative.</p><p>&ldquo;We would go to Home Depot and buy a bunch of bathtubs, fill them with ice water,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;The fellows seemed to enjoy that.&rdquo;</p><p>When Philadelphia needed five OTs to beat Pittsburgh in the 2000 playoffs, Flyers head athletic trainer Jim McCrossin was pushed almost as much as the players.</p><p>&ldquo;You have to plan ahead that you&rsquo;ll have enough electrolytes to replenish &ndash; then you go to five overtimes,&rdquo; he recalled.</p><p>But the bigger challenge actually came the next day, when McCrossin and his dedicated staff had to reinvigorate the Flyers for their next game, just a day later. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re so depleted at that time,&rdquo; he added.</p><p>Among the vital nutrients players need built back up are sodiums and pottasiums, and McCrossin had a little help from his training staff cousins with the NFL&rsquo;s Philadelphia Eagles.</p><p>&ldquo;Pickle juice,&rdquo; he proclaimed. &ldquo;Everyone asked, &lsquo;why pickle juice?&rsquo; Well, it&rsquo;s high in sodium and any research on sweat loss will show it&rsquo;s sodium that needs to be replenished.&rdquo;</p><p>And then there&rsquo;s the unexpected.</p><p>&ldquo;Food poisoning,&rdquo; Friesen said. &ldquo;That knocks the heck out of a guy. With guys eating out at restaurants, that&rsquo;s a huge issue.&rdquo;</p><p>An often overlooked remedy is sleep.</p><p>&ldquo;In my opinion, they can&rsquo;t get enough sleep,&rdquo; Friesen said.</p><p>With multiple plane trips, not to mention sleeping in a different bed on the road, getting a good night&rsquo;s rest is easier said than done. The solution is often sleep medication.</p><p>And trainers must also be prepared for all-nighters, too. &ldquo;Living with a player at the rink when adema (swelling) is going down is not uncommon,&rdquo; McCrossin said.</p><p>But for all the scrambling and M*A*S*H* operations, Friesen wouldn&rsquo;t have missed his Cup run for the world. &ldquo;It was the greatest experience ever &ndash; and I was the trainer!&rdquo;</p><h2><b>BRUISED UP</b></h2><p>Everyone plays hurt in the playoffs. Here are some of the stars who are hobbling in.</p><h3><b>PLAYER</b></h3><p>1. Dominik HASEK</p><p>2. Peter FORSBERG</p><p>3. Pavel DATSYUK</p><p>4. Mike MODANO</p><p>5. Zdeno CHARA</p><p>6. H. ZETTERBERG</p><p>7. Tomas VOKOUN</p><p>8. Teppo NUMMINEN</p><p>9. Mathieu SCHNEIDER</p><p>10. Erik COLE</p><p>11. Jochen HECHT</p><p>12. Steve SULLIVAN</p><p>13. Kim JOHNSSON</p><p>14. Martin HAVLAT</p><p>15. Sami SALO</p><p>16. Pavel KUBINA</p><p>17. Henrik LUNDQVIST<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-02

Trainers feel the heat

<div class="byline">By MURRAY TOWNSEND</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011752/8656975-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>t&rsquo;s the new NHL and the game has changed considerably. Our hockey pool playoff system has not, however, because it wasn&rsquo;t broken in the first place. It may be old, but so is Brendan Shanahan and both are working just fine.</p><p>You&rsquo;ll find an explanation of the system included here, but let&rsquo;s also look a little deeper at draft strategy.</p><p>It&rsquo;s draft night and the participants are filing in. You might have a beer or two, but certainly not enough to contemplate drafting Brian McGrattan, unless your pool rewards penalty minutes. There are nervous jokes, usually about the Maple Leafs. Some of the people are well-prepared and don&rsquo;t want to give away any information, while some are ill-prepared and desperately try to find out what the prepared ones are thinking. Consequently, most of the talk is about who each person&rsquo;s favorite is on <i>American Idol</i>.</p><p>Once everyone has settled in, you draw for draft position. Let&rsquo;s say there are 12 people. The way it usually works is that you draft from one to 12, and then back again to one. So, if you draw number 12, when it gets to your turn you&rsquo;re picking two players.</p><p>If you&rsquo;re on each end, your strategy is simple. You pick the best two players on your list because you have a long wait until it&rsquo;s your turn again. If you&rsquo;re in the middle it&rsquo;s the same deal. However, if you&rsquo;re two, three or four away from an end, then you can do some evaluation of your opponents.</p><p>There are three types of drafters at your table. There&rsquo;s the guy who shows up with a list of the scoring stats and little else. We&rsquo;ll call him &lsquo;Sleepy.&rsquo; (And feel free to substitute &ldquo;she&rdquo; for &ldquo;he&rdquo; whenever you choose. The majority of draftees are male, but as we all know it&rsquo;s a &ldquo;she&rdquo; who wins the office pool every year.)</p><p>Then there&rsquo;s the studious guy. He has put together what he thinks is the perfect list, so he&rsquo;s fairly inflexible. He spent all that time in advance so he doesn&rsquo;t want to stray from his list too much, or that time will have been spent in vain. Let&rsquo;s call him &lsquo;Doc.&rsquo;</p><p>Then there&rsquo;s the guy who has prepared a list, the way we show you, but he&rsquo;s prepared to change it at a moment&rsquo;s notice depending on what else has happened. Hopefully, that&rsquo;s you, so we&rsquo;ll call him &lsquo;Happy.&rsquo;</p><p>Keep a list of team stats and cross the players off as you go. Put an initial of the drafter beside each player chosen. Now you have to evaluate the drafters closest to your turn. If you&rsquo;re in 10th position and there&rsquo;s a Sleepy in 11th and a Doc in 12th, then you know Sleepy is going to take the highest scorer on a team&rsquo;s list. He doesn&rsquo;t know enough to avoid taking players from teams facing each other in the first round and isn&rsquo;t awake enough to realize that a player two or three names down the team&rsquo;s list played 30 fewer games.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011566/8656968-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="1599" height="1687"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>Brendan Shanahan</b></p><p>Detroit Red Wings</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>You do, but you can get him anyway when it comes back around to you, so you don&rsquo;t take him. You, in fact might take a slightly lesser player higher on the scoring list and consequently get two good players that you want.</p><p>With Doc, keep an eye on who he&rsquo;s picking. If his strategy is to go with players from certain teams, then you can guess who he&rsquo;s going to pick when it gets to his turn. Since he&rsquo;s picking twice, both players may be from the same team. He&rsquo;ll be aware of the points per game, too, so you have to keep that in mind.</p><p>With both of them, there&rsquo;s that sleeper you&rsquo;re dying to get, but if you know they&rsquo;re not going to take him, you can get him and pick up a player higher up on other people&rsquo;s lists.</p><p>In my regular season pool, for example, I wanted Jaromir Jagr badly. He was undervalued by most people so I figured I&rsquo;d get somebody else when it was my turn and still get Jagr when it came back around. He was taken one player ahead of my next turn, so it doesn&rsquo;t always work out perfectly.</p><p>The other thing you have to strategize on-the-go is which team to take your players from. If you have it worked out that Ottawa is going to the final, but six Senators are chosen before your turn, guess what? You&rsquo;re no longer picking Ottawa to go to the final. You&rsquo;re picking Buffalo or the Rangers or Philadelphia, whichever team has a lot of its top scorers still available.</p><p>You have to change on-the-go. It&rsquo;s the poolie with the most players remaining at the end who wins the pool. One player from each team isn&rsquo;t going to do it.</p><p>So if you want to be Happy at the end of the playoffs, don&rsquo;t be Sleepy or Dopey before they start.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021220/8656961-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="1533" height="814"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-01

Drafting fantasy playoff winners

<div class="byline">WILLIAM HOUSTON </div><div class="byline">&nbsp;</div><div class="byline">Columnist</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021260/8657006-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>LEAFS OUT</b></p><p>TV ratings in Canada take a huge hit when the Toronto Maple Leafs fail to make the playoffs.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011635/8657013-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="239" height="278"></div><p><b>T</b>he NHL playoffs are like a giant board game for Canadian television networks.</p><p>Broadcast trucks are moved up and down and diagonally. The networks roll the dice and count off to a spot they hope reads: Open arena night. They attempt to avoid a penalty that sends them back to start &ndash; a scheduling conflict.</p><p>In their search for star playoff analysts, the networks try to find a spot that reads: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, or Brett Hull.</p><p>In this board game, networks have favorite teams. The CBC hopes to land on a spot that reads: Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs. Sorry, not likely this year. Next best place on the board? Go to: Montreal Canadiens make the playoffs.</p><p>Like the Leafs, the Canadiens have a large national following. Therefore, a playoff series involving Montreal will produce a larger national audience than one featuring, say, the Edmonton Oilers.</p><p>For TSN, the stakes also are high. When executives toss the dice, they&rsquo;re hoping to count to a spot that reads: No Canadian teams make the playoffs.</p><p>No Canadian teams make the playoffs? Yes. But not because the TSN brass has anything against Canada&rsquo;s NHL teams.</p><p>That&rsquo;s just the way this game is played.</p><p>You see, the CBC owns the TV rights to all the playoff games involving Canadian teams. TSN is the rights holder to the remaining U.S. matchups. If six of the eight first round playoff series happened to involve Canadian teams, CBC would carry them all. TSN would be left with two U.S. series, and nobody would care much about them.</p><p>The unlikely occurrence of all six Canadian teams missing the playoffs would represent a bonanza for TSN. CBC would be denied a Canadian series. TSN would cherry-pick the best U.S. matchups and give the remainder to CBC.</p><p>This spring, of course, Canada has a good representation of teams in the NHL playoffs. That&rsquo;s great news for the CBC, although the anticipated absence of the Leafs is not.</p><p>The Leafs, after all, are the CBC&rsquo;s star attraction. Playing in Canada&rsquo;s largest market, they produce by far the largest <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i> audience of any of the Canadian teams, averaging 1.41 million viewers a game during the regular season.</p><p>Comparatively, less than one million tune in for games involving the Vancouver Canucks, who are in Canada&rsquo;s second largest English-language market.</p><p>(The Canadiens, for the most part, are carried on French-language television during the regular season.)</p><p>The impact of the Leafs is illustrated by the CBC&rsquo;s first round audience figures in 1998, the last year Toronto missed the playoffs. The average audience was only one million. The following year, when the Leafs were back in, the audience jumped to 1.45 million, a difference of almost half a million viewers.</p><p>The second part of the board game involves logistics and arena availability. Playoff coverage requires moving not only on-air talent and technicians from city to city, but also mobile broadcast trucks.</p><p>This year, the CBC plans to broadcast as many games as possible in high-definition television, and that means putting its HDTV truck on the road and taking it into as many arenas as possible.</p><p>Two weeks ago, Joel Darling, the head of <i>Hockey Night</i>, pondered his best-case scenario as it applies to the Ottawa Senators, who will start their first round series at home, and the Canadiens, if they make the playoffs.</p><p>Given Montreal&rsquo;s low playoff seeding, it would start its series on the road. Therefore, the CBC would drive the HDTV truck to Ottawa for the Senators&rsquo; first two games, then take it down the highway to Montreal for the Canadiens&rsquo; third and fourth games. A tight geographical alignment, combined with friendly scheduling, would allow the CBC to maximize HDTV coverage.</p><p>What the CBC doesn&rsquo;t want is two Canadian teams playing on the same night and at about the same time. That would force the network to broadcast two games and split the distribution. It would deny viewers one of the two games, unless they had digital television with access to CBC affiliates in all markets.</p><p>One scheduling factor the CBC can&rsquo;t control is its traditional Saturday night game. The NHL will defer to its U.S. partner, NBC, and give it a lineup of Saturday afternoon games from which to choose. Therefore, there will be some Saturday nights when the CBC doesn&rsquo;t have a game.</p><p>The CBC&rsquo;s broadcast teams will consist of Bob Cole and Harry Neale, and Jim Hughson and Greg Millen. Host Ron MacLean and commentator Don Cherry will be based in the CBC&rsquo;s Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto.</p><p>TSN will go with Gord Miller and Pierre McGuire, and Chris Cuthbert and Glenn Healy. Host James Duthie will work from TSN&rsquo;s studio in Toronto.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-02

No monopoly on TV games

<div class="byline">- William Houston</div><p>American viewers are expected to receive more television coverage of the NHL playoffs than ever before.</p><p>NBC plans to air games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons during the first three weekends of the post-season. ABC, the former rights-holder, limited its coverage to Saturdays for the most part.</p><p>OLN describes its post-season content as wall-to-wall. On most nights, the cable channel will devote six hours of prime time to hockey, from 6 p.m. to midnight (ET), beginning with 15-20 game telecasts in each of the first and second rounds.</p><p>For the conference finals, OLN will air 8-12 games. Part of OLN&rsquo;s playoff hockey package also will include classic NHL games and hockey movies.</p><p>The Stanley Cup final will be carried in prime time by OLN (the first two games) and NBC (the remainder).</p><p>All Cup final telecasts on OLN and NBC will be shot in high-definition TV. During the playoffs, NBC will provide HDTV feeds for games on Saturday and Sunday. OLN will shoot some games in the first, second and third rounds in high-definition.</p><p>The lead broadcast team for NBC and OLN will be announcer Mike Emrick and analyst John Davidson.</p><p>In addition to the national broadcasts on NBC and OLN, U.S. regional channels will carry playoff games involving in-market teams.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

U.S. networks boost coverage

<div class="byline">JAMES DUTHIE </div><div class="byline">TSN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021135/8657075-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>Eric Staal</b></p><p><b>Paul Kariya</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011497/8657082-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="239" height="279"></div><p><b>I</b> have seen the future of the NHL final and it is&hellip;Nashville and Carolina?!?</p><p>(And that sound you hear is NBC president Robert C. Wright throwing up.)</p><p>Look, it&rsquo;s a possibility even if Tomas Vokoun is done for the year. Two young, fast, exciting teams. The hockey would be outstanding.</p><p>And the ratings would be&hellip;umm&hellip;wow&hellip;geez&hellip;gulp.</p><p>Wire Story: Mid-June, 2006</p><p>Nashville, Tennessee</p><p>(AP) Steve Sullivan notched his second hat trick of the playoffs as the Nashville Predators edged Carolina 8-7 in overtime to force a seventh and deciding game in the most exciting Stanley Cup final in history.</p><p>The game featured furious end-to-end action, nine lead changes, and several mind-boggling saves.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a incredible feeling,&rdquo; Sullivan told the three reporters still covering the playoffs (actually two, the other guy just happened to be in town for a Nascar race).</p><p>Seems most media bailed after the major market teams were eliminated in the early rounds.</p><p>In fact, The Hockey News cover story the week the final began was: &ldquo;ECHL fall preview! Here come the Bakersfield Condors!&rdquo;</p><p>Even the diehard Canadian media contingent dispersed after the last of its teams, the Ottawa Senators, was eliminated by Carolina in the Eastern Conference final.</p><p>The Senators were cruising through the playoffs and led the series 3-0 until Dominik Hasek, Ray Emery and third-stringer Mike Morrison were injured when Zdeno Chara slipped on a bar of soap in the shower, crushing them.</p><p>The snake-bitten Senators were then forced to re-sign Patrick Lalime, a late-season cut of the St. Louis Blues (and fresh off knee-surgery) for the remainder of the series. After allowing 19 goals on 23 shots over their next three games, the Sens elected to forfeit Game 7.</p><p>Canada&rsquo;s best hope from the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames, saw their Cup dreams fall apart early when goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, in an effort to win back angry Finnish fans, decided to sit out the playoffs to make sure he&rsquo;s healthy for the next Olympics.</p><p>Despite the lack of media coverage, the Predators dramatic Game 6 victory provided NBC with its highest numbers so far in the series, attracting a .00023 rating, just getting edged out by a rerun of &lsquo;Logarithms: The Lost Art!&rsquo; on <i>The Math Network</i>.</p><p>&ldquo;We think our new lead-in show really helped bolster the ratings,&rdquo; said beleaguered NBC president Wright.</p><p>The show is a new reality program called <i>We&rsquo;ll Pay You to Watch Hockey!</i> where Howie Mandel drops in on unsuspecting middle Americans and awards them huge cash prizes if they agree to watch the game.</p><p>The first three episodes have yet to produce a winner, though one guy named Steve in Iowa did watch half a period before going outside to clean his eavestrough.</p><p>NBC had previously been rebuffed by the NHL in its other attempts to boost ratings, including renaming the final <i>Law and Order:</i>&nbsp;<i>Special Teams Unit</i>, having Jason Lee from <i>My Name is Earl</i> play on Buffalo&rsquo;s third line, and, in lieu of overtime, getting <i>Fear Factor&rsquo;s</i> Joe Rogan to referee a cockroach licking contest between Paul Kariya and Eric Staal.</p><p>Game 7 is slated for Thursday in Nashville.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be awesome,&rdquo; says Hurricanes right winger Cory Stillman. &ldquo;The whole world will be watching.&rdquo;</p><p>Well&hellip;maybe not quite.</p><p><b>&ndash; James Duthie hosts the NHL on TSN and writes a column for <a href="http://tsn.ca">tsn.ca</a>. He will be covering the final no matter who is in it.</b></p><h2><b>MARKET WATCH</b></h2><p>There are more TV homes in New York than the bottom six markets combined. Here are the 13 U.S. playoff markets, listed in millions.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03796/8657068-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="703" height="774"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-02

Howie Mandel and hockey?

<div class="byline">MARK BRENDER </div><div class="byline">The Hockey News</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021015/8657120-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROUGHIN&rsquo; IT</b></p><p>Players will have to be more careful with the rough stuff in the new NHL&rsquo;s post-season dance.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011397/8657127-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="238" height="283"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;Hockey is a man&rsquo;s game. The team with the most real men wins.&rdquo;</i><br><b>&ndash; Brian Burke</b></blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b>our years ago, during a rough-and-tumble playoff series between Vancouver and Detroit, then-Canucks GM Brian Burke called a press conference to inform NHL referees that, contrary to popular belief, &ldquo;Sedin isn&rsquo;t Swedish for &lsquo;Punch me and headlock me in a scrum.&rsquo;&rdquo; NHL sources report that Burke, now GM of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, is updating his post-season sermon for the new, all-holds-barred NHL. Some of the talking points: &ldquo;Vishnevski is not Russian for &lsquo;Tug me gently from behind under my armpit&rsquo;&hellip; Pahlsson is not Swedish for &lsquo;Illegally impede my progress after a faceoff&rsquo;&hellip;Selanne is not Finnish for &lsquo;Please take a dive when my stick brushes your ankle.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Evidently, you&rsquo;ve got to move with the times. This rules clampdown is for the best. That&rsquo;s what everyone keeps saying and deep down there&rsquo;s no denying NHL hockey is the better for it. Really, as dress rehearsals go, the past seven months have been dandy. There was a nice pace to the action, more space on the players&rsquo; stage, tighter enforcement from the zebras to stop all those glad-to-be-here third- and fourth-liner extras from gumming up the works.</p><p>But let&rsquo;s remember, a dress rehearsal is all it was.</p><p>That&rsquo;s always the way it is with the NHL regular season. Teams play 82 games and win as many as they can to have the chance to win the 16 that matter. Four rounds, four wins per, each of them a bloody turf war contested under an entirely different set of rules. Man&rsquo;s rules, some might call it.</p><p>At least, that&rsquo;s the way it used to be. And now, on the eve of the post-season, there&rsquo;s something nagging at the playoff conscience.</p><p>You know that audio track used to demonstrate Dolby sound at the movies? The one that starts as a low hum and finishes with your head stuck inside a boom box? That&rsquo;s the roar of the Stanley Cup playoffs. So here&rsquo;s the question: What does playoff intensity mean in the spring of 2006 when jacked-up juices in the traditional hockey sense are likely to land you in the penalty box?</p><p>What are coaches supposed to say to prepare the boys for all the clich&eacute;s, two months of pounding and ice packs and paying the price? Go get &rsquo;em, fellas, and by the way, when you&rsquo;re in the corner in the last minute of the third period in a tie game, be sure to keep your free hand on the damn stick?</p><p>What standards are referees to use when there is heavier hitting, harder forechecking, more ferocious battles than we saw down the stretch drive? We wouldn&rsquo;t want it any other way in the playoffs&hellip;right? But nobody knows what we&rsquo;re going to get.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked with some teammates, I&rsquo;ve talked with friends that watch a lot of hockey,&rdquo; says Detroit forward Kris Draper, a veteran of 148 playoffs games. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re really almost going into an unknown.&rdquo;</p><p>Dallas coach Dave Tippett says his players were terrified to check anybody under the new rules during the first few days of training camp. &ldquo;Then we jumped in and said, &lsquo;All right, you can&rsquo;t do this, but you can still be competitive. You&rsquo;ve got to be competitive.&rsquo; So as soon as the competitive juices started flowing more, we saw the sticks and the penalties come back.&rdquo;</p><p>In the playoffs, the stakes of taking those penalties are higher.</p><p>&ldquo;So here&rsquo;s where we are in a regular season, you get away with it,&rdquo; Tippett says, &ldquo;but all of a sudden you get a revved up playoff game where that&rsquo;s ultra-competitive, where do we go from there? I think the players have adjusted, a lot, but I think the biggest test is still to come&hellip;There&rsquo;s going to be some emotional, frustrating times.&rdquo;</p><p>Others feel fantastic about the the product to come.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still a man&rsquo;s game,&rdquo; insists Burke, while acknowledging he wants to see battles return to the front of the net. &ldquo;This hockey now, between the new rules and these (playoff) races, this is as exciting as it&rsquo;s been in this league in decades. It&rsquo;s just outstanding&hellip;Teams will still need to be physical to advance.&rdquo;</p><p>Look, nobody wants a return to the playoffs as football-on-skates. The let-the-players-decide-it mentality led to a terrible erosion of hockey&rsquo;s skill and beauty in the post-season. If a player gains an advantage legally, no one should be able to take it away illegally without being penalized.</p><p>As San Jose GM Doug Wilson puts it, &ldquo;You shouldn&rsquo;t have to build two different types of teams.&rdquo;</p><p>So an argument can be made that for players and coaches alike, the new playoff landscape is just another test of mental toughness. The team best prepared and with the best commitment to play it hard and play it clean &ndash; &ldquo;maximum intensity, maximum smarts&rdquo; as Tippett puts it &ndash; deserves to win. But it&rsquo;s a fine, fine line for a man&rsquo;s game to walk.</p><p>&ldquo;Can you imagine winning the Stanley Cup on a 5-on-3? It&rsquo;s like, that&rsquo;s unheard of,&rdquo; Draper says.</p><p>Asked if he thinks the new rules during the playoffs are a positive development, Draper replies: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a good thing, as crazy as that sounds.&rdquo;</p><p>Yet there&rsquo;s a wistfulness in his voice that says, whatever happens, something won&rsquo;t be the same.</p><h2><b>PLAYING IT CLEAN</b></h2><p>It&rsquo;s no coincidence the six least penalized teams during the regular season all looked to be heading to the playoffs.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03739/8657113-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="562" height="391"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-02

New territory for everyone

<div class="byline">By RYAN DIXON </div><div class="byline">The Hockey News</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011138/8657165-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TRAFFIC JAM</b></p><p>The front of the crease becomes a more cluttered place during the playoffs.</p></figcaption></div><p><b>T</b>he garbage men are about to enjoy some glory.</p><p>Highlight-reel goals may have been the order of the day during an NHL season when the league declared war on obstruction and embraced shootouts. But &lsquo;Play of the Day&rsquo; content on sports shows everywhere is about to get a little less pretty.</p><p>&ldquo;When you talk playoffs, you&rsquo;re talking gritty goals and a lot of it comes inside that paint,&rdquo; said Edmonton Oilers left winger Ryan Smyth, referring to the blue ice of a goal crease.</p><p>Smyth is a player whose willingness to live on the lip of the crease has nothing to do with the calendar. But many players don&rsquo;t make their maiden voyage into that hostile zone until the games really count.</p><p>Tampa Bay assistant coach Craig Ramsay, who helped guide the Lightning to the Stanley Cup the last time NHL playoff hockey was contested, offered a pair of theories on why creases become so cluttered in the spring.</p><p>&ldquo;All of your players are more inclined to hang around the net,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;Guys who are more known for perimeter goals would be more willing to go to the front of the net and take a beating and stand there and tip one or bang in a rebound.&rdquo;</p><p>Desperate attempts to prevent goals factor into the equation, too.</p><p>&ldquo;Players sag more toward their net,&rdquo; Ramsay said. &ldquo;You get a bigger crowd around there&hellip;you just have more people sagging down in there trying to do everything they can to prevent that puck from going in.&rdquo;</p><p>Of course, what people can do in the name of clearing the front of their net has been redefined by the new rules. Ramsay hopes the obstruction standard is maintained.</p><p>&ldquo;For us, it&rsquo;s not a big change,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We encourage our players to step out and block shots, all our forwards and defense, we want them blocking shots. To get tied up with someone really inhibits your ability to react to anything else.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02738/8657158-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="881" height="548"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CHALK TALK</b></p><p>If one forward is planted in front of the net, the other two should be free and mobile, sniffing for rebounds and loose pucks.</p></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re now talking about more people going to the net, more people willing to pay the price to get there and you have two defense and they have three forwards, which can happen, they have a free guy who can bang away at the puck. We&rsquo;ve been teaching (players) to stay free, look for the puck, block the shot and then turn and try to find it. We expect them to clear pucks, not people.&rdquo;</p><p>Smyth, who gets greasy goals with the best of them, has witnessed this approach first hand.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s gone both ways for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen a lot of guys engage me and a lot just get out in front of me and try to stop it. Over time you just read how the &lsquo;D&rsquo; work and obviously adjust.&rdquo;</p><p>If Ramsay has his way, Lightning players would never get bogged down in traffic at either end of the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;We spend a lot of time telling our players to stay away from the net,&rdquo; said the former NHL forward. &ldquo;We like a guy going (to the net), getting in front, causing some traffic, but we want our other people to stay out, away from the net and be ready to jump on rebounds.&rdquo;</p><p>The most memorable such play of was Martin St-Louis&rsquo; winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 2004 final against Calgary, as he floated through the slot to the side of the net and put a rebound past Miikka Kiprusoff to force Game 7.</p><p>&ldquo;Throughout the (&rsquo;04) playoffs, we certainly scored a lot more goals like that, where we got high tips and got rebounds from being away from the net than we did from standing in front of the net,&rdquo; Ramsay said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

Cups are won in the blue ice

<div class="byline">STEPHEN BRUNT </div><div class="byline">Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02945/8657196-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THE UNEXPECTED</b></p><p>An unlikely Cup final match-up is just as probable this spring as it was during the 2004 climax.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011282/8657203-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="239" height="281"></div><p><b>A</b> little less than two years ago, the NHL playoffs closed with a nice twist at the finish.</p><p>Familiar losers, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, had already done as expected, but the traditional favorites had fallen by the wayside as well. Left standing were the underdog Calgary Flames, who became national heartthrobs for the better part of a spring, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who brought the Stanley Cup for the first time to the land of beaches, sunshine and alligators.</p><p>At a time when both the Gary Bettman-inspired shape of the NHL and its economic system were being called into question, the Lightning served as evidence for both sides of the big argument.</p><p>They had cranked up fan interest in a non-traditional expansion market, and their best player &ndash; the league&rsquo;s best player that season, Martin St-Louis &ndash; was an undersized, highly skilled forward who seemed to belie the notion the game had been trapped to death.</p><p>At the same time, both the Lightning and Flames reached the final without going wild on player salaries. If two small-market, small-money teams could achieve at that level, while the rich New York Rangers still couldn&rsquo;t make the playoffs after breaking the bank, then was it really worth shutting down the game and declaring a labor war?</p><p>The darkness descended a few weeks later with that question still unanswered.</p><p>Now, finally, the playoffs return, with no storm clouds on the horizon, with Canadians head-over-heels in love with the new, wide-open game, and with the possibility of a final as surprising as the last one.</p><p>In the wake of the dramatically altered economics of the sport, and the post-lockout shuffling of rosters, no one was quite sure what to expect. Who would prosper and who would tumble? And would the league stay the course, keep calling all those penalties, rewarding the skilled teams while penalizing the old and slow? Negative coaching tactics were no longer in vogue, and the old notion that a two-goal lead at any point meant a game was decided no longer held true.</p><p>In that new environment, teams found different paths to success.</p><p>Buffalo won with speed and youth; Ottawa with the best primetime talent in the league; Detroit with youthful skill to supplement a veteran core; the Rangers, by spending less and revitalizing a superstar whose motivation had been questioned; Calgary, the same way as before; Carolina with a stunning sophomore emergence; Dallas with a rejuvenated Mike Modano.</p><p>But entering the playoffs, all of those teams come with question marks attached, while others at the rear of the playoff pack seem to be getting hot at just the right time &ndash; as Calgary did two years ago.</p><p>Whether a team can make that kind of run is tough to predict, though there isn&rsquo;t a single first round match-up on which you&rsquo;d want to bet the house and family.</p><p>Parity, in other words. Competitive balance. Just what Gary Bettman promised as he closed the doors in September 2004. Well, not really, at least not in terms of cause and effect. In truth, that was never a problem with the old NHL, where there was a regular shuffle of conference champions, where money alone never did buy happiness.</p><p>Instead, this season &ndash; and you&rsquo;d hope, this post-season &ndash; is a happy, unpredictable byproduct of learning on the fly, of players, coaches and organizations adapting to a game that finally flows the way it ought to.</p><p>Other years, the playoffs promised the best, fastest, most intense hockey of the year. Now, no one would complain if its merely more of the same.</p><h2><b>12</b></h2><p><b>In the past three playoffs, 12 different teams (the most possible) advanced to the conference finals; Conference finalists in 2002 (Car-Tor, Det-Col), 2003 (NJ-Ott, Ana-Minn) and 2004 (TB-Phi, Cgy-SJ)</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-02

Better game, same parity

<div class="byline">RICK NASH </div><div class="byline">In the First Person</div><div class="byline">&#x2013; WITH MARK BRENDER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02810/8657241-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NASH DANCE</b></p><p>Rick Nash would love an invitation to the NHL&rsquo;s spring fling next year.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011151/8657248-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="239" height="298"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>n Columbus, we can take pride in having finished the season with some good results instead of going out with a whimper. But the reality is, when you don&rsquo;t qualify for the playoffs, the end of the year is going to bring bittersweet feelings no matter what you do.</p><p>We didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs because we had a lot of injuries early and got off to a slow start. It&rsquo;s too bad, because based on our past few months we know we can compete with many of the teams going to the post-season.</p><p>For me personally, it means I&rsquo;ll have to wait another year at least for the chance to play my first NHL playoff game.</p><p>This non-playoff year will be a little different for me than in 2003 and 2004, though. Not only are we out, but with a week left in the season it looked an awful lot like the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to be out as well. Being a Toronto-area boy myself, that&rsquo;s not good.</p><p>The Leafs are the only team I ever cheer for after the regular season is over. In past years I&rsquo;ve watched the Leafs in the playoffs on <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i> with some buddies back home. Growing up, I lived for <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i>. Saturday nights were always booked.</p><h2><b>FOND MEMORIES</b></h2><p>I remember watching the Leafs-San Jose Sharks conference semifinal series in 1994; Doug Gilmour&rsquo;s wraparound goal on St. Louis&rsquo;s Curtis Joseph in 1993; and, of course, the Leafs-Kings semifinal in the next round, when Wayne Gretzky got away with the high stick on Doug Gilmour. No Leafs fan can ever forget that one.</p><p>So if the Blue Jackets don&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup, I&rsquo;d love to see the Leafs win it for Toronto. I&rsquo;ve been waiting a while, just like everyone who lives in the city. Clearly, it&rsquo;s not going to happen this year.</p><p>Without the Leafs to watch, my buddies are going to be lost. They&rsquo;re bummed out now, I&rsquo;m sure, but they&rsquo;ll probably hop on the Ottawa or Calgary bandwagons instead. They&rsquo;ll turn into Canada fans instead of Leaf fans.</p><p>I won&rsquo;t be cheering for anyone in particular, although I always think it&rsquo;s great to see guys win the Cup who have never won it before. That&rsquo;s the dream of every kid growing up in Canada and it&rsquo;s still mine. There&rsquo;s nothing like seeing it come true for somebody new.</p><p>As for predictions, I usually just tend to go with the favorites. One of the obvious favorites is Detroit. Some people say that because of their schedule the Wings aren&rsquo;t as good as their record suggests. I don&rsquo;t agree. Every division and every team&rsquo;s schedule has its so-called easy parts. I think the standings are a good indicator of where teams stand.</p><h2><b>TIGHT IN WEST</b></h2><p>If I had to make picks for the conference finals, I&rsquo;d take Detroit against Dallas in the West, but I also like Calgary and Nashville as well. I&rsquo;m not as familiar with everything that&rsquo;s been going on in the Eastern Conference, but Philadelphia and Tampa are two teams I think could do well.</p><p>Hockey is my life and my passion, so I&rsquo;ll stay tuned in to the post-season to see what&rsquo;s going on right until the end. I know some people say the playoffs go on too long and that the NHL should find a way to end the season before mid-June, but I never have trouble watching.</p><p>The problem is, for the guys playing in the final, I can imagine it must be an awfully short summer. Having just two months off to rest and recuperate before having to get back to hard workouts and training camp wouldn&rsquo;t be much time.</p><p>But I figure it would be well worth it if you walk home with the Cup. Winning the Cup would be worth everything. Someday I want to find that out for myself.</p><h2><b>REGULAR GUYS</b></h2><p>Here are the 10 active NHL players with the most regular season games, but no playoff experience. (Games through April 4.)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03603/8657234-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="386" height="606"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0023-02

Eyes still fixed on the prize

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011113/8657279-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BIG GULP</b></p><p>Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Martin Cibak celebrates the Lightning&rsquo;s first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2004.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Mike Brophy</b></h2><h3><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011242/8657349-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Dallas</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Philadelphia</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Dallas vs. Calgary</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Carolina</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>Edmonton</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>Buffalo&rsquo;s Lindy Ruff calls the NHL head office 10 times demanding Darcy Tucker be prohibited from watching the playoffs.</p><h2><b>Mark Brender</b></h2><h3><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02882/8657342-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Detroit</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. NY Rangers</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Detroit vs. San Jose</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Nicklas Lidstrom</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Carolina</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>San Jose</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>Chris Chelios takes 16 straight defensive-zone penalties for firing the puck over the glass at union boss Ted Saskin.</p><h2><b>David Shoalts</b></h2><h3><b>GLOBE AND MAIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03630/8657335-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Dallas</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Rangers</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Dallas vs. Detroit</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Ray Emery</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Jaromir Jagr</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Carolina</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>Montreal</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>Tampa Bay Lightning players suspended for giving coach John Tortorella a terminal wedgie.</p><h2><b>Eric Duhatschek</b></h2><h3><b>GLOBE AND MAIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04444/8657328-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Dallas</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Rangers</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Dallas vs. Detroit</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Daniel Alfredsson</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Buffalo</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>New Jersey</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>An overtime power play will decide the outcome of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final.</p><h2><b>Jason Kay</b></h2><h3><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05310/8657321-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Detroit</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Carolina</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Detroit vs. Anaheim</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Daniel Alfredsson</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Calgary</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>San Jose</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>A game-winning goal will be scored on a penalty shot at some point during the post-season.</p><h2><b>Adam Proteau</b></h2><h3><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06245/8657314-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Dallas</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Dallas vs. Carolina</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Carolina vs. NY Rangers</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Dallas vs. Nashville</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Jason Arnott</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Jaromir Jagr</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Calgary</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>San Jose</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>Avs bow out in five games after Jose Theodore&rsquo;s water bottle found to have traces of hair-replacement formula.</p><h2><b>Allan Maki</b></h2><h3><b>GLOBE AND MAIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07202/8657307-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Calgary</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Buffalo vs. Ottawa</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Anaheim vs. Calgary</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Daniel Alfredsson</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Carolina</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>Buffalo</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>The Senators win the Stanley Cup and owner Eugene Melnyk is so happy he buys the CFL&rsquo;s Ottawa Renegades.</p><h2><b>David Naylor</b></h2><h3><b>GLOBE AND MAIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08162/8657300-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Detroit</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Carolina</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Detroit vs. Nashville</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Daniel Alfredsson</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Dany Heatley</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>NY Rangers</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>San Jose</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>Montreal&rsquo;s Christopher Higgins leads all playoff scorers after two rounds before Habs eliminated.</p><h2><b>Tim Wharnsby</b></h2><h3><b>GLOBE AND MAIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-09139/8657293-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Detroit</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Rangers</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Detroit vs. San Jose</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Steve Yzerman</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Jaromir Jagr</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>Carolina</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>San Jose</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>Dominik Hasek is healthy enough to play, but Ottawa decides to stick with Ray Emery&hellip;so Hasek joins the Red Wings.</p><h2><b>Grant Kerr</b></h2><h3><b>GLOBE AND MAIL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-10118/8657286-1-eng-US/f0024-102.jpg" title="f0024-10" width="204" height="197"></div><p><b>STANLEY CUP WINNER</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><b>STANLEY CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Ottawa vs. Detroit</p><p><b>EASTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Carolina vs. Ottawa</p><p><b>WESTERN FINAL</b></p><p>Dallas vs. Detroit</p><p><b>CONN SMYTHE</b></p><p>Nicklas Lidstrom</p><p><b>TOP SCORER</b></p><p>Daniel Alfredsson</p><p><b>MOST LIKELY UPSET IN 1ST ROUND</b></p><p>NY Rangers</p><p><b>CINDERELLA TEAM</b></p><p>Carolina</p><p><b>WACKY PREDICTION</b></p><p>In the most-watched playoff series on U.S. television, Anaheim sweeps Nashville.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

<div class="byline">By ERIC DUHATSCHEK </div><div class="byline">The Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02890/8657394-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Robyn Regehr</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DALE MCMILLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011250/8657401-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="197" height="168"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b>algary&rsquo;s unexpected trip to the 2004 Stanley Cup final after seven consecutive years of wandering in the playoff wilderness gave the Flames&rsquo; core players &ndash; Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold &ndash; valuable and necessary post-season experience. The new NHL may have arrived in 29 other outposts; under coach Darryl Sutter, it&rsquo;s still the old low-scoring NHL.</p><p>The Flames play a relentless forechecking style that emphasizes body contact, strong defensive awareness and a willingness to play 2-1 games every night. It isn&rsquo;t pretty, but the assumption is it can still win in post-season.</p><p>In 2003-04, Iginla led the league in both regular season (41) and playoff (13) goal-scoring, but has struggled to find his touch. Most thought he would get rolling in February, same as always. He didn&rsquo;t. On a team that probably won&rsquo;t have another 25-goal scorer, Iginla needs to ramp it up offensively.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> With a bend-but-don&rsquo;t break defensive style that relies heavily on an underrated shut-down defense pairing of Regehr and Leopold and the goaltending of Miikka Kiprusoff. Rookie Dion Phaneuf gets all the ink, but Regehr and Leopold usually face the opposition&rsquo;s top scoring line and for the most part, do a good job keeping them off the board, especially 5-on-5, which is how the Flames like to play as much as possible.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> A shocking lack of offense. In a year of across-the-league scoring jumps, many of the Flames&rsquo; nominal snipers (from Iginla to Tony Amonte) have seen a dramatic falloff from their &rsquo;04 production. Calgary enters the playoffs with the weakest offense among the so-called contenders. Someone without a post-season track record (Kristian Huselius? Matthew Lombardi? Chuck Kobasew? Jamie Lundmark?), needs to find the back of the net on a more consistent basis.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Is Iginla capable of leading the way, on the ice and in the dressing room as he did in 2004, or will his uneven season spill over into the playoffs? Does Sutter&rsquo;s leave-nothing-in-the-tank approach make it difficult to string together four rounds of playoff success?</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> After starting the season badly on special teams (they were 30th in both penalty killing and power play on one memorable October morning), the Flames made their way to the middle of the pack in both by the end of March.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Once they get past Iginla and Daymond Langkow, the Flames forwards &ndash; from about No. 4 to No. 13 &ndash; are virtually interchangeable. Calgary ran out of bodies in the &rsquo;04 run to the final (they used defenseman Brennan Evans, who hadn&rsquo;t seen a minute of NHL action, before or since) and their style of play means there are usually three or four players on injured reserve. Calgary added Cale Hulse at the deadline as an extra defenseman; a pair of ex-Florida Panthers, Byron Ritchie and Craig MacDonald, are first out of the press box when a forward goes down.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Kiprusoff established an NHL record with a 1.69 goals-against average in the &rsquo;03-04 season, but if anything he has been better this season. Kiprusoff&rsquo;s strengths are his focus, flexibility, and his ability to get square to the shooter, leaving a small target area for opponents. Calgary won a lot of games this year when they were outplayed territorially, but Kiprusoff held them in. Goaltending is the one area in which the Flames can boast a significant edge over virtually ever opponent.</p><p><b>COACH DARRYL SUTTER SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;You can say we&rsquo;ve been playing playoff hockey for weeks, but you know what? It&rsquo;s the same story every year. The teams that give up the fewest goals and score the biggest goals and take the fewest penalties and get the best goaltending and have the fewest injuries, they&rsquo;re the ones that are gonna win.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03721/8657387-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="1100" height="865"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04528/8657380-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="1517" height="838"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-02

Stingy Flames need to score

<div class="byline">By ALLAN MAKI </div><div class="byline">The Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02817/8657446-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Chris Pronger</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011196/8657453-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="160" height="161"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>E</span>very spring it&rsquo;s the same thing: the Edmonton Oilers have to fight, scratch and claw just to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Occasionally, that has helped sharpen them up for the post-season. More often however, it hasn&rsquo;t been enough to get them beyond the first round.</p><p>This season, the Oilers believe they have more talent to go along with their temperament.</p><p>There are two definite scoring lines to complement a steady defense and veteran goaltender. Ales Hemsky has had his best season as an NHL scorer and is a player to watch. The Oilers were so convinced of Hemsky&rsquo;s big-game abilities they refused to move the 22-year-old winger at the trade deadline, no matter the offer.</p><p>The acquisition of Sergei Samsonov has given Edmonton another forward who can skate and create offense. Samsonov has been hounded by injuries the past few seasons, but as Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe pointed out, &ldquo;He plays like a North American.&rdquo; Which is to say Samsonov will go hard and take it to the net.</p><p>It won&rsquo;t be easy for the Oilers to advance to the second round, but if their defense holds and their offense comes through, they can make life miserable for any team. Ask the Dallas Stars. Edmonton and Dallas met six times in a seven-year stretch (from 1997 to 2003) and while the Stars own a 6-1 series record they have always pointed to the Oilers as their toughest playoff foe.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Oilers play it one way &ndash; with a relentless, aggressive forecheck. They can wear people down better than a nagging teenager. Defenseman Chris Pronger has been a marvelous addition for his leadership, experience and point shot, but it&rsquo;s his first pass out of the defensive zone that has made it easier for Edmonton&rsquo;s forwards to attack.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Edmonton doesn&rsquo;t do well when it falls behind early. At one point this season, the Oilers won just seven times in 24 games when trailing after the first period. As for trailing after two periods, the record was worse. If the Oilers have to open up for goals they can become both vulnerable and frustrated.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Scoring has been a recurring problem for the Oilers. It&rsquo;s not the number of goals that has plagued them; rather it has been getting that next goal to finish off a rival&rsquo;s comeback hopes. Samsonov has done his best to produce that killer goal. In his first 11 games with the Oilers, the former Boston Bruin totaled 12 points.</p><p><b>KEY FACT</b> The Oilers are wonderful hosts. They give up goals and wins far too easily inside Rexall Place and they do it in alarming fashion. Five-on-five, they&rsquo;ve surrendered more goals than they&rsquo;ve scored. That doesn&rsquo;t do much to strike fear in the hearts of opposing players.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Rookie Marc-Antoine Pouliot played a little down the stretch, but Rem Murray was acquired by the Oilers for his experience. Murray is a useful forward who can play all three spots up front. He&rsquo;s also a reliable penalty killer. On the blueline, Igor Ulanov has been through the wars and can be counted on to make the right play.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Dwayne Roloson was supposed to correct Edmonton&rsquo;s biggest flaw &ndash; the lack of a No.1 goalie - but the former Minnesota Wild backup needed time to settle in with his new teammates. Roloson&rsquo;s career playoff record is an unimpressive 6-7 with a save percentage of just .892. He&rsquo;ll need to get hot and stay hot for the Oilers to make it past April.</p><p><b>COACH CRAIG MACTAVISH SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;You never take yesterday&rsquo;s baggage into tomorrow&rsquo;s game. Saying we&rsquo;ll worry about the process and the results will take care of themselves is nauseating at this point. It&rsquo;s all about the result.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03584/8657439-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1095" height="853"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04414/8657432-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="1521" height="843"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0027-02

Feisty Oilers full of promise

<div class="byline">By TIM WHARNSBY </div><div class="byline">Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02856/8657498-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Saku Koivu</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011235/8657505-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="226" height="151"></div><p>The Montreal Canadiens could feel a playoff spot slipping by the wayside in mid-March.</p><p>They had a goalie in Cristobal Huet, who was performing like the second coming of Patrick Roy, but an offense that was sputtering.</p><p>GM and interim coach Bob Gainey felt earlier in the season that his team could not succeed with veterans Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Richard Zednik playing together on the top line. Gainey wanted to spread the proverbial wealth.</p><p>He switched center Mike Ribeiro with Koivu, placing the team captain between Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder. It took a while, but eventually the change paid off.</p><p>Higgins, 22, benefited the most. The American enjoyed a stretch of five games in late March in which he scored six times, helping him hit the 20-goal plateau in a surprising rookie season.</p><p>&ldquo;Saku makes you better,&rdquo; said Higgins, a former Yale star. &ldquo;He gets you the puck in the right places.&rdquo;</p><p>Koivu and Higgins became the most dependable duo for the Habs after the Olympic break. Higgins collected 16 points in the first 18 games after Turin.</p><p>&ldquo;I think everybody who plays with him appreciates his work ethic and the way he&rsquo;s maintained that,&rdquo; Koivu said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not easy to.&rdquo;</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> It&rsquo;s hard to overlook the play of Huet as the key to success. The Habs went on a season-high seven-game win streak in late March and early April relying on Huet and sneaking a goal or two &ndash; usually with the man advantage &ndash; in the late stages of a game. They have a tremendous amount of speed and a defensive unit that can move the puck rapidly out of its own end, but a finishing touch up front isn&rsquo;t always evident. If it wasn&rsquo;t for the NHL&rsquo;s fifth-ranked power play, they likely would not have finished in the East&rsquo;s top eight.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Habs don&rsquo;t have much success on their 23rd-ranked penalty kill because they don&rsquo;t have the depth Ottawa and Carolina possess. They also can&rsquo;t afford to get involved in run-and-gun games. That&rsquo;s why the Hurricanes had such an easy time with Montreal this season, scoring 25 goals in four wins.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The Canadiens offense let them down this season. They finished 19th in the league in goals per game, at 2.92. Of the 16 playoff teams, only New Jersey and Calgary scored less. And then there&rsquo;s Huet. He not only has the pressure of his first foray into the playoffs, but he also becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re concentrating on the games we have to play,&rdquo; said Gainey, who paid Huet $456,000 (U.S.) this season. &ldquo;When the season&rsquo;s over, I&rsquo;ll look at how much money I have in my budget and put money where we need it.&rdquo;</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Montreal demonstrated that it can score timely goals. The Habs won 16 games when trailing or tied entering the third period.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Gainey added depth with Todd Simpson and Aaron Downey during the season and isn&rsquo;t afraid to dress seven defensemen in order to employ Swiss Olympian Mark Streit on the power play. Gainey soured on veterans Jan Bulis and Niklas Sundstrom down the stretch. They were often healthy scratches.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Huet has been spectacular in a Habs uniform, but even he admits that his game-saving standards have to continue in the post-season in to really make his mark. The native of France has never appeared in the playoffs, but he did backstop Lugano to a Swiss championship and to another final appearance. He also led the Mannheim Eagles to the German final during the lockout.</p><p><b>COACH BOB GAINEY SAYS</b> &ldquo;Right now (Huet) seems so stable and consistent. He probably makes eight to 10, 11 or 12 difficult saves but it&rsquo;s hard to pick them out when you go back on them because he&rsquo;s in position early and making the stops.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03633/8657491-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1104" height="856"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04443/8657484-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="1520" height="837"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-02

Huet’s heroics familiar story

<div class="byline">By DAVID NAYLOR </div><div class="byline">The Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02735/8657550-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dany Heatley</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011097/8657557-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="225" height="179"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ong before the NHL announced its rule changes for the 2005-06 season, the Ottawa Senators were planning to play a different brand of hockey than they had in the past.</p><p>Under former coach Jacques Martin, the Senators stuck to a defense-first philosophy that brought success during the regular season, but often fizzled at playoff time. GM John Muckler believed Ottawa&rsquo;s skill was being underutilized and found a coach who shared his philosophy in Bryan Murray.</p><p>Under Murray, the Senators have scored more goals than any other team in the league, while allowing the fewest. They are an offensive juggernaut backed up by one of the league&rsquo;s best defensive units and solid goaltending from both Dominik Hasek before the Olympic break, and Ray Emery afterward.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Senators are simply more skilled than most teams they play and therefore rely on their speed and puck movement to take the game to the opposition. Superb playmaking from their top-four defensemen is the engine that drives an aggressive freewheeling attack from the forwards. Teams invariably wind up taking penalties against the Sens &ndash; who make them pay.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Teams have had success against Ottawa when they keep its power play in check and shut down the top line of center Jason Spezza between wingers Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley. The Senators&rsquo; secondary scoring is more than decent, but it can&rsquo;t carry them night after night during the playoffs.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Goaltending is by far the biggest issue heading into the playoffs for Ottawa. Will Hasek be ready to play? If he isn&rsquo;t, can Emery carry his late-season performance right through the spring and into early summer? And, if Hasek looks shaky at all, when should the Sens be prepared to roll the dice on the 23-year-old Emery? Another question is, how many of the Sens&rsquo; walking wounded &ndash; such as defensemen Zdeno Chara and Chris Phillips and forwards Mike Fisher and Martin Havlat &ndash; will be truly healthy come playoff time?</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> With special teams such a dominant aspect of the NHL game, the Senators have consistently stayed among the top five, ranking third in penalty-killing (85.9 per cent and a league-leading 22 shorthanded goals) and second in power play efficiency (21.2 per cent) through April 5.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> A rash of late-season injuries has put Ottawa&rsquo;s depth to the test, especially on defense where rookie defenseman Andrej Meszaros logged more than 25 minutes on some nights. Extra minutes for Brian Pothier and Christoph Schubert, who played forward for most of the year, also helped fill the injury void. Up front, Patrick Eaves, Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette all shouldered extra ice time.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Before the Olympic break, no one would have suggested the Senators had a Stanley Cup hope without Hasek. But Emery has thrived with the extra playing time, tying an NHL record with 12 wins in March, for which he was named the NHL&rsquo;s defensive player and rookie of the month. Meanwhile, his goals-against average is consistently moving downward. Hasek was fabulous in his first Ottawa season before getting hurt at the Olympics, but his status remains in doubt. Given his age and the nature of abductor-muscle injuries, it&rsquo;s hard to assume he can carry the playoff load.</p><p><b>COACH BRYAN MURRAY SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;When you have a good year, you&rsquo;ve got to play the same style in the playoffs. You&rsquo;ve got to have an approach where you want to be a puck-pressure team and do lots of skill things and not change because you&rsquo;re matching up against one particular team. I think good players have to be allowed to be good players.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03510/8657543-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1103" height="860"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04367/8657536-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="1523" height="838"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-02

Loaded Sens want Stanley

<div class="byline">By GRANT KERR </div><div class="byline">The Globe and Mail</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02753/8657640-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Anson Carter</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SHELLY CASTELLANO)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011143/8657647-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="182" height="176"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>oach Marc Crawford tried to piece together a playoff team down the stretch despite missing some of the team&rsquo;s biggest contributors on defense.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t pretty on power plays most games when Vancouver struggled after injuries to hard-shooting point-men Sami Salo and Ed Jovanovski.</p><p>Scoring with the man advantage became problematic because the opposition was able to collapse penalty-killing forwards into the mid-slot area to deny Vancouver from closer range.</p><p>Crawford hopes to have many more options in the post-season with the return of some of the injured players because special teams should determine any advancement.</p><p>&ldquo;If your process is good, your results will follow,&rdquo; Crawford reasoned. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been focusing in on the process of how you win.&rdquo;</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Vancouver can score on the rush more frequently than before after the development of another scoring line. The talented Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, came into their own this season and combined with Anson Carter to form a breakout unit that is now the defacto No. 1 line.</p><p>Crawford often broke up his former top line of center Brendan Morrison between wingers Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi because of inconsistency.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The dilemma for Vancouver is down-low defensive coverage, something which often broke down against the cycle. Defensemen Eric Weinrich, Nolan Baumgartner and Sean Brown struggled with both containment and positioning.</p><p>The Canucks had a terrible season killing penalties, ranking below average. Not being able to win the majority of faceoffs in the defensive zone led to fewer chances to ice the puck.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The mobility of the ever-changing defense was exposed during the regular season, especially after Weinrich, 39, joined the team at the trade deadline. Bryan Allen played well defensively until his usual partner, Salo, sustained a long-term shoulder injury at the Olympics.</p><p>Allen can be an asset in penalty-kill situations, providing he has a partner capable of making the necessary rotations near the net.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Veteran forwards Naslund and Bertuzzi played poorly in the defensive zone, often losing track of the point-men they were supposed to cover. The less-than dynamic duo were a combined minus-30 through April 4.</p><p>It&rsquo;s not a good omen when your alleged top offensive players are also your worst defensively, often a sign of a lack of intensity.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The Canucks don&rsquo;t have much offense when they get past their top six forwards. Crawford broke up his lines often as the season wore on, keeping together only the Sedins-Carter unit, which remained hot.</p><p>Vancouver also has an unproven backup netminder in Mika Noronen, acquired in March from the Buffalo Sabres to play only sparingly.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b>: Alex Auld, unproven until this season, was the team&rsquo;s most valuable player the past three months. Auld carried the workload almost singlehandedly after Dan Cloutier required knee surgery.</p><p>Auld is technically strong and has decent rebound control. His biggest problem was uncontested point shots when forwards failed to challenge.</p><p>Despite his youth, Auld does have some playoff experience. He got into three games in the first round of the 2004 playoffs against Calgary, after Cloutier was injured and Johan Hedberg failed to impress.</p><p><b>COACH MARC CRAWFORD SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;We need consistency of approach. And you&rsquo;re more upbeat when you&rsquo;re playing well.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03564/8657633-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="1103" height="852"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04430/8657626-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="1520" height="845"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0031-02

Canuck hopes rest on Sedins

<div class="byline">By DAN WOOD </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>s was the case in 2003, when they surprised everyone by advancing to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, the Mighty Ducks became a pretty good team in the second half.</p><p>After enduring a franchise record-tying, eight-game losing streak in November, the Ducks found their game and were one of the NHL&rsquo;s better squads down the stretch.</p><p>Standout defenseman Scott Niedermayer&rsquo;s decision to forego the Turin Olympics and have arthroscopic knee surgery during the break benefited Anaheim a great deal, as did an ability to avoid significant injuries. The Ducks won&rsquo;t be anyone&rsquo;s Stanley Cup favorite, but neither will they be a team others are eager to play.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011218/8657692-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="240" height="219"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Anaheim&rsquo;s favored style is old-school, with a heavy reliance on solid defense and goalie J-S Giguere, winner of the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy. The Ducks must skate and be strong on the forecheck to create enough offense to win.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The biggest concern is penalties. The Ducks thrive when they stay out of the box and are among the best at even strength. Anaheim&rsquo;s penalty-killers are strong, but can&rsquo;t afford to be tested too often.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02808/8657685-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1104" height="862"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03587/8657678-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="850" height="843"></div><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Rookies Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Chris Kunitz and Francois Beauchemin head a list of untested playoff performers that also includes blueliner Joe DiPenta and forwards Andy McDonald, Joffrey Lupul and Jonathan Hedstrom.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> As they will almost certainly begin on the road, the Ducks could use a repeat of 2003, when they opened each series in Detroit, Dallas and Minnesota by winning the first two games.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Anaheim doesn&rsquo;t have anyone among the league&rsquo;s top 10 scorers, although Teemu Selanne and McDonald are close, but the Ducks do have scoring threats sprinkled throughout the lineup, particularly if Getzlaf and Perry continue to make strides. There isn&rsquo;t much of a cushion on the blueline, where Niedermayer, Beauchemin, Ruslan Salei and Sean O&rsquo;Donnell figure to carry the load.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> For whatever reason, Giguere often has been questioned since his remarkable playoff run three years ago. He struggled in &rsquo;03-04, but has been strong this year.</p><p><b>COACH RANDY CARLYLE SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve stated all year that our players deserve a lot of credit because of their resiliency and their ability to work. They&rsquo;ve proven that night in, night out.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-01

Ducks soaring just in time

<div class="byline">By JOHN MANASSO </div><div class="byline">&nbsp;</div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><p><b>T</b>he Thrashers are confident they can pull off an upset or two in the playoffs, assuming they get there.</p><p>Against the top teams in the East, they went (UPDATE)3-3-1 against Carolina, won two of their first three against Ottawa, and went 2-2-0 versus the Rangers (winning both games after goalie Kari Lehtonen returned). The franchise hasn&rsquo;t made the playoffs before, but this team has several players who have been there. Stanley Cup winners include Bobby Holik, Slava Kozlov and Greg de Vries. Peter Bondra, Scott Mellanby and Niclas Havelid have played in the final.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04423/8657737-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="253" height="213"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Thrashers can score with the best of them &ndash; led by Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, Marian Hossa and Kozlov &ndash; and have Lehtonen to make up for any mistakes. When they&rsquo;re at their best, the forwards help out with a steady defense corps to minimize scoring chances.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b>&nbsp;When teams can possess the puck in their end and make their forwards and defense work, the Thrashers are in trouble. A penchant for bad penalties that causes them to play much of a game killing them also has plagued the Thrashers.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05327/8657730-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="1100" height="859"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06275/8657723-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="850" height="841"></div><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> If Kovalchuk is at the top of his game, he can score in bunches and propel the Thrashers almost singlehandedly to victory. When he&rsquo;s not in the game mentally, he can be invisible; or, if he tries too hard to make things happen by himself, it can result in debilitating turnovers.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Lehtonen is unbeaten in overtime and shootouts in his brief career, going 8-0. The 22-year-old rookie loves big games.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Particularly on defense, the Thrashers are thin. Steve McCarthy was acquired at the trade deadline to help and has exceeded expectations. One or two key injuries could put the Thrashers in a big hole. Atlanta has good scoring depth, but center is another thin position.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Since returning from his groin-related problems, Lehtonen has lived up to the hype. At 18, he won a Finnish Elite League title. At 21, he led an average Chicago Wolves team to the AHL&rsquo;s Calder Cup final. He&rsquo;s a gamer and could make a name for himself with an impressive round or two.</p><p><b>COACH BOB HARTLEY SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;Time is running out. We need great performances from everyone.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-04

Thrashers boast snipers, stopper

<div class="byline">By LUKE DECOCK </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>t has been a breakthrough season in Carolina, not just for players such as Eric Staal, Justin Williams and Martin Gerber, but the entire team.</p><p>Built to fit the NHL&rsquo;s new officiating standards, the Hurricanes set numerous franchise records and produced one of the league&rsquo;s best home records.</p><p>They struggle at times with an erratic power play and stumbled through the last month of the year plagued by injuries &ndash; at one point, seven players were out &ndash; and inconsistent play. But with two nine-game winning streaks this season, the Hurricanes have shown they&rsquo;re able to turn on the intensity when they need to &ndash; and keep it there.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011236/8657834-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="252" height="151"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Canes base their game on puck pursuit and possession, attacking in transition and when set up in the offensive zone. They wear teams down for two periods, then capitalize in the third.</p><p>No team did a better job utilizing the two-line pass early, although teams defend better against that now.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> When Carolina brings less than its best effort, there are plenty of holes left to exploit. And while the Canes can grind, they&rsquo;re not a tough bunch.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Goalie Martin Gerber&rsquo;s playoff experience consists of 20 minutes of mop-up duty behind J-S Giguere in 2003. But he has been excellent in other high-pressure situations &ndash; in Sweden, where he won a title in 2002, and in international play for Switzerland.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02831/8657827-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="1104" height="866"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03654/8657820-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="845" height="844"></div><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Carolina has eight 50-point scorers, a team record. And that doesn&rsquo;t include Josef Vasicek, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer in 2003-04, who was hurt for most of the season but will be back for the playoffs.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Defensively, Carolina has eight players averaging between 15 and 20 minutes a game. They can mix and match on the blueline, and often play seven defensemen. Up front, they&rsquo;re feeling the loss of Erik Cole, but Vasicek&rsquo;s return and the acquisition of Doug Weight and Mark Recchi gives them many scoring threats.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> While it may be Gerber&rsquo;s first post-season as an NHL No. 1, it was also his first season as an NHL starter period, and that turned out just fine.</p><p>With rookie Cam Ward as the backup, this is Gerber&rsquo;s team to carry as far as he can take it.</p><p><b>COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;It makes it tough to stop a team when you can&rsquo;t focus on one line. One of our biggest strengths is that maybe one guy can&rsquo;t score every night, but somebody can score every night.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

Upstart Canes poised for big run

<div class="byline">By ADRIAN DATER </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>here were plenty of &ldquo;Fall of the Avs&rdquo; headlines before the season began. The losses of Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote, among others, was a prelude to non-playoff purgatory, the experts said.</p><p>But Colorado entered April in the middle of the Western Conference playoff chase. That the Avs are a contender &ndash; despite the departures of the aforementioned stars and injuries to Alex Tanguay, Marek Svatos and Steve Konowalchuk &ndash; is a strong testament to Joel Quenneville&rsquo;s hard-working squad.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04517/8657879-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="242" height="195"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Colorado&rsquo;s offense has been much better than expected, with the team in the top five in scoring league-wide all year. Five players have scored 20-plus goals, and Colorado gets plenty of support from their defense. Rob Blake, John-Michael Liles and Brett Clark all have had good offensive seasons. The Avs still have a dangerous top line &ndash; led by ever-reliable Joe Sakic&ndash;good special teams and a strong work ethic.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b>&nbsp;Colorado can give up goals in bunches, which is partly why it sought goaltending help and acquired Jose Theodore. Defensemen Patrice Brisebois and Kurt Sauer can be liabilities in their own end, although Brisebois takes more abuse than he should. The Avs are a terrible faceoff team, regularly losing more than 50 per cent.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05419/8657872-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="1103" height="863"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06375/8657865-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="847" height="847"></div><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> That would be Theodore. He hasn&rsquo;t played since Jan. 31 (heel), and his play for Montreal before that was poor. Still, Avs GM Pierre Lacroix believes a change of scenery will do for Theodore what it did for another ex-Hab, Patrick Roy.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Colorado is 4-10-1 against the West&rsquo;s three division leaders, Detroit, Dallas and Calgary.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The season-ending losses of Svatos, Konowalchuk and Ossi Vaananen have placed a huge strain on the remaining regulars. The Avs can&rsquo;t afford any more injuries.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> It&rsquo;s up to rookie Peter Budaj to guide the Avs down the stretch. Budaj has been up and down since the David Aebischer trade, shutting out teams one night and getting lit up the next. He has a tendency to get beat to the short side, but his quickness and agility are strong.</p><p><b>COACH JOEL QUENNEVILLE SAYS</b> &ldquo;This team has good chemistry. Overall, I like how we&rsquo;ve competed, but we have to do it every night.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-04

Here’s a surprise, no Avs demise

<div class="byline">By MIKE HEIKA </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02801/8657924-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Marty Turco</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011154/8657931-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="199" height="124"></div><p>The Dallas Stars believe. And that&rsquo;s the biggest difference between this season and 2003-04.</p><p>Two years ago, the Stars had forced chemistry. They tried to become a team &ndash; sometimes too hard. They tried to play as a team, and never really meshed. But this year&rsquo;s squad seems to fall together with ease. There are four natural lines. There are two top centers. There are players with speed and players with power. There is veteran presence as well as a youthful enthusiasm.</p><p>And, most importantly, the Stars believe in themselves. That will make them very dangerous in the playoffs.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Dallas leads the NHL in fewest shots against per game (25.1) and there&rsquo;s good reason for that. The Stars have become a team that doesn&rsquo;t mind holding the puck and waiting for the right play. They also are a team quarterbacked by goalie Marty Turco, who directs traffic in his own end with great puckhandling that stymies the opposition&rsquo;s forecheck. Mix that in with balanced goal-scoring and the team wins a lot.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Stars are almost too patient. They don&rsquo;t mind playing a 1-0 game (they are 10-1-1 when tied after two periods) and they don&rsquo;t mind coming from behind (they&rsquo;re 11-15-1 when trailing after two periods). However, in games they do lose, they often are chasing hard in the third period and don&rsquo;t catch up.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The Stars&rsquo; power play has come on lately, ever since coach Dave Tippett moved Mike Modano from the half-boards back to the point. Modano&rsquo;s big one-timer is a force to be reckoned with and is a nice change-up to Sergei Zubov&rsquo;s well-aimed wristers. Still, they have had their problems with the man advantage &ndash; especially when it&rsquo;s needed most, and that&rsquo;s a concern.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The Stars are 23-10-3 on the road, and have received great play from their great players. Modano has 34 points in 35 away games and Jason Arnott has 32 points in 36 games, making it tough to check Dallas&rsquo; 1-2 punch at center.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The improvement of the Finn line has given the Stars some offensive depth. Niko Kapanen, Antti Miettinen and Niklas Hagman are hard-working and pesky, and create a lot of turnovers. The fourth line offers physical play (Nathan Perrott and Jeremy Stevenson) or skill (Mathias Tjarnqvist and Jaroslav Svoboda). Dallas also has seven strong defensemen.</p><p><b>COACH DAVE TIPPETT SAYS</b> &ldquo;We want to be able to adjust to any situation that&rsquo;s out there. We have our system and we are going to play our system, but we also realize that different games are played in different ways, and we want to be able to play any game that&rsquo;s out there.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03657/8657917-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="1103" height="856"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04529/8657910-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="845" height="844"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0035-02

Dallas finds chemistry

<div class="byline">By ANSAR KHAN </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><p><b>O</b>perating on half of its prelockout  payroll, Detroit has shown it can be just as effective, if not more, in the new NHL.</p><p>The pieces were put into place last summer through a combination of smart buyouts (Derian Hatcher, Ray Whitney, Darren McCarty) and savvy signings (Brendan Shanahan, Mathieu Schneider, Mikael Samuelsson, Chris Chelios, Andreas Lilja). Young stars (Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk) blossomed and others exceeded expectations (Jason Williams, Tomas Holmstrom).</p><p>The team made a seamless transition under coach Mike Babcock, hired to reverse their playoff fortunes after two years of early exits.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011124/8657976-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="240" height="182"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> If hockey kept a stat for time of possession, the Wings would lead the NHL. Their puck-control game boasts some of the league&rsquo;s best stickhandlers (Datsyuk, Zetterberg), shooters (Schneider, Shanahan) and passers (Robert Lang, Nicklas Lidstrom).</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> They lack size, especially without defenseman Jiri Fischer. Depending on how games are officiated, they could be vulnerable against a physical club. Their fourth line (Kirk Maltby-Dan Cleary-Johan Franzen) hasn&rsquo;t contributed much on offense, and they&rsquo;re unsettled on a sixth defenseman (Cory Cross, Jason Woolley or Brett Lebda).</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02731/8657969-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1104" height="865"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03604/8657962-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="845" height="835"></div><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been spectacular during the regular season, but silent in the playoffs. Datsyuk hasn&rsquo;t scored in his past 21 post-season games; Zetterberg has just five points in 16 career playoff games.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> They have the NHL&rsquo;s best power play and their penalty-killing is in the top five. If a penalty is called, it bodes well for the Wings.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The salary cap prevented the Wings from stockpiling the kind of depth they have in the past, but they still have three scoring lines, two solid sets of D-men and a pair of experienced goalies.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Manny Legace&rsquo;s first stint as a playoff starter lasted only four games before he was replaced by Curtis Joseph. He must show he can be as comfortable with the starter&rsquo;s tag as he was for years in a backup role. Chris Osgood, who&rsquo;s struggled at times adjusting to his new backup role, provides an experienced emergency option.</p><p><b>COACH MIKE BABCOCK SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;The key for me is playoff success, that&rsquo;s the whole thing, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re about, what we&rsquo;ve been preparing ourselves for since Day 1.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

Revamped Wings just as dangerous

<div class="byline">By DAVID BOCLAIR </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02679/8658021-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="877" height="1415"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brendan Witt</b> <span class="photo-credit">(NOAH GRAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011003/8658028-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="222" height="129"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>ertainly, the Nashville Predators are much more capable than in 2003-04 when they lost to Detroit in the first round of the playoffs. The additions of Paul Kariya, Yanic Perreault and Danny Markov last summer and Brendan Witt at the trade deadline have made them a much more experienced team.</p><p>But with 11 players aged 25 and under, Nashville still is prone to the missteps of youth, namely inconsistency. They opened the season with eight straight wins followed by five straight defeats. They had four other streaks of at least four consecutive wins and three times lost three or more in a row. If the Predators get on a good streak in the playoffs, look out.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Usually, it&rsquo;s because of Tomas Vokoun. But the star goalie is done for the season due to a blood condition, leaving backup Chris Mason and prospect Pekka Rinne to carry the load. If there&rsquo;s any good news, it&rsquo;s that the loss of Vokoun won&rsquo;t impact the team&rsquo;s work ethic, speed and forechecking ability.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> An undersized, skillful defense corps can be overwhelmed by physical forwards, a problem lessened by Witt. Also, they can&rsquo;t stay out of the penalty box, averaging more than 18 penalty minutes per game. That will have to change in the post-season.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Losing Vokoun is a devastating blow. And, at the other end, does Nashville has enough firepower to score when things tighten up? In their four losses to Detroit in 2004, they had just three goals.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Kariya, Markov, Witt, Sillinger and Perreault (all newcomers) have a combined 211 games of playoff experience. In &rsquo;03-04, the entire roster had 247.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Nashville ended the season with 26 players on its roster, rotating forwards in and out of the lineup based on matchups. Scott Hartnell is among the team leaders in goals and among league leaders in game-winners, but often plays on the third line.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Any discussion of the Preds begins and ends with Vokoun, so losing him on the eve of the playoffs is a fatal blow. Mason, 30, has 38 NHL games to his credit, none in the playoffs.</p><p><b>COACH BARRY</b>&nbsp;<b>TROTZ SAYS</b> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and you think, &lsquo;This guy had 40 points and this guy had 10 points, (so) the guy with 40 points should be the better player.&rsquo; Well, he may be the better player, but he might not be the better player for the situation that we&rsquo;re playing in.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03540/8658014-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="1103" height="853"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04453/8658007-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="850" height="842"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-02

Preds hunt playoff win

<div class="byline">By RICH CHERE </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02729/8658066-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg"></div><p><b>T</b>he Devils may be anxious for the playoffs to begin just to find out who they are.</p><p>Are they the team that convinced Larry Robinson to resign in mid-December? Are they the squad that won nine in a row for Lou Lamoriello in January?</p><p>If they play like they did in losing six of eight games March 11-30, they&rsquo;ll be out of the playoffs in no time. But, if they are peaking in April, it could mark another lengthy post-season run.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident about this team,&rdquo; said defenseman Brad Lukowich, &ldquo;but getting to the playoffs and being in them are two different things. During an 82-game grind you cannot be sharp on some nights. In the playoffs, you&rsquo;ve got to be sharp every night.&rdquo; That doesn&rsquo;t sound like these Devils.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011088/8658073-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="210" height="217"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Devils go back to the prelockout NHL and play the kind of defense that results in low-scoring, tight-checking games. That isn&rsquo;t easy to maintain for an entire season, but they&rsquo;ve done it in big games.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> No longer are the Devils skilled at protecting leads. In the Scott Stevens era, they could sit on a one-goal lead and almost never collapsed. Those days are gone.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03591/8658059-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="841" height="846"></div><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Patrik Elias has overcome a lot this season and the Devils have to wonder if he will be able to make a difference in the playoffs. Hepatitis A kept him out until January and bruised ribs sustained at the Olympics sidelined him in early March. How close to his old self can he be when it&rsquo;s all on the line?</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The NHL&rsquo;s new tie-breaker helped get the Devils into the playoffs. They won nine of their first 13 shootouts, but that won&rsquo;t be a part of the playoffs.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The deadline additions of Brad Lukowich and Ken Klee gave the Devils much-needed depth on defense. Up front, the Devils would&rsquo;ve felt a lot better if Alex Mogilny wasn&rsquo;t in Albany (AHL).</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> He won&rsquo;t win a third Vezina Trophy, but the Devils have said repeatedly there isn&rsquo;t anyone they&rsquo;d rather have in net for the playoffs than Martin Brodeur. This season, Brodeur has either allowed some soft goals or been unbeatable.</p><p><b>COACH LOU LAMORIELLO SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a work in progress. We had gotten away from what we&rsquo;d been doing. But we&rsquo;ve gone back to what we&rsquo;d been doing.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

Devils in search of their identity

<div class="byline">By LARRY BROOKS </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02655/8658118-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jaromir Jagr</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011014/8658125-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="159" height="150"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Rangers scratched that seven-season itch so hard, they just about drew blood from the wound that had seen the team miss the post-season since 1997.</p><p>That&rsquo;s fitting, given the sweat and tears this squad invested in not only making the playoffs, but in restoring respect for the Original Six franchise. Conceived by GM Glen Sather and guided by progressive head coach Tom Renney, the Rangers operate under an environment in which respect for the individual is always present, but responsibility to the sweater is always paramount.</p><p>With the team projected to finish at the bottom of the NHL by many prognosticators, Jaromir Jagr on the first day of training camp guaranteed a playoff spot for the team. Now they&rsquo;ve arrived, the Blueshirts will continue to follow wherever Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist lead.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> It&rsquo;s this simple: the Rangers beat you with Jagr scoring and setting up goals, and with Lundqvist stopping them. They&rsquo;ve derived confidence and poise all season from their wonderful freshman goalie. With that added to the inspiration provided by Jagr, nearly unstoppable down the stretch, the Broadway run is dependant on its marquee stars.</p><p><b>HOW THEY'RE EXPOSED</b> The Rangers are challenged by teams that come at the defense with a hard forecheck and by teams that create traffic in front of Lundqvist by driving to the net. If Jagr is shadowed, support players will be obligated to contribute offensively.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The Rangers are one of the least physically imposing teams in the NHL. If the playoffs resemble the traditional battle-zone competition of the past, there is a question about the team&rsquo;s ability to prosper in a down-and-dirty game.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Remarkably, no team has won the Cup the first time in the tournament after missing the playoffs even two years in a row. The Rangers are in after a franchise-record seven year run of failure.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> With the Blueshirts an unusally top-heavy team, this is another legitimate question mark. The top six forwards shoulder an unusually heavy burden of offensive responsibility, and Renney has evolved into a three-line coach.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Are you sure you want to define Henrik Lundqvist as a rookie? Yes, it&rsquo;s his first year in North America, but that&rsquo;s no albatross the 24-year-old is wearing across his neck &ndash; that&rsquo;s the gold medal he earned leading Sweden to an Olympic championship. He gives the team a legitimate shot to win every game in which he plays.</p><p><b>COACH TOM RENNEY SAYS</b> &ldquo;Yes, at the start of the season our goal was to make the playoffs, but that&rsquo;s not the ambition now. Now it&rsquo;s to make some noise in the post-season.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03507/8658111-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="1103" height="848"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04416/8658104-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="850" height="846"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0039-02

Rangers ready for any and all

<div class="byline">By WAYNE FISH </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02431/8658163-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he question &ndash; who&rsquo;s the Flyers&rsquo; playoff goalie? &ndash; seems like it&rsquo;s been around as long as a vampire. And it&rsquo;s just as hard to kill.</p><p>Vanbiesbrouck or Hextall? Boucher or Vanbiesbrouck? Cechmanek or Esche? Now, Esche or Niittymaki?</p><p>The Flyers appear to be leaning toward the rookie Antero Niittymaki, which means as many as five first-year men may start the playoffs. And that&rsquo;s the key to Philadelphia&rsquo;s postseason hopes: Can inexperienced rookies such as Niittymaki, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, R.J. Umberger and Freddy Meyer give veterans Peter Forsberg, Simon Gagne and Derian Hatcher enough support to succeed?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01707/8658170-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="222" height="159"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> When the Flyers win, the victory is often the product of balanced scoring. In a late-season decision over Ottawa, all four lines scored. Some of that success can be attributed to team depth. Ten-year pro Sami Kapanen, a career 173-goal scorer, has been seeing fourth line duty.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b>&nbsp;Some of the worst penalty killing in franchise history. The Flyers spent the year hovering at 25th overall or lower. The unit was hurt by longterm injuries to Kapanen, Michal Handzus and Eric Desjardins. All three are now back in action.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03325/8658156-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="850" height="843"></div><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Though Niittymaki is an unknown commodity in the NHL playoffs, he&rsquo;s not your typical rookie. He&rsquo;s 25, has won a Calder Cup in the AHL (last year) and played successfully for years in the Finnish Elite League. His silver medal performance at Turin drew comparisons by Teemu Selanne to Miikka Kiprusoff.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Since 1997, Ken Hitchcock&rsquo;s teams have made it to at least the second round of the playoffs. He has gone to the conference final or beyond four times.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Despite the loss of Keith Primeau, the Flyers still consider center a strength, with Forsberg, Handzus, Carter and Richards. At the end of the regular season, the Flyers had several extra forwards, with Brian Savage, Branko Radivojevic and Turner Stevenson vying for playing time.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> If Niittymaki starts and then falters, Esche has a brief, but impressive playoff resume. He bested Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour, then gave Nikolai Khabibulin a run for his money in the 2004 Eastern Conference final. A lengthy groin injury hampered his progress this season.</p><p><b>COACH KEN HITCHCOCK SAYS</b>&nbsp;&ldquo;The tank was empty there for awhile due to injuries. Now we&rsquo;re starting to fill it back up again.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-02

Flyers depending on rookie guile

<div class="byline">By ROSS MCKEON </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Sharks are a vastly different team than when they started the season. A 10-game losing skid in November prompted GM Doug Wilson to shake things up, landing Bruins captain Joe Thornton Nov. 30. Thornton&rsquo;s arrival, combined with the emergence of young talents Christian Ehrhoff, Steve Bernier, Milan Michalek, Josh Gorges and strong 1-2 goaltending makes the Sharks that low-seeded team no one wants to play.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The 1-2 punch of Thornton centering the top line with sniper Jonathan Cheechoo, and Patrick Marleau centering rookie power forwards Bernier and Michalek. Teams have to pick which line to deploy its best checkers against, and take their chances with the other line. An improved penalty kill has also made the Sharks dangerous.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04261/8658215-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="243" height="236"></div><p><b>HOW THEY'RE EXPOSED</b>&nbsp;They made it to the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time last season, but only half of that roster returned, so going deep into the post-season would be a first-time experience for many.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Who&rsquo;s the No. 1 goalie? Incumbent Evgeni Nabokov, who led the team to the conference final in 2004, or Vesa Toskala, who was the more consistent stopper in the second half?</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05226/8658208-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="1100" height="863"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06201/8658201-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="850" height="847"></div><p><b>KEY STAT</b> How significant was the Nov. 30 trade for Thornton? Since putting Big Joe into the lineup Dec. 1 at Buffalo, the Sharks led the league in the greatest winning percentage increase since Dec. 1, at better than 25 per cent.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> With Scott Hannan, Scott Thornton, Ville Nieminen and Kyle McLaren, the Sharks possess playoff-tested veterans who won&rsquo;t shrink in the spotlight. Marcel Goc provided big moments in the 2003 post-season when he hadn&rsquo;t even made his regular season debut yet.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> GM Doug Wilson hinted the team might use both goalies in the playoffs, although the final decision rests with coach Ron Wilson. Nabokov battled injuries early, then was inconsistent. He found his game at the Olympics tending net for Russia, but was slow to get it back on track following the break. Toskala is less flashy, but might battle and cope better with heavy traffic.</p><p><b>COACH RON WILSON SAYS</b> &ldquo;We have a team that I think can win the Stanley Cup. But we can&rsquo;t (do it) without making the playoffs.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-04

Thornton leads Shark attack

<div class="byline">By TOM JONES </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02368/8658260-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Fredrik Modin</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01597/8658267-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="205" height="205"></div><p>The Lightning knew repeating as Stanley Cup champions would not be easy. They didn&rsquo;t know it would be this difficult.</p><p>Scrambling just to get into the post-season, Tampa Bay has had problems with goaltending, special teams and big stars not playing big&hellip;all the necessary components for being successful. In the last week of the season, they still hadn&rsquo;t determined whether John Grahame or Sean Burke can carry the load in goal. Defending MVP Martin St-Louis had an up-and-down season, though he was showing signs of life as the season wound down.</p><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> For the Bolts to win, they have to outscore opponents. And they have the horses to do it. The top six forwards (Vinny Lecavalier, St-Louis, Brad Richards, Fredrik Modin, Vinny Prospal and Ruslan Fedotenko) are as strong as any in the league. Plus, rookie Ryan Craig and Dmitry Afanasenkov have shown some pop.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Grahame has not lived up to the standard set by Nikolai Khabibulin. He has played well in stretches, but has been wildly inconsistent for the most part. His tendency to give up a soft goal has caused confidence problems for the coaching staff and the other players and is one of the main reasons the team has struggled.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> After winning the Hart Trophy and scoring title in 2003-04, St-Louis was rewarded with a fat contract. Under that burden, though, the sensitive St-Louis has struggled. But in the final month, he showed signs of life. If he can regain his &rsquo;03-04 form, the Bolts will be a dangerous team again, even if the goaltending is shaky.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Playoff hockey is all about getting leads. In the first 16 games after the Olympic break, the Lightning gave up the first goal 10 times, including an incredible four times in the opening 27 seconds. That&rsquo;s no way to win in the regular season, let alone in the playoffs.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Up front, the Lightning is fine. On defense, it&rsquo;s scary. The Lightning found that out when Dan Boyle and Pavel Kubina went down with injuries and they called up two players (Doug O&rsquo;Brien and Timo Helbling) with a combined seven NHL games of service. After its topsix, the Bolts have no defensemen with real experience.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> It&rsquo;s the team&rsquo;s biggest concern. The best hope is veteran stopper Sean Burke can regain some of his old magic. Grahame&rsquo;s season has been such a roller coaster, it&rsquo;s tough to imagine him carrying a team through four rounds.</p><p><b>COACH JOHN TORTORELLA</b>&nbsp;<b>SAYS</b> &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not defending anything. Defending? We won the Cup two years ago. That&rsquo;s the Ice Age as far as we&rsquo;re concerned.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03293/8658253-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="1107" height="873"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04250/8658246-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="843" height="838"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0041-02

Lightning tries to strike twice

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01617/8658298-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>ttempting to name the Cup champion, before the playoffs even begin, is a fool&rsquo;s game. You can&rsquo;t predict the future, so why waste the time?</p><p>Because you might be surprised at what you discover. Of the past nine NHL champions dating back to Colorado&rsquo;s 1996 Cup, the eventual winner had placed no worse than fifth in the regular season standings <i>(see list at right)</i>. And, the eventual winner was ranked in the top-three in regular season offense (goals for per game) or defense (goals against per game). Apply these two &lsquo;truths&rsquo; to this year&rsquo;s post-season, and you see that only Detroit, Ottawa and Carolina qualify: all three placed in the top-five in the overall standings, and all were in the top-three in either offense or defense.</p><p>Other rankings are for power play (PP) and penalty-killing (PK) efficiency; road points percentage; points percentage in last quarter of season; and, previous playoff result.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-01

Use Stanley’s past to predict future

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><p><b>Patrick Eaves</b></p><p><b>Ottawa Senators</b></p><p><b>Pos RW Age 21</b></p><p><b>Birthplace Calgary, Alta.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01610/8658336-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="494" height="633"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02401/8658329-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="181" height="181"></div><h2><b>START THE CLOCK&hellip;</b></h2><p><b>What&rsquo;s your favorite movie?</b></p><p>&ldquo;<i>Zoolander</i>.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Worst movie you&rsquo;ve ever seen?</b></p><p>&ldquo;<i>The Ice Harvest</i>. I didn&rsquo;t like that one.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Read any good books lately?</b></p><p>&ldquo;<i>Back Spin</i> by Harland Coben. It&rsquo;s a murder-mystery.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Best practical joke you&rsquo;ve seen?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Cutting someone&rsquo;s laces halfway. It&rsquo;s pretty funny when guys are in a hurry.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Best party city you&rsquo;ve been to?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Madison, Wisconsin.&rdquo;</p><p><b>If you could hang out with any celebrity, who would it be?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Kiefer Sutherland, because he&rsquo;s Jack Bauer (on TV&rsquo;s <i>24</i>).&rdquo;</p><p><b>Best jersey you&rsquo;ve seen?</b></p><p>&ldquo;In Binghamton this year, they did Ottawa Senators throwback jerseys with the big &lsquo;O&rsquo; on them.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Ideal vacation spot?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Flathead Lake in Montana. My friends have a place up there. It&rsquo;s nice and relaxing.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Favorite non-hockey team?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Boston Red Sox.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Best concert you&rsquo;ve been to?</b></p><p>&ldquo;U2 on their current tour.&rdquo;</p><p><b>TIME&rsquo;S UP!</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

2 MINUTES IN THE BOX

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03336/8658367-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg"></div><p>Answers in next issue & <a href="mailto:online@thehockeynews.com">online@thehockeynews.com</a></p><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 Winner of gold in Turin</p><p>4 Fernando ___ is a lesser-known Oiler</p><p>9 The Rangers recently retired his No. 35, pictured</p><p>10 Line up</p><p>11 Not dirty</p><p>12 Bob ___ is among the all-time penalty minute leaders</p><p>13 &lsquo;Ovie&rsquo;s&rsquo; team</p><p>15 Controls the puck by clever stickhandling</p><p>18 The Nordiques played at the ___ de Quebec</p><p>21 The Blues&rsquo; Dallas ___</p><p>23 Defeat unexpectedly</p><p>24 Blueliner ___ Souray</p><p>25 The Allan Cup is for ___ amateur teams in Canada</p><p>26 To ___ the puck is to hold it against the boards</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Grant Fuhr hailed from ___ Grove, Alberta</p><p>2 Goalie Robert ___ represented the U.S. in Turin</p><p>3 Widens</p><p>5 State with ECHL hockey</p><p>6 Leaf who suited up for Finland in Turin</p><p>7 Spark</p><p>8 Cause an opponent to fall</p><p>14 Leaf center previously with the Bruins and Kings</p><p>15 Home of the Western League&rsquo;s Rebels</p><p>16 Nickname of Kansas City&rsquo;s short-lived NHL team</p><p>17 ___ Parent was a two-time Smythe winner</p><p>19 Fight: two words</p><p>20 Hershey belongs to this AHL division</p><p>22 Savard who was with the Sabres</p><h2><b>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION</b></h2><p><b>ACROSS</b> 1. CHARGE, 4. CALDER, 9. MATHIEU, 10. BEARD, 11. TUNED, 12. PATRICE, 13. GEAR, 15. JAGR, 18. ASSISTS, 21. ROGIE, 23. CLEAR, 24. BOMBERS, 25. LINDEN, 26. BRETON.</p><p>&nbsp;<b>DOWN</b> 1. COMETH, 2. ANTON, 3. GRINDER, 5. AUBUT, 6. DEALING, 7. REDDEN, 8. GUMP, 14. EASTERN, 15. JAROMIR, 16. MARCEL, 17. NELSON, 19. SERGE, 20. SUBS, 22. GREAT.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-03

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hink of it as the &lsquo;perfect storm,&rsquo; uniform-style. When the Hartford Whalers changed their dark jersey color from green to blue in 1992, their AHL affiliate, the legendary Springfield Indians, followed suit, producing a real sharp uniform with the iconic &lsquo;S&rsquo; and Native mascot. Then, in &rsquo;94, the team moved to Worcester, and though Springfield soon after was granted an expansion team, Worcester kept the trademark on &lsquo;Indians,&rsquo; so the new team was dubbed the Falcons.</p><p>But here&rsquo;s the real pop-culture cache: Snoop Dogg wore the rare jersey in the music video for one of his biggest hits, &lsquo;Gin and Juice.&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06171/8658443-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="527" height="860"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07150/8658436-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="1328" height="642"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0043-06

JERSEY HOUND

f0044-01

Final Series History

<div class="byline">ADAM PROTEAU </div><div class="byline">Online Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02254/8658505-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FORGET ABOUT IT</b></p><p>Odds are your buddy&rsquo;s &lsquo;insider source&rsquo; on Iginla is of questionable credibility.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01425/8658512-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="239" height="285"></div><p><b><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p><b>T</b>o paraphrase from every gangsta rap song ever made: Ain&rsquo;t no party like an NHL playoff fantasy draft party.</p><p>Why? Where else can friends, office workers &ndash; and that one weird dude nobody seems to know &ndash; gather to hoist a few beverages, mark their territory and mercilessly razz every other drafter in the room?</p><p>Where else can you enjoy the timeless &ldquo;Who Is A Better Final-Round Pick: Cory Cross, Toni Lydman or Mark Streit&rdquo; debate? Where else can you be your own GM without the burdens of business attire, fiscal responsibility, and the ever-lovin&rsquo; media?</p><p>Nowhere, that&rsquo;s where. And though every draft&rsquo;s, <i>ahem</i>, trivial-and-in-no-way-illegal monetary rewards might be most important to its contestants, it&rsquo;s really the rituals of draft day that keep us coming back every third week in April.</p><p>All fantasy pool drafters are assured, for example, of having their sanity questioned at least once every 15 minutes, no matter who they pick.</p><p>Drafters also are certain to be subjected to more than a few familiar phrases, each one time-tested in the art of making you wonder why you consented to another year of this madness in the first place.</p><p>Here are the top five things guaranteed to be said at your draft:</p><p><b>&ldquo;Hey, nice pick.&rdquo;</b></p><p>Nobody really means this. Even the non-sarcastic people who say this are secretly making side deals with their creator in the hopes your selection goes directly down the proverbial dumper.</p><p>And why shouldn&rsquo;t they? No draft awards a Lady Byng Fantasy Playoff Trophy for exemplary sportsmanship, so batten down your emotional hatches and treat each and every opponent as the enemy they are.</p><p><b>&ldquo;Is (insert name of superstar NHLer here) still available?&rdquo;</b></p><p>The problem with this isn&rsquo;t the question itself, but the <i>timing</i> of it.</p><p>Therefore, kindly allow us to make the following pre-emptive public service announcement: If you&rsquo;re in the late stages of the draft&rsquo;s seventh round, there are very good odds Jason Spezza and Jaromir Jagr already have been selected. Ditto Pavel Datsyuk, Peter Forsberg, Mike Modano, and every other top-five scorer on each of the 16 playoff teams. So stop asking, already.</p><p><b>&ldquo;Really? He&rsquo;s injured? Can I pick again? Please?&rdquo;</b></p><p>This sequence of questions is usually uttered by somebody whose marginal interest in the game/league has resulted in their selection of a player who suffered two broken legs, multiple charley horses and a partially dislocated face in November.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><u>If you&rsquo;re in the seventh round of your draft, odds are Jason Spezza has been taken.</u></blockquote><p>If you&rsquo;re a gracious draft administrator, you&rsquo;ll allow this dim bulb to select a player who is in full health. But in fairness to those friends and colleagues who don&rsquo;t waste everyone&rsquo;s time asking ridiculous questions, the offending party should be made to pay a sizeable toll for the privilege of picking again.</p><p>Our suggestion for their penance: the person should (a) eat hot gravel; (b) be strapped to a chair and forced to listen to the complete musical anthology of Bette Midler; and (c) swear on all they hold dear that a similar display of ignorance won&rsquo;t be repeated.</p><p>Take it from a guy who&rsquo;s been there: if you don&rsquo;t make every effort to nip this kind of deviant behavior in the bud, your draft could take upwards of a week to complete.</p><p>And sleepover playoff fantasy drafts have never been cool.</p><p><b>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t need a proven goal-tender to win this thing.&rdquo;</b></p><p>Don&rsquo;t point the blame in our direction when you hear this at your draft party. Blame whoever invited Bob Clarke.</p><p><b>&ldquo;Trust me on this &ndash; I have inside information.&rdquo;</b></p><p>You often hear this doozy from the town wiseacre who claims to be lifelong friends with the attorney for the second cousin of the personal shopper of Jarome Iginla. Under no circumstances should you trust this person (not you, Jarome).</p><p>The manner in which NHL teams guard injury information in the playoffs makes <i>The Da Vinci Code</i> seem like the Ovaltine secret from <i>A Christmas Story</i>. You&rsquo;re better to trust your instincts* as opposed to those of Mr. Woodward & Bernstein.</p><p><i>(* &ndash; Note: if your instincts tell you to select Colorado Avalanche players this year, stop trusting your instincts immediately. Your instincts are horribly, horribly wrong.)</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-02

Fantasy draft all about ritual

<div class="byline">MIKE BROPHY </div><div class="byline">The Hockey News</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01416/8658550-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02251/8658557-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="239" height="276"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;Every team has a few players who stir the drink; he&rsquo;s one of our stirrers</b></blockquote><p><b>C</b>hances are Sergei Zubov will never read this story. I won&rsquo;t take the snub personally.</p><p>You see, Zubov, a veteran of 13 NHL seasons, though it seems as though the Moscow native has been in the league forever, does not spend a waking moment thinking about publicity or how he is perceived by others.</p><p>He plays the game; that&rsquo;s all.</p><p>&ldquo;You know what, honestly, I&rsquo;m not looking for publicity,&rdquo; Zubov says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not looking for headlines. That is not my priority. The point is, I just want to go out there and play every night the best that I can play. That&rsquo;s all.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;s not joking. In a telephone interview that lasts all of about three and a half minutes, Zubov is strictly business.</p><p><i>Do you care that you have never won the Norris Trophy?</i></p><p><i>Nope.</i></p><p><i>Do you dream of sipping champagne from the Stanley Cup for a third time?</i></p><p><i>Yep.</i></p><p>You get the idea.</p><p>&ldquo;The thing about Sergei is, he is basically just a very shy person,&rdquo; says Stars coach Dave Tippett. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably the least self-promoting player I have ever come across. There are lots of players like Sergei who others think are stuck up or aloof, when the reality is, they are just shy.</p><p>&ldquo;He has had people ask him if he thinks there needs to be more publicity for him as a Norris candidate and he says, &lsquo;If my play doesn&rsquo;t say enough for me, I don&rsquo;t need any other promotion.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><h2><b>A STAR&rsquo;S STAR</b></h2><p>As the Stars have very quietly crept near the top of the Western Conference standings, Zubov has been typically strong at both ends of the ice. He was third in team scoring and third amongst NHL defensemen with 12 goals and 65 points in 71 games.</p><p>The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Zubov has been nothing if not consistent throughout his career. The 35-year-old usually ranks among the NHL&rsquo;s top scoring defensemen, finishing as high as second in 1993-94 when he helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup with 12 goals and 89 points in 78 games. That was also the season Zubov became the first NHL defenseman to lead a team in scoring that was first overall in the standings and the year he finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting. He has never finished worse than 17th in defenseman scoring in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03184/8658543-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="235" height="356"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Sergei Zubov</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DONALD MIRALLE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>With the Stars poised to win their seventh division title in nine years, Zubov reluctantly admits to feeling good about their chances in the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we have something special going on here,&rdquo; Zubov says. &ldquo;It looks like we have the right pieces, but it has to come from within. We were pretty good on paper at the beginning of the season, but it took a while before it started clicking. We&rsquo;re really happy where we are now and can&rsquo;t wait for the playoffs to begin.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>QUARTERBACK SKILLS</b></h2><p>If the Stars are to make it to the Stanley Cup final, they will most certainly need goalie Marty Turco to raise his level of play in the post-season and for Jason Arnott to continue his effective play beyond the end of the regular season.</p><p>And, of course, Zubov will be relied upon to carry the mail from the back end.</p><p>&ldquo;He is one guy we have always relied on as being the main puck-moving guy on our team,&rdquo; says Stars captain Mike Modano. &ldquo;He has the ability to control the game when he&rsquo;s on the ice. He is always under the radar. Nobody talks about him, but he&rsquo;s so consistent. He doesn&rsquo;t put up gigantic numbers, but his numbers are always above average.&rdquo;</p><p>Zubov is the only active defenseman to register 30 or more assists and 40 or more points over the past 10 years. This is his third 50-assist season. From Dec. 29 through Jan. 14 Zubov, who ranks seventh in ice time averaging 26:32, engineered a career-best nine-game points streak and he is the all-time scoring leader in Stars franchise history.</p><p>At least one elite NHL defender understands Zubov&rsquo;s value.</p><p>&ldquo;The patience he has with the puck is unbelievable,&rdquo; says Edmonton&rsquo;s Chris Pronger. &ldquo;You just don&rsquo;t teach that stuff.&rdquo;</p><p>Others may have a greater affect on the Stars ultimate finish this year, but Zubov&rsquo;s contribution is not lost on the coach.</p><p>&ldquo;He thinks the game so well,&rdquo; Tippett says. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to say he&rsquo;s the catalyst, but every team has a few players who stir the drink and he&rsquo;s one of our stirrers.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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