The Leafs is not that bad

ok...i've had it! i've spent the the last 30 minutes reading articles with pure leafs bashing. from their defensive zone coverage to their lack of offence. i must admitt, the leafs offence haven't played to the standard expected from a team with so many quality players, and their defence could be doing a better job, but the truth is that everything is not as bad as it seems. the leafs might've been outshot 46-28, but how many of those shots have been legitimate scoring chances? the leafs defence have done a great job making sure eddie belfour see the shots all the way, clearing the traffic from the shooting lane, and keeping the shooters outside in the perimeter. most of the shots that was fired at eddie were either from the point with no traffic, or weak shots from the outside. the real chances the sens generate from those 46 shots could be counted on two hands. people also saw the leafs running around in their own zone, at time having trouble clearing the zone, and seeing ottawa continue to dump it in deep and send a two-man forecheck, with a third man waiting at the blue line. yes, the leafs did have trouble clearing the zone, often having pressure in their own for over a minute before it is cleared, but most of the time occured with the puck along the boards, with 2-4 players trying to dig it out, not effectively creating legitimate scoring chances. i really think people need to give the leafs defence more credit than they are getting right now. look at their penalty killing, the sens have had trouble generating any sustainable pressure on their powerplay this series. the leafs defence have shut-down one of the top powerplay team in the regular season. now i know, there is always room for improvement, but things are not as bad as they seem. but then again, the could be worse.

ok fine, i was wrong. the leafs lost game 6 n now the sens are coming back to this side of the 401 for the final battle. game 7, leafs 3-1.

Battle of Ontario

sitting here in front of my computer during the second intermission of game 6 between the Leafs and Sens, i began pondering if the series is living up to the hype generated by the media. the leafs haven't played particularly well this entire series, being out-shot, out-chanced, and pretty much out-played by the sens the entire series thus far, and somehow the sens have been shut-out three times by the leafs. with the leafs up 1-0 at this point of the game, i see this game going two ways. either the sens forces a game 7, or the leafs win in 6 and have just defeated an already defeated opponent. if the leafs win, it will all be about beating up a team they have defeated 3 of the last four years, it will be no big deal because........(fill in the blank) should ottawa come back, tie the series and force it go game 7, where the team live up to alfie's promise, it will simply be a team getting what they deserve for out-playing their opponent for the entire series. don't mistaken what i'm saying here, both teams have played good hockey, old fashion end-to-end rushes, not the boring trap that we have seen from the devils in recent years. i just feel that regardless the outcome of this series, media and fans alike will somehow pick out the negative of this series. while many predicted the winner of the series to go on to represent the east in the stanley cup finals, watching all but one game thus far caused me to think twice about these predictions. the leafs haven't played a solid game for the full 60 minutes so far, at times struggling to get the puck out of their own zone, while the high-powered sens offence have been blanked 3 times so far. it makes me wonder if they can survive into the finals. with either the flyers or the bolts waiting to play the winner of this series, it certainly will not get any easier for the winner of this series. the bolts have proven themselves to be a force with their 5 game victory over the isles, while the flyers have showed their goltending problems are behind them with esche stepping up to defeat the devils. either the bolts speed game or the flyers physical game will be next for either the leafs or the sens, and whoever they face, the ontario teams must step up their game to the next level. the leafs must be more agressive on the forecheck, maintain good pressure in the opponent's zone, and most of all get the puck out of their zone. if the sens somehow defeat all the odds against them and defeat the leafs (high unlikely), they must take the offence to the next level, for a team to get shut-out three time in a series (i predict the final leafs win will also be a shut-out) when their offence was #1 in the league in the regular season is inexcusable. bondra has been held pointless, and he must step up his play. the entire sens offence must step up.

ok, third period starting, so my prediction, leafs 2-0 in game 6...montreal will beat boston (yes, i know i predicted boston to win in 6, but the way montreal is playing lately, i changed my mind) 4-2 on monday.
leafs will play flyers next round
and finally, flames and canucks, what a game that was, too bad one of these teams have to go out. it was one of the most entertaining games i've seen for awhile. end-to-end rushes, heavy checks, just great hockey. for those who missed it, you missed out on a great game. flames will win 3-1 on monday.

wow...laser quest was fun...great to see everyone again...

so anyways, here is my little short thing on the leafs/sens again. yeah, the leafs won 2-0 tonight, and now they're leading 2-1 in the series, but i still worry about their chances further into the playoffs. let's see, where should i start. first, with the age of alot of leafs players, plus the punishment they've been receiving so far in the series against the sens, i worry some of their bodies will start going down later on in the playoffs. second, they have been relying too much on eddie. once again the sens got over 30 shots in one game, outshootiing the leafs, and outchancing the leafs. the leafs defence haven't been solid in front of him, they haven't been clearing the zone against the sens forecheck. they've had trouble winning the battles along the boards, giving sens point shots after point shots on eddie. sooner or later they will find a way to get a puck by him. let see, the faceoffs. ok, i don't know if this will be problem for them this playoff, but it was hard to sit there and watch the leafs centres lose faceoffs in their own end and thus giving the sens clean shots at the net. what else is there...hmm...oh...the leafs have had trouble generating offence on the ottawa defence, they have had trouble sustaining constant pressure on the sens defence by forechecking and keeping the puck deep in the ottawa zone. it seems as though once the puck enters the sens end, it comes right now. i think thats all for the negative, i think i'm gonna at least say some good things about the leafs. its great to see eddie once again standing on his head, stopping everything that the sens are throwing at him. also great to see mats finally scoring a goal. it must've been frustrating stepping on the ice each shift and having a 6-5 guy as your shadow, but he's the superstar, and he will be expected to deliver despite the circumstances that he's facing. and finally...my prediction still remains the same. leafs in 6

West

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Preds
Detroit in 4/5, enough said

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) St. Louis Blues
Sharks in 5

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
Flames in 7

(4) Colorado Avalanche vs. (5) Dallas Stars
Stars in 6

Regionals tmr...all the pressure

I don't know, been thinking over my fearless predictions today at school. Out of the time I spent sleeping in class, and yes, I fell asleep in all my classes today, I got the gut feeling that the Isles is going to make their series interesting, maybe even an up-set. But I stand-by what I wrote, and we'll see what happens.

The Jays started their season, somehow I think that they will not be as hyped up as they are right now. Yes they have improved, but they haven't improved enough to win the 100 games required to win their division, nor will they win the 90-95 games predicted by their manager, Carlos Tosca. Speaking of Carlose Tosca, he's one great man off the field. Sign autographs for fans of all ages as his time permits, just connecting with the fans. Speaking of nice players, Chris Woodward is one of the best when speaking of connecting with fans. Similar to Cal Ripken Jr, Chris often go out of his way to provide the fans with what they ask for. I seriously hope that his on-field performance will continue to improve, because he's a complete gentleman off the field. Anyways, back to the season. Even with the addition of Batista, Hentgen, and Lilly, the Jays are still lacking a couple pieces of the puzzle to become serioius contenders for the East Division. That is made especially hard when the Yanks lost Boone, and turned around and took the best player in the game in A'Rod. The Yanks still need another quality starter, does the name Randy Johnson in pinstrip strike fear in anyone's mind. With George's unlimited budget, that possibility is not as far-fetched as it seems at this point. Matching the Yanks, Boston kept its offence intacted, and added a quality closer in Keith Foulke, and one of the best pitchers in the game in Curt Schilling. If Petro can stay healthy for the year, I would not want to face Boston with Petro one game followed by Curt the next game. I'm sure the Jays can tell you how hard it will be this weekend when it will be Halladay/Martinez on Sautrday (April 10) and then Batista/Schilling on Sunday (April 11). With the improvements made by the top 2 teams in their Division, the Jays will also need to worry about the O's. With addition of Tejada and Lopez in the off-season, it will definitely improve their team's offensive ability. Adding Sidney Ponson will definitely aid their pitching staff, but one good pitcher will not carry their team. They will be competitive this year, but they will lose many high scoring games this year simply because they're still lacking quality starters and relievers. Even the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made improvement in the off-season, but it will not be enough to catapult them out of the basement in the East. Anyways, my prediction. Yanks, Bo Sox, Jays, O's, D'Rays. The same standing at the end of the season for the past 5 seasons. Jays will contend for awhile, and even playing meaningful games in September, but they will remain at around 85-90 wins. 10 games out of the Wild Card.

I know today was suppose to be the West, but that can wait until tomorrow night.

Its PLAYOFFS time

Ok, if you didn't know already, I'm like a complete hockey (Leafs to be exact) freak. Here are my fearless predictions of the first round, wonder how many I will get right.

Eastern Conference
(1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (8) New York Islanders
Even though it seems like a no-brainer, the Isles have been playing good hockey as of late.
Bolts in 7

(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Montreal Canadians
Bruins played well on the final game against the Devils to clinch the division. Their playoff success still remains a question-mark, due to the injury to Thorton. Habs have struggled in the stretch run.
Bruins in 6

(3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils
Every year, its the same story with the Flyers, their goalies. I think you all remember what happened to Cechmanek last year, and this year its either Esche or Burke. Esche has struggled lately, and Burke has yet to prove himself in the playoffs. Advantage goes to the Devils in goaltending simply because of Brodeur.
Devils in 6

(4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
What kind of stupid law is that the Ottawa city council made?! Banning all Leafs sweaters from the Corel Centre or punishment is donation to the food bank. Its all good though, 10 tonnes of food collected from the April3rd game alone. Anyways, back to the series. Every game will be like an away game for the Senaturds. Somehow there are always more Leafs fan, or 50/50 at the Corel Centre when the Leafs are playing the Sens, and no doubt it'll be a sea of blue and white down in the ACC. History is on the Leafs side in this series, with wins in 2000, 2001, 2002. Sens are a much improved team from even the beginning of the season with addition of Greg de Vries and Peter Bondra. Their offence is pretty much on even grounds with the Leafs, but I must give the edge to Ottawa simply because they were the #1 offensive team in the regular season. I'll also give a slight edge to Ottawa for the blue line. They have 2 elite d-man in Chara and Redden, de Vries, Phillips, Leschyshyn, and Simpson rounding out their 6. While the Leafs have a legitimate top 4 with Leetch, McCabe, Karbele and Johansson, their 5th and 6th defencemen remains a question-mark. When Ken Klee returns, he'll definitely be in the mix. Behind him, Berg has struggled, same with Pilar. Berehowsky haven't got much work in lately. So the edge also go to Ottawa. And finally, goalie. With 2 shut-outs in the last 2 games, definitely Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour is hot. As long as his back holds, the Leafs will go as far as Eddie takes them. While the situation in the Nation's Capital might not be as bright. With Lalime out for the past couple of weeks, Prusek haven't been consistent in net for the Sens. He has his good games, and his bad games. They say Lalime is ready to go by game 1, but I'm unsure if he'll be ready, just simply getting his timing back, and also how his injury affects him. Even if Lalime is at 100%. He haven't proven himself to be able to carry a team on his back. He has impressed with his previous playoff series, but he has yet to prove to be a solid playoff goalie. The edge goes to the blue and white. Even though Ottawa has the edge both on the offence and on the blue-line, the Leafs are not far behind. The experience some of the Leafs bring are priceless, especially their experiences in big games. With Ottawa playing every game almost like an away game, Toronto definitely has the home-ice advantage. This series will not only be decided on the play of star players, but also how the goalies perform. Experiences from the veterans on Toronto will bring the blue and white into the second round.
Leafs in 6

Western Conference coming tomorrow =)

No Greater Love

Wow...Aaron speaking, that fact still remains mind-bogging to me...but regardless of who the speaker was, I think God really spoke through Aaron last night...God was just working and speaking through him...it was cool =) And my worship team =þ You guys rocked...1 hours of practice and you made it through 3 sets, wow!

Anyways, some of the senior pics are now posted, more will come later, be patient.