Round #1: Leafs VS Bruins

9 years, blah blah, who cares at this point.  The Leafs are facing the Bruins in the 1st round of the 2013 Stanley cup playoffs.  On April 20th, the Leafs beat the Sens 4-1 to clinch a playoff spot.  

This was my reaction..

Everyone knows the Leafs have had a hard time with the Bruins over the last 40 some games. Also how Kessel seems to turn into a ghost when playing the same Bruins, scoring something like 0 even strength goals in 22 games.  Although he does have 3 power play goals in that stretch, ya, I know, no big deal.

Here are the keys to the series that could be a big deal.

Patrice Bergeron:

The best two way forward on this Bruins team could be a huge factor.  He ould shut down the Leafs while scoring big time points, or he could be hit on the 1st shift in game 1 and have another concussion.  Flip of a coin really.

Tuukka Rask:

Every goalie who wins in the playoffs, does it with better numbers than the regular season.  Rask is a great goalie, and in the regular season, is as good as any in the East, maybe in the entire league.  One thing that stands out to me tho, is his record in the playoffs.  7-6 with a 2.61 GAA and a 0.910 SV% in the playoffs.  Not very good compared to his career regular season stats, 2.20 GAA and a 0.926 SV%.  

Don't forget the year (2010) that Rask and the big bad Bruins had a 3-0 series lead vs the Flyers and blew it, losing the series 4-3.  Rask let in 15 goals in the last 4 games, including blowing a 3-0 lead in game 7 of that series.

Chara, Redden, Jagr:

Playoff series combine where these 3 players eliminated the Leafs: 0

Some people may think I'm grasping at straws, and hey, maybe I am.  But Phil Kessel struggles against a specific team, and why can't other players struggle against specific teams?  Who cares if they played the Leafs 10-15 years ago in the playoffs, I'm trying to do whatever I can to give faith to a Nation that hasn't had much to cheer for nearly a decade.

James Reimer:

Please save everything.  I'd like nothing more than 4 straight shutouts from you Optimus Reim.  We have never seen Reimer in the NHL playoffs.  I'm not going to write him off, though he definitely needs to make sure he has the best 4-7 games of his career.   

Lupul:

Joffrey Lupul needs to not get hurt or suspended.  He has not gone more than 6 games this year without being hurt or suspended, and it's hurt the Leafs in certain ways.  Example. He has 11 goals and 18 point in just 16 games played this season.  Including a nice goal from beside the net against Boston, during his 1st game back after being suspended 2 games.

Kessel:

Kessel doesn't have to do a single thing this series other than keep trying his hardest.  Bruins want to spend all their energy shutting down Kessel, go right ahead.  Lupul and Kadri will continue to light the lamp while Julien keeps putting Chara on Kessel.  It would be nice to see Kessel get some mad points this series.  Maybe all this negative attention from the media will light a fire under his arse and he might score some goals.  Who knows.

Tonight Is The Night

7 games and 33 shots later Phil Kessel has yet to notch a goal yet in this abbreviated season. Considering who the Leafs play tonight, it doesnt look good that he'll get one today either.

The Leafs host the Bruins at the ACC tonight, on CBC, Hockey Night in Canada.  I predict that Kessel breaks his goal slump tonight.  In fact, I am going on on a limb and saying he gets 2 goals.  What better game to score your 1st goal of the season than against the team that you came from.

The Leafs have had a bad season against the Bruins last year, losing all 6 games against them.  Boston outscored Toronto 36-10 last season 

On a bit of a side note, Marleau is the only player that is on pace to hit at least 50 goals in 48 games.  Doubt he will reach it, but you never know!

2013 Stanley Cup Predictions

It's Game On in the NHL, and that means we all try and pick who we think will win the Stanley Cup.  With a shortened season, only 48 games per team, a lengthy streak of some sort could make or break your season. It would be pretty easy to ride a hot goalie right into the playoffs and once you are at the dance, anything can happen on any given night.  That's why I believe that the New York Rangers will win the Stanley Cup. 

This season you might see a few goalies that will play upwards of 42+ games.  One goalie that I have in mind is Henrik Lundqvist.  He is a workhorse, in 7 seasons Lundqvist has started 70+ games on 4 occasions. I think Lundqvist will play 42+ games this year.  

For the last 3 years Lundqvist is getting better.  That is 

probably because the team around him is getting better as well, but I think this is going to be a big year for Lundqvist.

Also expect some big things from Rick Nash this year.  Rick Nash did well for himself in Columbus, but there he had the pressure of being the entire offence for the team.  Now that he isn't being reliable upon as the number 1 source of offence, that will take some pressure off and allow him to do what he does, score big goals. 

So there you have it.  My pick for the Stanley Cup!  

Bye Bye Burke

So by now I am sure all 8 of my readers have heard the Brian Burke has been relieved of his duties today by MLSE today causing quite a stir on Twitter.

Dave Nonis will take over as the GM and Senior VP of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A lot of people were saying that Burke got fired because he didn't want Luongo, and a lot of people were saying he got fired because he wanted Luongo.  As dumb as a corporation, such as Bell/Rogers, is when it comes to sports, I highly doubt that they would fire the GM because of him wanting or not wanting a specific player.  It probably has more to do with them being the new owners and and not wanting Burke there or possibly a disagreement on something on a bigger scale..

I liked Burke.  Any time he spoke, you knew he was being sincere.  He was the hard worker that liked "truculence" and didn't take anyone's guff.  I thought them firing him was a bit premature.  He has only had 3 and a half seasons running the team and has really did a good job restocking the farm system, considering what he was given to start with.

I'll always be thankful to burkie for giving me the opportunity to play in TO...as well as his tireless efforts in the community. #respect
— John-Michael Liles (@hoosierjm26) January 9, 2013

This changes absolutely nothing for our players. We are focused- ready to go for day 1 of camp and that will not change.
— Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul) January 9, 2013

The Leafs record while under Burke was an unimpressive one to say the least.  The were 128-135-42.

I do have to say I am going to miss press conferences where Burke looks like this.

COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR

The crappy part of all this is there is a possibility that Kessel could be on his way out now.   Burke was a big supporter of Kessel.  Even when the critics, and there are a lot of them, that claimed, and still do, that he over paid for Kessel.  Ok, maybe two 1sts (Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton) and a second rounder (Jared Knight) was a little over payment, but none the less, Kessel is the real deal and was top 6 in points in the NHL last year.

All this being said, getting rid of Burke was the inevitable thing to do, but the timing is just completely wrong. You don't do it at the beginning of a season.

It was a long 9 years when the Teachers Pension Plan owned the Leafs, why do I think then next 9 years are going to be any better?

Oh did you know that Bell owns 28% of the Leafs and 18% of the Montreal Canadiens?

Game on!

It's over!  The lockout is over!  My how quick everyone's attitude has changed in the last 12 hours.  Okay, maybe not everyone's, but a lot of people's attitude has changed since the announcement was made.

A 10 year deal is fantastic, but there is a catch.  There is an opt out at year 8, available to both the owners and the players.  Either side may decline the opt out, but we'll talk about that when that time comes.

First things first.  Roberto Luongo is heavily rumoured to be heading to The Leafs.  This is an alright idea if the Leafs want to make the playoffs, but a terrible idea if they want to actually contend for a Stanley Cup Championship.   We all have seen what Luongo does when he is under pressure.

The NHL will probably be looking at a 48 game season.  Here is what the NHL looked like after 48 games last season.

NHL sends memo to clubs indicating no camps before Saturday (and may not open until Monday), 48-game season to begin Jan. 19
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 7, 2013

After the 1st 48 games last year the playoffs were set.  In fact only one team manage to sneak in after the 48 game mark and that was the Coyotes.  They went on that magical run to the West final on the back of goaltender Mike Smith.

Also through 48 games, this is what Kessel and Lupul's point totals were.

Player	Goals	Assists	Points
Kessel	26	25	51
Lupul	20	32	52

When it is all said and one and the deal it ratified by the ownership and the union, I'll be pumped and ready to watch NHL hockey once again.  Along with my son, who at only 10 months, his eyes are glued to the TV when hockey is on, just the way I like it.