Tag Archives: toronto maple leafs

Maple Leafs Roller Coaster Ride Over, Stanley Cup Playoffs Carry On

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Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs wrapped up last night. The Toronto Maple Leafs had our expectations on an extreme roller coaster ride from being down three games to one to the Boston Bruins, and up, up, up the expectations went winning the next two, taking a 4-1 lead in Game 7, before it all came crashing down. A solid season and series by all accounts for the Buds, but still a bitter pill to swallow at the end.

Over in the other Game 7, between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, it was anything but a dramatic finish. The Rangers steamrolled the Caps 5-0 for the win to advance after being down most of the series.

Our Hockey Playoffs Pool is updated, and congrats to Kartin who holds down first place after going eight-for-eight picking the Round 1 series winners. knuckle_pucks is the lone other entry that went perfect in Round 1, and sits in second place, while markymark2281 is in third place.

There are still a lot of people who can make a run at this thing given we have a lot of different combinations of final four teams within striking distance of the top three spots in the pool. Although there are not many Ottawa Senators picks, so personally, Go Ottawa! I’ll definitely be pulling for the upset over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And I don’t have to wait long to see how that series might shape up. Wasting no time at all, the NHL kicks off Round 2 tonight with two games: Ottawa at Pittsburgh, and San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings. Detroit Red Wings play at Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday to start their series, while the must be tired Rangers and Bruins being Thursday in Boston.

Good luck to all of you still in the running in the pool, and enjoy the rest of the playoffs!

Final Seeds Set For Stanley Cup Playoffs

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Way to go Boston. Just when we were counting on you – for once – you failed us miserably. Not sure why I expected anything different. The Bruins couldn’t muster a point in their final regular season game against the Ottawa Senators, which means Boston keeps the #4 seed, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the #2 seed Montreal Canadiens face Ottawa to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Montreal-Toronto would have been très magnifique, but alas, not meant to be.

The NHL hasn’t posted the playoff schedule yet but all of the seeds and opening round series matchups are finally set. I updated our Hockey Playoffs Pool, so now it is up to you to sign up and fill in your bracket, plus five skaters, to see how well you can predict who is going to hoist the Stanley Cup in … uh … two months time? We’ll be watching the finals from our smartphones at the beach.

Here are the opening round series matchups:

Eastern Conference Western Conference

#8 New York Islanders
vs.
#1 Pittsburgh Penguins

#8 Minnesota Wild
vs.
#1 Chicago Blackhawks

#7 Ottawa Senators
vs.
#2 Montreal Canadiens

#7 Detroit Red Wings
vs.
#2 Anaheim Ducks

#6 New York Rangers
vs.
#3 Washington Capitals

#6 San Jose Sharks
vs.
#3 Vancouver Canucks

#5 Toronto Maple Leafs
vs.
#4 Boston Bruins

#5 Los Angeles Kings
vs.
#4 St. Louis Blues

Maple Leafs-Canadiens Series Hinges on Bruins-Senators Result

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Say it ain’t so! The dream of a Toronto Maple Leafs-Montreal Canadiens opening round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs rattled around in our heads for a couple weeks now, but as of today, the next to last day of the regular season, the teams don’t match up any more. The Habs downed the Buds in convincing fashion, while the Bruins lost to the Washington Capitals in overtime. That moved the Habs up to the #2 seed and Bruins down to #4.

Round 1, Leafs-Bruins? No thanks. Especially not with Leafs-Habs behind door number two. There is still hope though. The Bruins host the Ottawa Senators Sunday in the final game of the regular season. If the Bruins can manage just a single point, they move back to #2, Habs drop to #4, and Leafs-Habs is back on. Come on, Bruins! Can’t believe we actually have to cheer for or count on the Bruins to make this happen. Fingers crossed everyone.

At any rate, the seeds in our Hockey Playoffs Pool are updated as of tonight’s games, before the late game results from the Western Conference. The San Jose Sharks-Los Angeles Kings can change seeds, with the winner of their game getting #5 and facing the St. Louis Blues. The loser gets #6 and faces the Vancouver Canucks.

Signing off, and cheering for the Bruins tomorrow… just for one day.

If The Stanley Cup Playoffs Started Today (Updated April 27)

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Every team in the National Hockey League has 4-6 games 2-4 1-3 0-2 games to go in their lockout-shortened 48-game regular season schedule, and as thankful as we are for the owners and players coming to their senses and giving us real hockey, real playoff hockey – The Stanley Cup Playoffs! – is the crème de la crème of televised pro sports events. This is what we’ve truly been waiting for.

The Montreal Canadiens already punched their ticket to the playoffs, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are a centimetre away from doing the same in! There is a powerhouse team running away with each conference, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. The New York Islanders might make made the playoffs. Say what?

The Detroit Red Wings might not! The Ottawa Senators looked dead in the water losing star defenceman Erik Karlsson early in the season. They are strongly in the mix and the Winnipeg Jets are right on the cusp, too. This is setting up to be a ridiculously exciting time for hockey fans.

Our annual Hockey Playoffs Pool is a go again this year, with the same format as usual. Pick the winner of every series from the opening round to the Stanley Cup Final. Guess the number of games your picks will take to win each series. Pick five players and score points for goals and assists. Get your entry in before the deadline, and then sit back and watch the action, and hopefully the points add up in your favour.

The last regular season game is Sunday, April 28th. I expect the playoffs will start the following Wednesday Tuesday, similar to last year. The deadline was set to Friday the last couple years so each opening round series was one game old, and I’ll likely do that again to give everyone a little more time to enter, research, overreact to Game 1, adjust and submit their final picks.

I’m going to work on the playoffs pool today. It will go live on the website as soon as possible, with the seeds set based on the current playoff picture. As the seeds shuffle around, I’ll update the pool. Keep in mind you can enter early, and then simply come back and edit your picks as much as you like all the way up to the deadline.

Okay, without further adieu, here is the NHL Playoff Picture going into the games scheduled on Thursday, April 18th Monday, April 22nd Thursday April 25th Friday April 26th Saturday April 27th:

Eastern Conference Western Conference

#8 New York Rangers
vs.
#1 Pittsburgh Penguins

#8 Minnesota Wild
vs.
#1 Chicago Blackhawks

#7 Ottawa Senators
vs.
#2 Boston Bruins

#7 Detroit Red Wings
vs.
#2 Anaheim Ducks

#6 New York Islanders
vs.
#3 Washington Capitals

#6 San Jose Sharks
vs.
#3 Vancouver Canucks

#5 Toronto Maple Leafs
vs.
#4 Montreal Canadiens

#5 Los Angeles Kings
vs.
#4 St. Louis Blues

Feel free to tell your friends about the pool (although probably best once it is up and running), and enjoy the final stretch run to the playoffs.

Hockey Survivor Pool Picks for Feb. 26: Bruins, Red Wings, Maple Leafs

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And then there were three. Yes, we finally had another elimination in our Hockey Survivor Pool last week as Eugenius was sent packing after the Phoenix Coyotes squeaked out a 3-2 victory over his Nashville Predators. Selections get even more dicey this week, so I have scoured over the streaking trends in the NHL during the past month to help shed some light on the “less obvious” favorable matchups this weekend.

 
Boston Bruins at Edmonton Oilers (Sunday, 8:00 Eastern)

The Bruins-Oilers matchup will mark the first meeting between top two 2010 draft picks Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. While Hall has had the better rookie season, it’s Seguin who will likely get the first taste of playoff hockey at the NHL level, as his Bruins have been the far superior team. With a measly 46 points, Hall’s Oilers are the NHL’s basement dwellers and appear to be just a few months away from yet another lottery pick. While the Oilers could be a perennial contender a few years from now, they are presently no more than a team to beat up on.

Prediction: Bruins win 4-1

 
Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres (Saturday, 7:00)

Winners of five of their past six, the Detroit Red Wings appear poised to capture their ninth Central Division title in 10 seasons. Following some abysmal play around the midway point of the season, Red Wings’ goaltender Jimmy Howard has rediscovered his game. Detroit’s offense has also received a substantial boost since Pavel Datsyuk returned from a broken hand eight games ago.

The mediocre Buffalo Sabres have lost three of their last four, and have struggled to find consistency all season long. Superstar netminder Ryan Miller has allowed 13 goals in his past four starts en route to an 0-3-1 record.

Prediction: Red Wings win 4-2

 
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday, 7:00 Eastern)

Under normal circumstances, there is no way I would take the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Unfortunately for the Penguins, these are anything but normal circumstances. With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and several other regulars on the shelf with injuries, the Penguins are mired in a slump, having won just twice in their past nine.

Conversely, the Maple Leafs are red hot with a 7-2-2 record in February. Rookie goaltender James “Optimus Reim” Reimer has been stifling between the pipes, and is making it so that the Leafs don’t have to do much scoring to win games. This is great news for the Leafs, because they’re zero for 10 on the powerplay since Tomas Kaberle’s departure.

Prediction: Maple Leafs win 3-1

Hockey Survivor Pool Picks for Feb. 19: Sharks, Maple Leafs, Red Wings

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We almost decided the Hockey Survivor Pool last week. Somehow the New York Islanders took the Buffalo Sabres to overtime in a wild 7-6 game, with the Isles on the winning side. Since it went to OT, the Sabres pick counted as right for the three entries who took them in the original survivor pool, and they barely survive.

Had the Sabres lost in regulation, this pool would be decided with markymark2281 declared the winner. Instead, his pick of the Dallas Stars failed him, yet he is still alive in the pool because that is just his first incorrect since we started 13 weeks ago. This pool is double elimination remember. The other three entries are all on their last life.

On to this week, pickings are definitely getting slim because we’re almost halfway through the available NHL teams! In fact, at this point, five teams are off limits for all four of our contestants: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, and Washington. This does take some of my favourite matchups off the table, but there are still some solid picks this week. Let’s have a look!

 
San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche (Saturday, 10:30 Eastern)

Last year, the Colorado Avalanche looked like they could be the league’s next up and coming contender, with their solid core of drafted talent. They still should be, but this year has been a rough learning experience for the young bunch. The recent distractions surrounding Foppa’s abbreviated comeback surely didn’t help, and this was evident in the Avs 9-1 dismantling at the hands of the Calgary Flames on Monday. To make matters worse, the Avs lost their leading scorer, Matt Duchene, to an injury in that same contest. With a 1-8-1 record in their last ten, things are looking pretty bleak for one of last season’s biggest surprise teams.

On the flipside, the Sharks seemed to have turned things around nicely after a rough holiday season. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten, thanks largely due to efforts from depth players such as Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. If Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Ryan Clowe can get back on track, the Sharks could be scary.

ezcollectibles and JoePoolGuy, this one’s for you.

Prediction: Sharks win 4-2

 
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators (Saturday, 7:00)

I can’t believe it’s come to this. I am picking the Toronto Maple Leafs to win a hockey game. Not only that, I’m actively telling others, who have money at stake, that I think they should do the same.

Let’s look at the facts though: the Senators have recently shipped out Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly, and Daniel Alfredsson is out indefinitely. Things aren’t looking good. The Fisher and Kelly deals sort of puzzle me, because I really don’t think they were part of the problem in Ottawa. Unfortunately for Brian Murray, he doesn’t have much else in the way of marketable assets, as guys like Alex Kovalev, Jason Spezza, Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar all have contracts that seriously hamper their trade value. So Murray is stuck with dealing two of his character guys for draft picks in what is supposed to be one of the weakest draft classes in recent memory.

The Senators have also won just once in their last ten, while the Maple Leafs have won six of their last ten and are currently riding a two game winning streak. As if I needed to rub more salt in the wound… not surprisingly, all of our contestants still have the Leafs available as a pick. Hold on tight and good luck!

Prediction: Leafs win 3-1

 
Detroit Red Wings at Minnesota Wild (Sunday, 12:30)

I was actually pretty shocked that only one of our contestants (Eugenius) picked the Red Wings so far. The Wings and Wild have actually split their two meetings thus far this season, but Detroit took the last meeting in Minnesota by a 4-1 margin, and their other matchup needed OT to be decided.

Detroit is currently riding a two game winning streak, and getting Dan Cleary back in the lineup has helped the team get back to its regular forward lines and re-establish their depth up front. Minnesota meanwhile, is currently riding a two game losing streak.

Prediction: Wings win 4-2

Hockey Survivor Picks, Week 8

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It seems like just over a month ago we were starting our first ever NHL survivor pool here at MyOfficePool.ca… What’s that? It HAS been just over a month?! With the wild swings of NHL hockey this season, we learned very quickly that anyone can win (or lose, ugh) a survivor hockey pool on any given Saturday.

Well, with the quick end yet successful first pool in the books, we were all too ready to take another crack at survivor hockey, so we’ve quickly given the green light to a second pool. The deadline to enter is this Saturday at 7:00 pm, so come get in on the action!

This weekend we have a trio of David and Goliath-like matchups, all suggesting picking teams that are playing on the road. Yes, I am fully aware that David ended up slaying Goliath, but for the sake of choosing a survivor pick, we’ll stick with the favourites:

Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers (Saturday at 10:00 pm) – Recent reports have surfaced that Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith are all close to signing contract extensions with the ‘Hawks, which means that you should expect increased production from the trio from now until the signings occur, as they make a final push to boost their value. Are you skeptical that players are that financially-driven? They’re not stupid folks –Toews, Kane and Keith have combined for 14 points over their last 4 games. Chicago’s reeled off 4 straight victories and are 4-1-0 against the Oilers in their last 5 meetings, outscoring them 23-11 over that span. The Oilers on the other hand are in a big slump. Prior to last night’s 6-4 win over Colorado, they had lost 4 straight, and won just once since October 29th. First star Toews, second star Kane, third star… hmm, let’s go with Keith.

Prediction: Chicago wins 5-1

Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday at 7:00 pm) – The rising Tampa Bay Lightning have gone 6 straight games with a point, which makes them an excellent survivor pick facing the last placed Canes this weekend. The Bolts are receiving some top-notch goaltending (11 goals allowed over last 6 games) and don’t look now but Vincent Lecavalier could be rounding into $85 million form after a 2 goal, 3 point effort Monday in Phoenix. Taking the Lightning this week could be a strategic survivor move, as few people, if any, consider them to be a powerhouse, and using them now would leave you with dominant teams like the Capitals, Blackhawks, and Flyers in later weeks. Of course if you save too many strong teams for the long run and don’t survive long enough to use them, it’ll all have been for not. The agonizing Hurricanes will once again be without Eric Staal and Cam Ward, which should be reason enough to bet against them.

Prediction: Tampa Bay wins 4-0

Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday at 7:00 pm) – That’s right I’m picking on those awful Maple Leafs once again. The losers of 4 straight have scored just two goals in each game over that span, and a similar performance Saturday against the surging Capitals simply won’t cut it. After this coming Saturday’s tilt with the Caps, Brian Burke’s Leafs will officially be past the quarter mark of the season, and at best, will find themselves in 29th place. While Phil Kessel has been nothing short of remarkable for the struggling Leafs, the 2010 NHL draft is looking stronger by the day (i.e. Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Cam Fowler) and you just know that “The Deal” with the Bruins will be increasingly scrutinized as the season wears on, particularly if the Blue and White’s woes continue and they remain in the lottery. Washington’s Semyon Varlamov has been heating up and should get the call in net. The rookie has an outstanding career record of 12-1-1, which means that 93% of the time, he will get you through to the next round in our survivor pool. If only it worked like that. Oh yeah, and that guy named Ovechkin is healthy and in the Caps’ lineup again. From what I’ve heard, he’s a decent hockey player.

Prediction: Washington wins 4-2

Hockey Survivor Picks, Week 3

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Well done hockey fans – only two eliminations last week! Now, there are a handful of uneven matchups this week, but I’ve narrowed it down to three top choices. And please, let’s all save ourselves a little stress and avoid those flakey Boston Bruins until they show us they’re worth betting on.

Florida Panthers at Philadelphia Flyers (7:00 PM, Saturday October 24) – Here’s my favourite game this week. Even though the Panthers only victory in their last 6 games came against the Flyers, I’m quite confident that lightning won’t strike the same place twice. The Flyers are far more talented offensively than the Panthers, and have the edge on defense as well. The Panthers rank 29th in the league with an average of 3.81 goals against per game this season, and the Flyers’ snipers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards should take full advantage this time around. This one could be a blowout.

Prediction: Flyers win 5-2

Toronto Maple Leafs at Vancouver Canucks (7:00 PM, Saturday October 24) – The Leafs are going to win one sooner or later, but I’m still thinking later than sooner. Win number one could come against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Note that I said could. The Canucks on the other hand, are starting to put it together after a rough start. Roberto Luongo has allowed just 5 goals in his past 3 games, after allowing 20 through his first 6 games. The Canucks are deadly on the power play (5th ranked at 27.5%) while the Leafs are dead last killing penalties (30th ranked at 60.7%), so this came could very well be decided by who plays a more disciplined game. Expect Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler to pop a goal with the man advantage, as they extend the Leafs losing streak to eight games. All poor Joey MacDonald can do is wait for his inevitable return to the AHL.

Prediction: Canucks win 4-1

Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 PM, Saturday October 24) – The Blackhawks are reeling after two straight 1 goal losses and are looking to get back on track against the last team they beat – the Nashville Predators. On paper, the Hawks are a much stronger team than the Preds, and haven’t had problems generating scoring opportunities this year (2nd in the NHL with 307 shots on goal). Both teams seem to have a bit of a goaltending battle on their hands, the Blackhawks between Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi, and the Predators between Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis, so look for a strong outing by a goaltender to decide this game. One thing to keep an eye on if you’re picking the Hawks this week, is whether or not their captain, Jonathan Toews, will be suiting up for the game. He suffered a mild concussion after taking a monstrous body-check from the Canucks’ Willie Mitchell Wednesday night, and did not practice with the team on Thursday.

Prediction: Blackhawks win 3-1