LOOKING BACK AT ROUND ONE: Expect the Unexpected

This year's first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was undoubtedly one for the ages with its many unforgettable moments. The "Mighty Ducks" probably conjure up images of bad childhood movies and Emilio Estevez, but Anaheim's Mighty Ducks have raised the roof in Disneyland and the hockey world. A major has been goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere and his incredible record-breaking 63 saves against defending Stanley Cup champs, the Detroit Redwings. Giguere was the backbone to the Anaheim team that swept Detroit in 4, previously deemed as entirely impossible. As one Detroit journalist wrote, it was the "Who's Who" against the "Who's That"/ the champions from Hockeytown verses the flukes from Disneyland/ Hull, Robitaille, and Lidstrom against Kariya and... Kariya's teammates. Just by looking at TSN's predictions http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/playoffs/feature.asp?fid=6386 that completely undermined the Ducks, it can be seen that no one had expected victories like this. But Round One has proved anything but predictable, and on top of the surprise of Anaheim has included more surprises in Minnesota and Tampa Bay. This year's Minnesota Wild team was the first in the team's short history to make the playoffs, and they have handed the Colorado Avalanche-- a major powerhouse in the West-their only first round knock-out in five years with a Wild win in OT in Game 7. These two underdog teams that were never even expected to make it into the playoffs sent last year's two Western conference finalists to the golf course early, proving the unimaginable can most certainly occur.

The Vancouver Canucks earlier in the regular season had been predicted to finish off first in the West, but with inconsistent play towards the end of the season, they failed to meet expectations. Down 3-1 in the series to St. Louis, the Canucks managed to win three straight games to beat a strong St. Louis team with a roster full of multiple-Olympians medalists like Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Pavol Demitra, and Chris Pronger. But Vancouver was the more determined team, and with the incredible play of the most-feared line in hockey, Todd Bertuzzi, Brendan Morrison, and Markus Naslund as well as the two Sedin twins Henrik and Daniel, the Canucks closed the series with a fierce 4-1 win at home, a perfect ending to the 27th birthday of goalie Dan Cloutier.

In the East, Tampa Bay was another underdog, and with the help of speedy winger Martin St. Louis scoring three straight overtime winners, the current Lightning team became the first in franchise history to win a playoff series, knocking out a strong Washington Capitals team with a bulky roster of all-stars such as Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, and highly-touted goaltender Olaf Kolzig, former Vezina trophy winner. The inexperience of rookie head coach Bruce Cassidy, former coach of the local Trenton Titans hockey club, may have been a factor in the series, but the Lightning will give New Jersey a run for their money.

Another surprise has been the number of multiple overtime games, as 2003 is now the year of the most multi-overtime games since the modern NHL era adopted overtime play. With all the upsets and shattered records in the opening round, Round Two will be a thrilling watch.

ROUND TWO: The Saga Continues

The East
In the Eastern semifinals, a resilient New Jersey Devils team will play the Tampa Bay Lightning and a dangerous Philadelphia Flyers will play the Ottawa Senators. At the trade deadline, the Flyers acquired future Hall-of-Famer Tony Amonte, and he has been nothing short of amazing since. Reunited with former teammate and friend Jeremy Roenick, who played with him at both Thayer Academy and the Olympics and is known for his gritty style and big mouth, the duo combined finished the regular season with impressive numbers. John LeClair also joined the two Americans after coming off injured reserve. Johnny Vermont, the only American to have a hat trick in the Salt Lake City Olympics, is a big-game player and can be expected to respond with goals whenever needed. Despite some shaky performances earlier from goalie Roman Cechmanek, the playoff newbie has seemed sharp so far, but as inconsistency has been a threat throughout the season in the Philly net, the Flyers will have to keep up their stress on a defense-first approach. They have shown some trouble without top defenseman Eric Desjardins in the lineup, and his rookie replacement will have tough shoes to fill in to.

The Ottawa Senators, a team that declared bankruptcy but finished first in the league, will show no mercy. The Senators are a quick-passing team with a tight defense and many finesse players that would not mind getting paid. All-Star Marian Hossa has proven himself to be a top scoring threat in his break-out season at one point leading the league in goals, captain Daniel Alfredsson will be far from a push-over with his dependable two-way style, and young Czech phenom Martin Havlat has a strong combination of wheels and skills that will surely give Philadelphia trouble. Senators have strong defensemen in Wade Redden and the 6'9" All-Star Zdeno Chara, a major contributor to the low goals against number and the sparkly-clean top of the team bus, but many believe the Flyers strong physical player and the lack thereof in the Ottawa locker room may prove to be the determining factor. However, the Senators had no trouble with the New York Islanders in the first round, another team known to play a physical style. Then again, the Islanders have not made it past the first round since 1992. The Senators also have an excellent power play, and with players on the Flyers like Donald "Most Improved" Brashear and Roenick, they will undoubtedly have many opportunities.

~Players you can expect to get a couple: LeClair, Hossa

~Players you can expect to get five... for fighting: Brashear, Chris Neil

~Prediction: Offense-first prevails, Sens in 6.

The other Eastern semifinal series will be New Jersey against Tampa Bay. The Devils have always been an expected contender for the Cup ever since Martin Brodeur entered the scene, and this year was expected to do the same, but Tampa Bay has been on fire-- New Jersey will have to be flawless to continue their reputation as an Eastern dynasty. The line of Prospal, LeCavalier, and St. Louis is very hot right now, and New Jersey captain Scott Stevens will likely have use his heavy-hitting style to stop them, although St. Louis may pose some trouble as binoculars are not permitted at the Continental Airlines Arena. Devils will have to find some offense if they intend to get any further in the playoffs, as Elias and Gomez have been invisible thus far, and the team ended up with the lowest goals-scored number in the league. If Brodeur is not his steady self, expect Tampa to steal the series with their current offensive surge. But Tampa Bay will need to control the tempers of playoff hot-heads like Dan Boyle, as power-plays could be a determining factor with Olympic Gold winner Brodeur and Russian Olympic goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, both whom will keep the score tight.

~Most Likely Scoring Leaders for Tampa Bay: 1) St. Louis 2) LeCavalier 3) Vaclav Prospal

~Most Likely Scoring Leaders for New Jersey: 1) Jason Kidd 2) Kenyon Martin 3) Brodeur

~Prediction: Tight-defense and amazing goalies bring games to OT and St. Louis continues his GWG streak, Tampa in 6.

The West

In the West, Dallas and Anaheim will definitely be an entertaining series. Dallas will attempt to stop an unforeseen opponent in the Ducks, and Anaheim will have to be prepared to battle an opponent much more physical than Detroit with the best regular season goaltender in the league, Marty Turco, and best record in the West. Dallas defenders ended the season at the top of the charts in +/-, and Derian Hatcher, Sergei Zubov, and Philippe Boucher will show Kariya and Co. a challenge. The Stars will have to depend on Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow, Scott Young, and Jason Arnott to get past Anaheim wall J.S. Giguere. Dallas is also likely to have high scorer Bill Guerin in the lineup, returning from a thigh injury, before the series is over. Regardless, Dallas was the favored Cup winner and expected to go far by many analysts, and they will certainly attempt to prove they are capable of defending such anticipations, although they must arrive prepared to battle a durable Duck team.

Anaheim, on the other hand, will be playing much like last year's Carolina team-with all odds against them. They will be relying on a few top players like Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora, and All-Star defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, and many more lesser-known players such as GWG scorer and now-Detroit enemy Jason Krog and Ruslan Salei. Head coach Mike Babcock, with a tight and organized defensive system, may be a finalist for the best coach trophy, last year won by the legendary Scotty Bowman, then of the Detroit Redwings. This series may play out to be a battle between the goaltenders, Marty Turco vs. J.S. Giguere, and the Ducks will need to play a tight defense and capitalize on Dallas' mistakes. With Stars like Claude Lemieux already whining ("They're too big," he said of Giguere's pads, "It almost looks like two pads on top of each other," and Giguere responding, "The game is played on the ice, not outside. If that's how they want to play, I'm not going to get involved."), expect Anaheim's motivation to be high. As Steve Thomas of the Ducks says, "We're about going out there, executing our game plan and playing good hockey."

~Most saves: 1) Jesus 2) J.S. Giguere 3) Marty Turco

~Most goals: 1) Modano 2) Kariya 3) Guerin

~Prediction: Ducks bowl over ill-prepared cowboys, Anaheim in 5.

Minnesota and Vancouver will be a riveting series for any fan. Vancouver finished 2nd in the league in scoring and 3rd in powerplays. Minnesota is equipped to face them with the 4th least goals against and 4th best penalty kill.

Although the different time zone schedule may be slightly sleep-depriving, Minnesota and Vancouver will be a riveting series for any hockey fan. Vancouver finished second in the league in scoring and 3rd in powerplays. Minnesota is one team equipped to balance out the numbers, finishing witht he 4th least goals against and fourth best penalty kill. Minnesota came back from behind 3-1 to the Avalanche and after replacing suddenly-shaky goaltender Dwayne Roloson in Game 4. Manny Fernandez has since been tremendous, stopping 108 of 114 shots against. After ESPN analysts denounced Richard Park for not having scored enough, the Korean-born forward scored Game 6's game-tying goal and game-winning goal in OT, bringing Minnesota into Game 7, which they eventually won after Andrew Brunette's OT winner. Wild players did not believe winning a series against Colorado was possible, many saying that winning just one game would be good enough, and even head coach Jacques Lemaire told announcers that his team had no shot at winning the series. Perhaps if they keep the same mentality, Minnesota will be able to steal the series from Vancouver, a team that is determined but has never won the cup.

Like all teams that won the first series coming up from behind, the Canucks are on a hot streak. Markus Naslund, previously invisible, has now had 4 goals and 3 assists since and his line has combined for 15 points in the first seven games. Unlike Minnesota, a team with very low penalties, the Canucks are a poorly-disciplined team, with Todd Bertuzzi and his 36 PIMs (while most are under 10). If the Canucks can manage to keep their penalty-killing intact and the forwards keep up their scoring, they may very well be able to keep the Wild from pulling off another surprising victory.

~Most likely fight challenge: Dan Cloutier to entire Minnesota bench

~Most likely to lead in penalties: Vancouver- Todd Bertuzzi, Minnesota- Jacques Lemaire

~The whale vs. the bear: Minnesota will keep it tight in their own end, but Naslund-Morrison-Bertuzzi & Co. will be too overwhelming, Vancouver in 6.

Nina aka hot-tomales

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