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And the cup goes to…
April 23, 2003
Courtesy of On
The Wall
Story by: Shaun Betker
The Stanley Cup playoffs are a time when
anything can happen.
Sixteen teams battle for hockey's Holy
Grail, which is considered to be the hardest
championship to win in professional sports.
Grown men spill sweat and tears for two
months to have their name inscribed on this
legendary cup.
Careers can be made and broken in the playoffs.
Players will play through pain, injury and
exhaustion only to have their dreams crushed
at the hands of a stronger or worthier opponent
in the final round.
The human emotion is unlike anything seen
in the regular season where each game is
not life and death, but simply another game
in a long grueling schedule. The playoffs
are a time when the grinders and the unsung
heroes come alive scoring clutch goals and
making keys plays at key times.
This year's playoffs will not be without
its story lines. The defending Stanley Cup
Champion, Detroit Red Wings, are the favorites
to repeat and with good reason. Their roster
is mostly intact from last years squad who
took the cup in five games over the surprise
Eastern Conference winner Carolina hurricane.
However, they have added several key cogs
to fill the void left by retiring legends.
Long time Assistant Coach Dave Lewis took
over the head coaching spot left vacant
by the legendary Scotty Bowman. General
Manager Ken Holland aggressively pursued
Curtis Joseph in the off-season to replace
retired Dominik Hasek. Joseph has never
been to the finals.
There are several big questions that will
be answered in this year' playoffs. Are
the Ottawa Senators for real, is the first
that many fans have asked? The last three
years their Ontario rival, Toronto Maple
Leafs, has eliminated them. The Senators
have been a top team in the league for the
last four years but have not done anything
in the playoffs.
At the trade deadline, they added grit
in the form of Vaclav Varada and scraper
Rob Ray. If Ottawa doesn't make some noise
in this year playoffs then a massive housecleaning
may be in order in the off-season.
Still, most Canadians want to know how
well will the Maple Leafs fare this year?
They lost Joseph in the off-season, but
didn't blink twice in replacing him with
veteran Ed Belfour. He fit in nicely and
was the teams MVP during the regular season.
Goaltending will not be a problem for the
Maple leafs. The problem for the Leafs is
their overall team defense. Pat Quinn added
power forward Owen Nolan at the trade deadline
to help bolster the forward lines but lost
two way forward Alyn McCauley in the process
, he also added power play specialist Phil
Housley. The moves didn't do much to help
the team defensive game and the team will
have to adapt a system similar to the one
they used last season in the playoffs to
have any success. They also do not have
home ice but will go as far as Belfour will
take them.
Several teams are considered favorites
to win it all. The Detroit Red wings are
the hands on favorites to repeat but face
stiff competition from western conference
opponents. The Dallas Stars are the top
team in the conference for a reason, team
defense and timely scoring from a strong
group of forwards which includes Bill Guerin,
Mike Madano and Jason Arnott.
The defense corps is strong but the question
mark on the team will be goaltender Marty
Turco. Turco set the modern day NHL record
for the lowest overall goals against average
at a spectacular 1.72 goals per game. He
has no playoff experience but has played
well under pressure. It remains to be seen
whether or not he could withstand a tough
series against an experienced goaltender
such as Colorado's Patrick Roy, he would
most likely have to outplay to get to the
finals.
It remains to be seen whether any of these
potential story lines play out. One thing
is for sure, the playoffs will be an exciting
time of human emotion, team play, skilled
goals and spectacular saves.
Sixteen wins later one team will emerge
as the champions. It should be savored since
it might be one of the last playoffs for
some time with the collective bargaining
agreement due to expire in 2004 , but that's
next years story line.
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