April 29, 2004
NHL Playoff Notebook
Toronto 4 Philadelphia 1: There are many things we can count on in this world, probably too many to chronicle. And one of these things we can count on is that when a Pat Quinn-coached team has its back against the wall, they can generally be counted on to thug it up. And with the Flyers leading their Eastern Conference Semifinal series 2-0 last night, that's exactly what the Maple Thugs did:
NECESSITY BEING the mother of invention, the Bay Street Bullies were reborn last night. Down 2-0 in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers, a pale imitation of the original Broad Street Bullies, the Maple Leafs put on their gorilla suits and drummed out a 4-1 victory.
After being frustrated in back-to-back games by Flyers goalie Robert Esche and his makeshift defensive corps, Toronto came out in Game 3 with the clear intent to physically manhandle the Flyers in general, with special emphasis on their depleted defenders.
It's not as if the notion of playing physical hockey just occurred to Pat Quinn and his team. They do it all the time. But seldom do they play it with such ferocity, from top to bottom in the lineup.
The point man in last night's game was veteran Alexander Mogilny, who supplemented his goal-scoring performance with a pair of hits on defensemen Denny Markov and Marcus Ragnarsson which could charitably be described as "borderline." With the Leafs ahead 4-1 in the third period, the Flyers decided it was time to retaliate:
The revenge appeared to begin after the hit on Markov. Within seconds, Roenick went after Mogilny in defense of his teammate, and both of them went to the penalty box for roughing.
Then, later in the third, came the most exacting bit of revenge. With the Flyers already trying to kill a five-on-three penalty situation, Ragnarsson took a big, two-handed swing at Mogilny and nailed him in the back of the legs. Ragnarsson received a slashing penalty and Mogilny limped off. Mogilny missed one shift, but played two more at the end of the game.
Things were fairly uneventful after that. And now, we head to Game 4 with the snarl everybody expected all along. If it was a little late in arriving, well, it's now officially here.
It's not like we haven't seen this all before. Two years ago, the headlines in and around the first round series between Toronto and the Islanders centered around Darcy Tucker's vicious takedown of Michael Peca. What didn't get nearly as much attention was Gary Roberts' hit from behind on a defenseless Kenny Jonsson that sidelined him for the rest of the series.
Can you tell my blood is up? And I'm not even a Flyers fan. The only person who's probably happy with this news is Tampa Bay head coach John Tortorella. Whatever team makes it past this round is going to be easy pickings for the Bolts.
Philadelphia leads series 2-1.
Colorado 1 San Jose 0 OT: It's just one game, right? Nothing to worry about here, the Sharks are still up 3-1 on the Avalanche, and only two teams in NHL history have ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win.
Here's what Sharks head coach Ron Wilson should tack to the locker room door as the Sharks get ready for Game Five:
True, the Sharks are still two games to the good in this Western Conference semifinal series, needing only one win from a maximum of three tries to advance to the third round for the first time ever. But they also go home knowing that they can be outplayed, big time.
Because they were.
The Avalanche earned this result, to be sure, but in the parallel universe of style points, the Avalanche had played a game more in keeping with a 5-1 win, 5-2 tops. They had done to San Jose what they seemed either unwilling or incapable of doing in the first three games, using their speed, their power and their willingness to fight for control of the middle of the ice. As a result, they behaved as if they finally understood the depth and breadth of their predicament, and faced their seeming doom with remarkable resolve.
Or, for those of you who like their news a little punchier, they dope-slapped the Sharks but good.
Ouch. Here's hoping Wilson uses some of the Sharks advanced technology to blow up that last quote. On the bright side, the Avalanche victory delayed, at least for one game, the inevitable departure of Peter Forsberg from the NHL for the Swedish Elite League. Here's the Denver Post's Terry Frei:
After years of battling injuries, of mounting frustration for the state of the game in North America, and relentless turns of the calendar pages that have left him on the verge of turning 31, some of what seemed to be a kid's love for the sport has evaporated.
It is a job. A job he loves, most of the time. Banged up, though, he skips practices when he can do so, or needs to.
And make no mistake, while he has set this up to be able to play in Sweden next season, some of the talk about Forsberg over the past few months has bordered on the comical.
Shh, we heard, Forsberg might be leaving!
He gets one more game.
San Jose leads series 3-1.
UPDATE: Think the Battle of Ontario was tough? Well, here's it's first and only casualty:
An Ottawa sports broadcaster who was suspended earlier this month for making "distasteful" comments about the wife of Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi will not return to The Team 1200.
Assistant program director Dave Mitchell couldn't say whether an offer to return was extended to Don (Dandyman) Romani, but noted the decision was made by the seasoned broadcaster and that both parties agreed it was in both of their interests.
Referring to Domi's wife Leanne during a broadcast of Afternoon Drive With Dandy and Buzz, Romani said: "One would suspect that she could take a good punch."
He later added: "I'll bet you (Domi's) idea of aerobics is to bang her around a bit once a week."
I'm sure he'll be missed.
Over at The Hockey Pundits, Christian McAlonan has an interesting breakdown of last night's Toronto-Phlliy game.
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Actually the Maple Thugs tactics go back to the pre-Quinn days. Remember Nick Kypreos taking out Grant Fuhr in the mid nineties?
Posted by:
at April 29, 2004 06:20 PM
Jeez, Eric, dunno if you watched the game but aside from one terrible Leaf hit on a Flyer that should have been a boarding call (can't remember the players involved, but I believe it was in the third) the game was very physical but totally clean... in fact, I kept waiting for the undisciplined penalties that I was certain the Leafs would take, but I was surprised they didn't cross the line at all. It was a thoroughly well-played, clean, entertaining game.
Posted by:
at April 29, 2004 11:31 PM
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