Kathleen said:
Not exactly putting me in stitches.
In two hockey pools combined I have Emery/Alfresson/Spezza/Havlat
I picked Buffalo to win this series, but don't think Ottawa will go without a fight.
I agree about Buffalo winning, but I dont think Ottawa has the fight that the playoffs require. They lack the Doug Gilmour/ Kirk Muller/Wendel Clark/Scott Stevens factor.....a leader who makes the rest of the people around him better, and wont take no for an answer. Notice Chara has been having a bad 2nd round thus far......HE should be one of the guys who take this team and make them win. Alfredsson never was one of these guys, nor Havlat. Spezza and Heatley you may have expected this type of leadership from, but they have both come up short too.
5 games, MAX, then they get blown up in the off season......
I have Leafs season tiks, and remember the final game of round 1 from the season before the lockout. Away from the cameras (mostly, until things got way along) with about a minute left and Ottawa down by 3, Chris Neil took a run at Darcy Tucker, which ended up in a Pearl Harbour job when he could'nt hurt him with the initial, semi legal check.....gloves came off an he just jumped him. THIS is how that bunch of Champions behave when they are being beaten legitimately, by a better team. I heard afterward that Gene Melnyk had a few "words" (of the 4 letter variety) with Chris the all-star after that.
Melnyk will have seen enough this time around.....watch for the shake-up......