i predict the wings will be 58-24


jenny i am waiting for your response

WAY to early to predict. The so-called "great" teams have looked average and the "average" teams have looked great. We're only 4 games in to the season. Everyone thought Philly would be great, but they're 1-2. Everyone thought Pittsburgh would be great and they're 0-1-3. Then you have Florida, who would've thought they would be 3-1?!?

To be honest, I dont know what to think yet.

Mike

leafs 4-78

Go Raptors!

I went to their exhibition game on Wed. They suck this year!

hmm....dunno...it's too soon to see. Ask me again at the All Star break. We'll have some beers and duke it out properly while eating popcorn and nachos.

Can I come too?

of course Mike! HEY! We should make that the day we get married!! BOOYA what a reception that would be...

I'm in!

Great, Now this site has become a:

Car Forum, Psychiatric asylum, Marriage consoling and dating service!

Dude....You forgot Hockey Forum!!! ROFLMAO

LEAFS RULE AND EVERYONE ELSE DROOLS!!!

Yes I forgot that one!

Can I be the flower girl? Pretty Please

i think my habers are still looking pretty darn good...

lol fearthis...give them some credit..they are of course one of the luckiest teas around i am sure they will pull off atleast 10 wins..

ya'll can my

HAha! Habs suck!!!

You can say the Habs suck, but that was a great game. I'm a Habs fan, and have to say, allthough they lost, Montreal played a great game. Belfour was a HUGE savior to the leafs, allthough Lindros scored twice, I have to admit, the worst hocket I saw from Montreal was in the last minute where they couldn't shoot the puck. Other than that, the Third period imparticular was ALL Montreal.

Good game though!

You know what I hear? Excuses. The Habs lost to the hated Maple Leafs and there has to be some kind of excuse. Its not because Belfour outplayed Theodore, its because he was lucky. Its not because they Leafs played a better game, its because Montreal didnt play well. Lets just face it, the Leafs did what they're supposed to do, they dug down and won a game that they probably shouldn't have because they have a goaltender that can make the big save and players that can score when they need to. If Montreal played so well, how did they not tie it up with a 2 man advantage REALLY late in the 3rd? A good team would have found a way to win and guess what? A good team DID find a way to win! GO LEAFS GO!

I wasn't making excuses.....I also said the worst hockey I've seen was in the last minutes where Montreal couldn't shoot the puck.

Montreal did have a solid third period and Belfour was awesome in net. Toronto didn't even have a shot on net until 10 minutes into the third Period. Just because I'm a Habs fan doesn't mean I dispise the Leafs, but I'm sure you'd all agree that Toronto still has not found it's game. Montreal's passing play was great, if Toronto can do some work on their offensive line (not so much with players, but just more teamwork) then I would have no doubts this could be a cup season for the T-dot. Even Cherry said that if Eddie played like he used to, and Lindros found his game, then Toronto would have a stronger team.

On a side note, I'm floored at Ottawa this season. They are playing VERY well.


On a side note....it's about time Bret Hull retired

I don't know about that. 9-1 against Atlanta was pretty Good. But yeah you can always be better.

Yeah Ottawa is playing awesome, but as always, they'll choke in the playoffs!

Using Atlanta as an example is pretty weak man lol they are 2-4 this season.

We could say Ottawa is kicking ass, but their players seem to be kicking people elsewhere lol

EDIT: Side note, the whole Northeast conference looks like it's doing allright compared to all the other conferences.

The Leafs held the Thrashers to 1 goal. Thats pretty impressive if you ask me, considering the firepower that the Thrashers have.

As great as everyone says Ottawa is, it took them 65 minutes plus a (stupid) shootout to beat the Leafs both times. So, what does that mean? It means, to me at least, that the Leafs truly ARE contenders and that they'll only be better once Sundin comes back from injury.

Mike

there's little doubt in my mind that the leaf's need Sundin back. To be honest, I think that's what they are lacking right now...Sundin can really move the puck.

No doubt Sundin will help. Hes a point a game player and will give the Leafs an even more explosive attack. When hes back Quinn can roll 4 HIGHPOWER lines. Just think about it:

1st Line: Antropov - Sundin - Ponikarovsky
2nd Line: Tucker - Allison - O'Neill
3rd Line: Steen - Lindros - Domi
4th Line: Stajan - Wellwood - Kilger/Wilm/Czerkawski

The Leafs will be in a great position once Sundin is back. No other team in the league can boast 4 lines like that.

Mike

lol antropov......well at least he has somewhat learned to skate...honestly have to say he is one of the worst players the leafs kept...he cant score unless he is playing with sundin and even then he has a hard time..

Steen well i cant agree more with Cherry....

lol and domi as a force. he has gotton better but please he is no force....

and stajan well Spezza said it best about him..lol "it's only Stajan, put your stick between his legs and ty him up he's nothing to worry about."

so now if you move the players around you would get

Wellwood Sundin Ponikarovski
and then Lindros Allison O'Niell

so really they are only two lines deep..not to mention they have STILL NOT made any effort to beef up their very weak defence. Offensively that have a shot but without defence they will choke again and again...

and on a side note, it far too early to tell who will be great, but i have to agree that ottawa will most likely choke in the playoffs again...especially with such a young team

I couldn't disagree more. Antropov has 2 goals and both came WITHOUT Sundin as his center. Hes looked pretty good through the first 6 games.

Steen looks like a veteran out there. Hes great on the PK and hes a great playmaker. Cant ask for much more out of a 21 year old.

I never said Domi was a "force". I said the line was good.

No team has 4 lines of superstars. Every team needs defensive specialists, enforcers, etc. All i'm saying is that the Leafs have at least 1 talented goal scorer on every one of their 4 lines. Not many teams can boast that.

About the defense. 5 goals against in the last 3 games. Not too shabby if you ask me. Plus, they have the most important element... Ed Belfour. They dont come much better than him. Throw in the fact that their "crappy" defense leads the league in scoring, then, well... they're not so crappy in my books.

Mike

hehehe ok suffice to say they have split up their "talent" enough to cover all four lines, and i cant argue with they way Lindros and Wellwood have been playing...

scoring is one thing for the defence..in years past they have been anything but defensive, weak defense has been their there trouble for years..they have had plenty of offensive tallent in the last couple years, and have yet to get in finals. the defence lets them down everytime, and still they make no moves for Foote or any other superstar defence that were up for grabs....anyway like you say with Belfour in net they do have a chance.

i am not trying to start a war here or any sort of trouble i am just pointing out the painfully obvious truth about the leafs from an unbiased stand point...yes i cheer for the habs but i dont make blind calls about other teams and players. i call it as a i see it not as a want to see it...or think i see it...just what is there.

don't build the bleachers yet..the season has hardly started...

Hey! This is FAR from becoming a "war". We're just having a conversation. No worries.

I'm not one of those typical Leaf fans that thinks 3 wins means a Stanley Cup is on its way. I'm realistic. I just dont like when people bash them even when they're playing great hockey. Thats all. It seems that no matter how well they play, any time they win it was a "fluke" or "Belfour stole one" or other BS like that. It just gets to me.

No worries though. Its all in good fun.

Mike

Okay, time for my 2 cents. Keep in mind, I'm the hugest Leaf fan on the planet.

Let's see...where to begin...Defense....??? Do we have some? It's the Leafs tradmark statement "strong defensive pair" whatEVER. Our only defense, is that we have always had a great goaltender. And so what. Our crappy defense, score goals. I'll take that. The only thing I will say, is that Antropov...is friggen HUGE. We've had seats at the glass behind the visitors bench at Joe Louis for several games...he dwarfs everybody. He's massive...if that idiot would just learn to throw his weight around a bit, we'd be set. And, I'm not a Craperle fan at all.

As for Sundin.....enh. I don't think we need him. I think too much hype surrounds him and his medioker playing. I think if Quinn showed more respect and ice time for the less publicized players, I think they'd step up a few notches. Sundin is a selfish player like Gretzkey....he'll hang on to the puck and try to score himself, rather than pass it off to anybody else, or take the risk and shoot whenever, only when there is an opening.

Overall, the Leafs are huge. They're the biggest team in the league. What they need, is confidence, and a better leader. I think Tucker would make a great captain. He's there for the game, not for what the game can do for him.

To sum it up, the Leafs, have the best fan support in the NHL. Whether they suck or not, they never have a seat or standing space unsold, and that's the bottom line.

I'm a fan of all Canadian teams. We all should be, because as long as Bettman is in charge, he'll continue to try and push out all Canadian teams from the NHL. There's hardly any left, and I think we should at least keep the ones we've got.

Okay, go on and flame!

i couldnt agree more with both the above posts...

lol Mike i am glad there are still some realistic leaf fans out there who realize it exactly as you do...and hey...when they are playing good they are preety good...I guess..

and Lady-x is just as realistic...has the team pegged...i too agree that Sundin: although an 80 pointer, is not really needed on the team...

i cant agree about the captaincy going to Tucker though...but that is just cause i dont like the way he plays (Checks) he should take a page out of Peca's book and learn to hit guys properly..then maybe every player out there wont be out to break his neck...Tucker is pretty dirty when it comes to hitting...most of the time he is leaving his feet, so he can hit the average size players in the chest, however he frequently misses, and always on the high side..i have to say there is nothing more pretty then watching someone like Peca put a Lindros or Chara ass or tea kettle with a simple well timed hip check...

and yes the leafs most likely have the abosoulte largest fan base...crap you havent been able to get seasons tickets since i was a kid...and that is going back a little while...

agreed.

hey wings are kicking some major ass

ya i would like to go to a wings game this year. probally next march i will go see a game.

been to two. the new rules suck tho, the wings dont play a bunch of teams. we dont even play the leafs

The Leafs would kill them anyways!

you know what? none of that matters - because whats REALLY important is that Ottawa is in 3rd place in the league :P


Ok ok, truth is that deep down I'm a Penguins fan... but I will still side with my home team whenever the situation arises (Like Jenny however, I am a fan of all Canadian teams though! despite my good natured jabs which will follow)


BUT - back to the leafs... heh, I just have one question - who's their goalie? do they even HAVE a goalie?? 32 goals against after only 9 games? I didn't know that having the goalies pads made of swiss cheese was part of the 'new rules'! hehe.

Course Ottawa and Hasek only have 14 against them... so I guess its a skill thing - don't worry... practice makes perfect Leaf fans! :D

And there will be no choking this year in the playoffs for us... - experienced goalie, new coach, good players with Alfredson, Spezza, the Senators are well equipped this year!
Honestly, if they can't pull it off this year... they should move the team... heh.

What do you mean "Who's the goalie?" Shouldn't your question be, "Doesn't Toronto have any defence players? Why is it always five forwards on a line?????"

I llike the fact Montreal is 7 and 2 :)

Ottawa is one of the better teams right now. But both times they played Toronto, it was a tie after 65 min. that says a lot about Toronto.