Cleary hit on Phaneuf was Dirty

I like gritty playoff hockey. What I was interested in was the fact that Cleary clearly left his feet on his hit on Phaneuf in the third that resulted in a Detroit goal and jumped to hit him in the head. I will grant that it was a hard hit and was not from behind, but it should have been a boarding penalty and the goal should have been disallowed. Apart from the ramifications of Detroit remaining in the playoffs to my hockey pool, I could really care less which teams comes out of this series.

Check out the youtube video here and judge for yourself.

Atlanta Out - Draft is done for me

I had entered a playoff draft and with the glut of Atlanta players who were not being picked, I loaded up on 5 of them which would do one of two things. I would either tear it up with Atlanta moving on or stumble out of the running if Atlanta lost out.

I am stumbling

They're Done

Well as most sports fans (of hockey) know, the Leafs are out of the playoffs. They have no one to blame but themselves. Had they beaten the Islanders on last Thursday, they would have eliminated them from the mix, but they did not and so they shall be golfing rather than playing hockey in the NHL playoffs for the second year. The need for this team is to get an impact support player for Sundin. A player like Tanguay would be a good fit for the Leaf captain. So go hunting JFJ and get someone in to give the Leafs a solid first line.

Leafs Don't Want it

Apparently the Leafs do not want to be in the playoffs. When playing a team without their main goaltender who is behind in the standings and being the second last game of the regular season, the Leafs should have defeated the Islanders to eliminate the Isles and keep pace (or in fact move ahead of the Canadiens).

Another lost opportunity. And I was wrong about Sundin too ... arrgh!

GO LEAFS GO!!!

Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs are on Long Island to take another step towards making the playoffs. If they win tonight and win on Saturday they are in. If they don't win tonight and Montreal wins tonight they are out. If both of them lose, then the Islanders are a step closer to both teams and have a shot at the last spot as well.

The Leafs need to step up and take this on as game 7 of any round of the playoffs. I'll step out on a limb here and predict that Sundin gets a goal and two assists in a Leafs convincing win. Check back tomorrow to see if I have eaten my words.