Playoffs

With the hockey playoffs around the corner it is time for me to break down my top contenders. The regular season is alot different than the playoffs. As of ight now the Toronto Maple Leafs (my team) is sitting in 5th place. They are currently 7 points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets who sit in 9th and have played one more game than the Leafs. Unless there is a monumental collapse the Leafs should make the playoffs for the first time in 9 years. The Leafs are the only team in the NHL since the lockout in 2005 to have not made the playoffs. Pretty embarassing if you ask me. My hope is that the leafs do not have to play Boston in the first round, which if everything ended today would happen. Here is a look at the  standings as they are right now. The most ideal situation would be if Boston who is 1 point behind Montreal would take over as top of the North East division. If Boston were to finsh ahead of Montreal it looks like the Leafs would play Montreal in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. This is a matchup that I would be hopefull for. The Leafs are an all around good team who are tough and gritty. However in my honest opinion Boston is tough and more skilled than the Leafs so this matchup wouldn't be favourable.

In the playoffs it is key to have a hot goalie. Every Stanley cup championship team has had a hot goalie that has stolen at least a couple games for them in the playoffs. Unfortunately I do not believe Reimer is at that status yet. He may never get there. However he is the best option for the Leafs. The hope is that he will find that fire he had two years ago where he looked like one of the leagues top goalies for a little stretch. However being consistant is extremely important for goalies and I have not yet seen that consitence in Reimer. The hot goalie aspect to win a series is what worries me when it comes to Montreal. Carrey Price is an extremely talented and poised goaltender. His accomplishments and accalades speak for themselves. He is a proven tested and strong goalie. Toronto destroyed Montreal last time they played on Saturday. That scares me aswell because Price will not have the same performance agaisnt the leafs again. Maybe not in his career. Montreal I believe is a bit more skilled but Toronto as proven over this year is a tougher and grittier team. They out work Montreal and have enough skilled players to finish. I believe that this is a series the Leafs would take and one I want to see. An original six rivalry. The only downside is that if the Leafs lose, which they wont, we would never hear the end of it from those stupid Habs fans.

Keep throwing those punches.