All four forward lines are capable of scoring making this team tough to stop. The Toronto Maple Leafs were among the cream of the crop in the NHL for more than half the year, then hit some bumps that required 81 games to secure a playoff position. Toronto, like St. Louis, realized last year that the playoffs are a different animal and went after some grit and fearlessness by obtaining Gary Roberts and Shayne Corson as free agents in the off-season. The moves paid off as both were important factors in knocking off the Senators. The playoffs are about fighting through checks and staging a personal war against the other team.
Teams have the potential to playing each other seven times inside of a two-week span.
That kind of familiarity usually breeds a lot of contempt, and was a big reason Toronto triumphed. Still, despite the added grit and outstanding and acrobatic goaltending from Curtis Joseph, the Leafs will fall to the Devils in six games. The story of the year in the NHL was undoubtedly the comeback of Hall of Fame player and current owner Mario Lemieux. The story of the first round of the playoffs was the play of first-year netminder Johan Hedberg. This year, what makes Hedberg s play so astonishing is how other first-year netminders have fared.