Oooops habe eben gerade völlig überascht festegestellt daß die Conference Finals schon gestern Nacht angefangen habe, und wie, die Leafs haben sich das Heimrecht geholt, hurrrra

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- It's hard to say just what the injury-riddled Toronto
Maple Leafs are playing on -- adrenaline, emotion, focus.

Whatever the formula, it's working deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Alexander Mogilny and Jonas Hoglund scored and Curtis Joseph turned
away 31 shots as Toronto ruined Carolina's first appearance in the
Eastern Conference finals, beating the Hurricanes 2-1 in Game 1 on
Thursday night.



"Athletes sometimes get in that groove, even when they should be
fatigued," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "There's a wall there
someplace, but clearly they mustered up some good strength."

The Maple Leafs came into the best-of-seven series with Carolina
dragging and depleted after a pair of difficult seven-game series against
the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators.

And Tie Domi and Paul Healey became the eighth and ninth regulars out
of the lineup as the Toronto enforcer was scratched with a leg injury and
Healey played just two shifts after taking a shot off his knee.

But Toronto gave the Hurricanes a lesson in grit and determination by
killing seven penalties in the first 28 minutes -- and scoring when it
counted.

"Our penalty-killers are on our (first two) lines, so that gives them the
extra burden to have to log a lot of ice time. That was a real test for
them," Quinn said.

Carolina, the third seed as the Southeast Division champions, won its
opening games against New Jersey and Montreal, but now heads into
Game 2 on Sunday trailing a team that just won't give in.

"I don't think it's discouraging, it just shows what they are made of and it
shows what it takes in the big games," Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe said.
"Nobody ever said it was going to be easy and we have fallen behind,
but there are still possibly six games to go. There is room for
improvement and to catch up."

Quinn said his team shouldn't get too confident from the one-goal win.

"Let's face it, that was a close game," Quinn said. "There were a lot of
good chances and we needed terrific goaltending. Let's see if we can be
good again (Sunday) and do the little things that help us win."

Carolina outscored Montreal 17-3 over the final 140 minutes of the
semifinal series to close it out in six games. But open ice was much
tougher to come by for the Hurricanes against the more physical Maple
Leafs.

"Against Montreal, every loose puck, every rebound was right on our
tape," Erik Cole said. "We're going to have to keep doing what we've
been doing, get pucks to the net and create more traffic and see what
happens."

After a 1-1 first period, Toronto killed off four Carolina power plays
before getting one of its own with 7:15 left in the second.

Hoglund tipped in a shot from the blue line by Nathan Dempsey for his
fourth of the playoffs. The goal was reviewed because the right wing
tipped the puck past Irbe with a raised stick, but the 2-1 Toronto lead
stood after officials decided the stick was still below the crossbar.

Hoglund almost gave the Maple Leafs a two-goal lead with a minute left
in the period when he hit the left post.

Seconds later, Joseph was called for a delay of game penalty as the
Hurricanes, scoring at 20.4 percent on the power play coming in, went
back to work with the man advantage.

But the Hurricanes failed to get a shot on goal to start the third with 1:23
of power-play time, and Toronto played a tight-checking final 18 minutes
to secure its third road win of the postseason.

"You have to give them credit for the way they played, they bottled up the
neutral zone," said Jeff O'Neill, who scored Carolina's only goal. "For
having only a day's rest and coming off a tough series, I thought they
played well.

"We didn't have our best game, but that's what happens when a team
can frustrate you like that in the neutral zone."

Carolina's momentum continued from its eight-goal Game 6 clincher
against Montreal, scoring 3:23 in and peppering Joseph for 15 shots in
the opening 20 minutes.

But the Maple Leafs were able to salvage the 1-1 tie after the first period.

O'Neill put the Hurricanes on the board early with a power-play goal,
getting credit for his third of the postseason after an attempted clearing
pass by Toronto defenseman Cory Cross went off the Carolina forward
and past Joseph.

Toronto argued and thought O'Neill hit the puck into the net with his glove,
but after reviewing the play for several minutes, the video goal judges
and referees said it counted.

Less than four minutes later, Mogilny scored after following his own
rebound into the slot. It was Mogilny's team-leading eighth and 32nd of
his playoff career.

Game notes
Mogilny played in his 100th career playoff game ... With Domi out, Pat
Quinn went with seven defensemen, inserting Wade Belak into the
lineup. ... Gary Roberts got an assist on the Hoglund goal for his 18th
point of the postseason. It also extended Roberts' point streak to seven
games. ... Carolina's Bates Battaglia had his four-game goal and
six-game point streaks snapped.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=220516007

still believe, to see the cup sometimes.
Thanks Charlie Simmer for the memories.
Same to you Jiri, you are the best.
Play Offs 2002 we will see it on TV

... und auch die ESPN Experten sehen die Leafs auf der Siegerstraße


ESPN analyst Bill Clement breaks down the second-round series between the
Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.


EDGE
5-on-5
Once Carolina coach Paul Maurice moved Jeff O'Neill away from Ron Francis, he
ended up with three productive lines. He also has six defensemen he rotates
regularly. Against Montreal, nobody ended up with too much ice time. Carolina
has depth, balance and scoring. If Toronto were healthy, this would be a tough call
at even strength. But with all the Leafs' injuries, coach Pat Quinn will have to ride
some players a lot harder than others. But as the series goes on, as long as the
Hurricanes stay healthy, they will have an advantage five-on-five. The X-factor in
almost every category, except coaching and goaltending, is Mats Sundin. If he
could play, then Carolina's balance would be offset by Sundin's presence. But
until we see him, Carolina has the edge.







EDGE
Toronto power play vs. Carolina penalty kill
The Leafs' power play scored five goals in 25 opportunities against Ottawa. A lot of
Toronto's power play success will be driven by how strong Travis Green is on
faceoffs. Even if Sundin comes back, he won't be doing faceoffs with a wrist that is
not 100 percent. Green carried Toronto through Ottawa with his faceoff ability. But
now the Hurricanes have the league's second- and third-best players on faceoffs --
Rod Brind'Amour and Ron Francis. Even though Francis doesn't kill many
penalties, he could take important faceoffs if he needs to. Without Sundin, I think
Carolina's penalty killing has a distinct advantage. Yet I keep seeing ex-Hurricane
Gary Roberts pop up. He will simply not be denied and could be a Conn Smythe
Trophy winner if the award were handed out now. Roberts has scored three of his
seven playoff goals on the power play. Even without Sundin, I think Toronto will be
able to hold its own. If Sundin were available, I would give the Leafs the edge.
Otherwise, it's a push.







EDGE
Carolina power play vs. Toronto penalty kill
Carolina was able to score six power-play goals against a Montreal penalty-killing
unit that ranked fifth in the NHL. Everybody is healthy for the Hurricanes, and they
have a second unit that is as strong as their first. Their faceoff ability will also help
them; if it isn't Brind'Amour, it will be Francis. Toronto can only counter with
Green. The fact that the Leafs have given up 16 power-play goals in the playoffs
makes it hard to think they will fix it any time soon. I have always felt Francis was
one of the great down-low power-play quarterbacks in the game.







EDGE
Goaltending
As shaky as Curtis Joseph looked against the Islanders and at the start of the
Ottawa series, he played his best when it counted the most in Games 6 and 7.
He has always shown a tendency to tail off the further he has gone in the playoffs.
This year he has done it in reverse. For Carolina, Arturs Irbe is back on his game.
But I'm not sure we can assume he will stay that way. Carolina was the only team
of the final eight that platooned goalies, with Irbe and Kevin Weekes. A team is
always better off with one who stays in a groove. If Irbe can stay in the zone, this
will be a tremendous matchup. But knowing what we know now, Joseph has the
edge.







EDGE
Coaching
Maurice has jumped up the learning curve quickly and has not made any
mistakes so far. Quinn hopefully has his mistakes behind him, such as leaving
Robert Reichel off the lineup sheet in the Islanders series. The Leafs seem to
stabilize under Quinn when things were at their worst. Therein lies the mark of a
true leader, which Quinn is. This is Quinn's experience against Maurice's
non-experience, but the matchup is still a push.







EDGE
Intangibles
The main intangible is the Leafs' incredible resilience. They have seven regulars
out of the lineup and played on absolute life support after Game 5 of the Ottawa
series. They were down three times (1-0, 2-1 and 3-2) in the series as well, and
the Leafs were still able to win. They have also won two Game 7s already. While
one day off between series will hurt the Leafs in Game 1, they have convinced me
they are made of rubber and teflon. Roberts' leadership has been incredible, and
Sundin is about to rejoin the team at some point in the series.







EDGE
Prediction - Toronto in 7
The difference will be Joseph and Sundin coming back fresh. Sundin will
compensate for any tired legs from playing two seven-game series. He is easily
their best offensive player, and scoring is something the Leafs need. Plus,
Alexander Mogilny is now back and scoring. With the combination of Joseph,
Sundin and Mogilny to go with Roberts and company, Toronto is ready to rock.


http://msn.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2002/gamescout/torcar.html
still believe, to see the cup sometimes.
Thanks Charlie Simmer for the memories.
Same to you Jiri, you are the best.
Play Offs 2002 we will see it on TV

HURRA!
So hat der aahle Mats sich das vorgestellt!

Hier noch ein Artikel dazu:

Leafs down 'Canes in East opener
By John McGourty | NHL.com | May 16, 2002

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jonas Hoglund scored a second-period power-play goal on a deflection of a shot from the blue line here Thursday night to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the first game of their Eastern Conference Finals series.
The Maple Leafs will seek to extend their lead to two games when the series resumes Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Raleigh Sports and Entertainment Center in a game seen on ESPN and the CBC.
Hoglund was positioned to the left of Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe with 13 seconds remaining on Aaron Ward's hooking penalty when Gary Roberts fed a short pass from the right wing to defenseman Nathan Dempsey who was inching in from his right point. Dempsey's slapshot was nearly shoulder-high when Hoglund used the underside of his stick blade to deflect the puck downward past Irbe at 12:45 of the middle period.
The Carolina netminder protested to referee Dan Marouelli that Hoglund's stick was too high. Marouelli called for a video review which upheld the score.
"It's the same story it has been for the last week or two, grit and determination," Dempsey said. "We really believe in each other."
The Maple Leafs, who had lost eight players from their regular-season lineup during the first two rounds of the playoffs, then played perfect, frustrating defense to protect their one-goal lead. After collecting nine penalties in the first two periods, Toronto committed only one offense in the third period and held the Southeast Conference champions to nine shots on Joseph during the final frame.



Despite the efforts of Sami Kapanen, the Hurricanes were not able to shut down Alexander Mogilny

"We worked hard and long to get here," said Toronto general manager and coach Pat Quinn. "Hey, look around and see what we can do and why can't we? That's an attitude you have to have when you are in team sports."
That final period of zone-clearing, puck-dumping and shot blocking by Toronto was in marked contrast to the first two periods which saw frequent hard checking and a combined eight penalties, including six on the Maple Leafs.
"There was more clutching and grabbing in this game than we've seen in the first two series," said Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice. "I think our best chances never got to the net."
"That was a close game tonight," said Quinn. "They had a lot of good chances. We needed very good goaltending tonight."
The tone was set early when Carolina's Erik Cole crunched Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle into the end boards behind Joseph in the opening seconds and linemate Rod Brind'Amour picked up a goaltender interference penalty against Joseph after only 28 seconds.
Carolina defenseman Sean Hill banged Maple Leafs center Travis Green into the side boards early in the power play. Green responded seconds later by elbowing Hill into the opposite boards, picking up an interference call and killing the power play.
On the 4-on-4, Cole rushed down the right wing and turned the corner on Kaberle who hauled him down. Cole crashed into Joseph as the puck went into the net.
The goal was ruled off as the whistle had blown before the puck entered the net but the Hurricanes scored shortly after the end of the 5-on-3 when Ron Francis feathered a pass through the crease that Cory Cross backhanded into Jeff O'Neill's glove as he was one-timing Francis's pass.
Joseph protested that O'Neill directed the puck into the net with his glove but the video-replay judge ruled that Cross's clearing attempt ricocheted off O'Neill's glove.
Hurricanes goalie Arturs Irbe made two saves on backhands by Alexander Mogilny and Green at 14:07 but the pair combined on another attack at 12:58 during a 4-on-4 caused by coincidental penalties to Carolina's Martin Gelinas and Toronto's Wade Belak.
Mogilny collected the rebound of his shot from the right side as he cut to the middle and shot again past Irbe to tie the game at 7:02 with his eighth goal of the playoffs.
Mogilny was a key free-agent acquisition for Toronto last summer after playing parts of two seasons with the New Jersey Devils, winning his first Stanley Cup there in 2000.
Mogilny scored the winning goal in Game 6 of the Ottawa series and two goals in Game 7 to lead the Maple Leafs into the conference final. Quinn said more than money is driving Mogilny.
"It's not just economics," Quinn said. "There's more in this game, more to be had. He shows that sometimes, especially at this time of the year."



Travis Green played a solid two-way game and helped in all categories to give the Leafs the win.

Minutes later, Paul Healey blocked Hill's shot from the point and couldn't get up. Play continued and Hill hit Healey with another shot. Healey was helped off the ice and didn't return.
The Maple Leafs gave up one power-play goal in the first period but killed off four other man-advantage situations. Joseph made 14 saves in the first period to Irbe's seven.
Joseph missed 21 games after breaking his left hand on Feb. 26. ESPN's Brian Engblom reported Joseph made no attempt to stop shots with his glove hand during the pre-game warmup and he used it as little as possible during the game. Entering the series, Joseph was 56-54 with a 2.58 goals-against average and 14 shutouts in the playoffs for his career.
Quinn said he isn't worried about Joseph's ability to play well.
"I think he's getting the feel back," Quinn said afterward. "He's always been, to me, not the kind of goalie you write the textbook on. His terrific ability is in reading the play and he gets himself in the way. He makes the stops. That's his big strength and I think he's got the feeling back."
Bryan McCabe picked up a roughing penalty against Cole at the end of the first period. Joseph made two good saves on Battaglia and Brind'Amour early in the second period while his team was shorthanded. Toronto never cleared their zone during the power play but escaped without surrendering a goal.
By the end of Toronto's sixth power play, Carolina held an 18-8 edge in shots but their power-play units were showing signs of fatigue. At the end, Joseph, who earned the 57th playoff victory of his career, made 31 saves and Irbe stopped 22 shots.
Joseph was named the No. 1 star of the game. Hoglund was No. 2 star and McCabe was voted the No. 3 star.
McCabe went to his knees at 4:34 to trip Kevyn Adams who was breaking out of his zone on the left side while Carolina's Josef Vasicek was in the box for holding. Green blocked Hill's blast from the point as Carolina had only one shot during their power play.
Carolina's power play became more ineffective after Aki Berg hooked Jeff Daniels at the side of Toronto's net at 8:08. Shayne Corson and Green forechecked Carolina deeper into its own zone, then Cross helped his teammates by delaying a faceoff while he searched and searched for a replacement stick at his bench.
Carolina defenseman Aaron Ward was called for hooking on a Toronto icing at 10:58. Kaberle, skating backwards into his zone, coughed up the puck to Adams who was denied on a good save by Joseph.
Green hit the post to Irbe's right on a hard shot with a minute left in the second period, then Joseph picked up a delay-of-game penalty with 37 seconds left when he smothered the puck in the faceoff circle to his right.
The Maple Leafs were able to hold the Hurricanes without a serious threat on the power play that extended into the third period.
Toronto had eight players sit out with injuries, including Tie Domi who suffered a leg injury in the last game of the Ottawa Senators series. The manpower shortage was highlighted when Dempsey, who played 75 games with St. John's of the AHL this season but only three for Toronto, manned the point on the first power play. … Irbe had a .940 save percentage since replacing Kevin Weekes in Game 4 of the Montreal Canadiens series.

von: nhl.com

Mats

Ich werde keinerlei Prognosen, den Ausgang der nächsten Saison betreffend, abgeben!

AC/DC rules!

Und hier für englischschwachen wie mich...

Quelle: http://www.eishockey.com/berichte/aktuell.htm


Auch Kevyn Adams (CAR) fand in Curtis Joseph (TOR) die Endstation

Conference Finale
Toronto - Carolina 2-1 (1-1/1-0/0-0)
Playoffstand: 1-0

Im mit 18.730 Zuschauern nicht voll besetzten Raleigh Entertainment Center kam das 'Rumpfteam' der Toronto Maple Leafs zu einem 2-1 Erfolg gegen die Carolina Hurricanes und machten damit den ersten Schritt auf dem Weg in das Stanley Cup Finale, das sie zum letzten Mal vor 35 Jahren erreichten.
Zu der ohnehin schon langen Verletztenliste der Leafs gesellte sich gestern auch noch Tie Domi.
Im mit 18.730 Zuschauern nicht voll besetzten Raleigh Entertainment Center kam das 'Rumpfteam' der Toronto Maple Leafs zu einem 2-1 Erfolg gegen die Carolina Hurricanes und machten damit den ersten Schritt auf dem Weg in das Stanley Cup Finale, das sie zum letzten Mal vor 35 Jahren erreichten.
Zu der ohnehin schon langen Verletztenliste der Leafs gesellte sich gestern auch noch Tie Domi. Torontos 'Grinder' zog sich in Partie 7 gegen die Ottawa Senators eine Sprunggelenkverletzung am linken Fuß zu, soll aber in der nächsten Partie am Sonntag wieder zur Verfügung stehen.
Die Hurricanes begannen heute Nacht sehr druckvoll. Bereits nach 144 Sekunden landete der Puck erstmals hinter Gästetorwart Curtis Joseph im Netz. Der Treffer wurde jedoch strittigerweise wegen Torwartbehinderung des von Tomas Kaberle gefoulten Erik Cole nicht anerkannt. Doch nur eine Minuten später, beim folgenden Überzahlspiel, gingen die Hausherren durch Jeff O'Neill(4.pp) durchaus verdient 1-0 in Führung.
Ruppig ging es auch weiter. Als auf beiden Seiten jeweils ein Akteur auf der Strafbank saß, nutzte Alexander Mogilny(8.) den Freiraum auf dem Eis, um zum zu diesem Zeitpunkt schmeichelhaften 1-1 auszugleichen. Für den russischen Außenstürmer in den Reihen der Kanadier war es bereits Playofftor Nummer 8. Mit viel Einsatz und Geschick sowie einem glänzend aufgelegtem Joseph im Kasten, hielten die kanadischen Gäste das Unentschieden bis zur Pause.
Nur unwesentlich weniger Arbeit hatte Joseph in den ersten zehn Minuten des zweiten Durchgangs. Zwei Unterzahlsituation überstanden die Leafs mit Bravour schadlos und nutzten anschließend durch Jonas Hoglund(33.pp) ihre nummerische Überlegenheit eiskalt aus.
Noch eine knappe halbe Stunde verblieb den Hurricanes um noch einmal zurück in die Partie zu kommen, die Leafs agierten jedoch immer besser, standen sehr kompakt in der Abwehr und gaben sich bis zum Ertönen der Schlusssirene keine Blöße mehr.

TORONTO 1 1 0 --2
CAROLINA 1 0 0 --1

ERSTES DRITTEL -- Tore:
1, Carolina, Jeff O'Neill 3 (power play) (Unassisted), 3:23.
2, Toronto, Alexander Mogilny 8 (Tomas Kaberle), 7:02.

Strafzeiten: R Brind'Amour, Car (goalie interference), 0:28; T
Green, Tor (interference), 1:00; T Kaberle, Tor (holding), 2:22; W
Belak, Tor (elbowing), 6:20; M Gelinas, Car (holding), 6:20; A
Mccauley, Tor (high sticking), 12:32; J Hoglund, Tor (holding stick),
17:46; B Mccabe, Tor (roughing), 20:00.

ZWEITES DRITTEL -- Tore:
3, Toronto, Jonas Hoglund 4 (power play) (Nathan Dempsey, Gary Roberts), 12:45.

Strafzeiten: J Vasicek, Car (holding), 3:00; B Mccabe, Tor (tripping), 4:34;
A Berg, Tor (hooking), 8:08; A Ward, Car (hooking), 10:58; C Joseph, Tor (delay of
game served by J Hoglund), 19:23.

DRITTES DRITTEL -- Tore: Keine.

Strafzeiten: M Gelinas, Car (slashing), 6:00; T Green,
Tor (holding), 14:58; E Cole, Car (roughing), 14:58; S Corson, Tor
(roughing), 19:56; R Brind'Amour, Car (roughing), 19:56.

Torschüsse:
TORONTO 8 6 10 --24
CAROLINA 15 8 9 --32

Powerplay: TOR: 1-4, CAR: 1-8.
Torhüter:
Toronto, Curtis Joseph (32-31; W,9-6-0).
Carolina, Arturs Irbe (24-22; L,5-3-0).
Zuschauer: 18,730.
Schiedsrichter: Dan Marouelli, Rob Shick.
Assistenten: Brad Lazarowich, Brian Murphy.

Tschö, Robert

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Deutscher Fußballmeister 2001 / 2002 Borussia Dortmund
Einzelkartenverweigerer 2002 / 2003
Dauerkarteninhaber gibt es ja genug... ;-)
Bekennender Köln-Arena-Verweigerer!!!