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Showing posts from May, 2013

NHL Playoff Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators

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The Canadiens were oh so close to a dream matchup against the Leafs but the Boston Bruins fell to the Ottawa Senators in the final game of the regular season on Sunday night. Instead, it will be the Bruins facing off against the Leafs beginning on Wednesday night and the Canadiens meeting the Senators in Game 1 of their series on Thursday night. With the Bruins' loss on Sunday, the Canadiens locked up top spot in the Northeast Division and have enjoyed a huge turnaround from their 15th (last) place finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Much of the Habs' turnaround this season has been attributed to first time General Manager, Marc Bergevin. His steady and calming presence has gone a long way to settle down a team and a city that has been described as the most scrutinized and pressure filled environment in the NHL. The only other comparable hockey market would be that of Toronto. Bergevin's hire of former Canadiens coach, Michel Therrien has had a similar calming i

NHL Playoff Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins

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It has been nine long and disappointing seasons for diehard Leaf fans in Toronto but finally the wait is over! The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the NHL Playoffs. To put this in perspective, let's look at what was going on in the world in 2004... - Paul Martin was one year into office as Prime Minister - George 'Dubya' was still in his first term in office as President - Facebook was just beginning to take off and was only used by college students -  Confessions  by Usher and  The Diary of Alicia Keys  were two of the biggest albums of the year -  Shrek 2  was the top grossing film of the year - The last season of  Friends  was on the air - the Boston Red Sox won the World Series after an 86 year drought attributed to "the Curse of the Bambino" So that's the good news, the Leafs have snapped their playoff drought. The bad news is that they draw the Boston Bruins in the first round. The Bruins won three of four meetings between the Leafs in the regular