1993 Campbell Conference Quarters/Wings vs Leafs

[Jim MacDonald]

Hey friends!

Back at it to again get some feedback/thoughts on the Wings a little bit before I started loving hockey. I watched all 7 games of this series (thankfully to ordering DVD's online). Questions and thoughts:

1. Did Pat Burns come close/make public a possibility of starting Darren Puppa in Game 3 after Potvin gives up 6 in the first two games?

2. In Game 5 I heard Bob Cole say that Yzerman was dealing with an apparent wrist injury....was this confirmed to be true after the series?

3. The Wings lost this series in Game 5....holy smokes...they were up 4-1 in the game....looking like they might get 5 or 6...and then Cheveldae....ugh...things just got weird, he got terrible and things just drastically changed!

4. Bob Cole said Gilmour was a warrior this series, playing with bruises from his elbows up to his wrists.

5. Harry Neale said the Leafs defense was WAAY more physical then the Wings D and this was a difference. Agree tremendously.

6. I heard Shawn Burr got a bit of criticism taking a poor line change right leaving the ice seconds before Bob Rouse fired his shot....I rewound the DVD and yeah his timing was bad....but it looks like Clark has position on Lidstrom anyhow and maybe gets the puck if Borchevsky doesn't. Cheveldae looked WAAAY too far out of the net too.

I know this was a painful loss for Wings fans Even not being a hockey lover at that point it was tough to watch recently. Look forward to your thoughts/analyses!-Jim

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[Big Phil]

6. I heard Shawn Burr got a bit of criticism taking a poor line change right leaving the ice seconds before Bob Rouse fired his shot....I rewound the DVD and yeah his timing was bad....but it looks like Clark has position on Lidstrom anyhow and maybe gets the puck if Borchevsky doesn't. Cheveldae looked WAAAY too far out of the net too.

I have seen that play 100 times and I have never noticed the terrible line change by Shawn Burr. Yeah, that was awful! How did I never noticed that? I have always noticed the player who was behind Rouse but never really followed why he was in that position in the first place. It wasn't his fault, that was just a bad line change........untimely.

This series warms my heart. Two teams that deserved it. It was great hockey. Bob Cole at his best announcing, Gilmour in his prime, Yzerman in his prime, a new found hope for the Leafs. It had everything. One of the best series in the 1st round ever.

Here are some things I always noticed about this play. Yzerman is well out of position here with Gilmour. To me that is the key that starts it all. The Burr line change just means he had someone to pass to of course. And let's not forget Gilmour, that spring he played in three game 7s and had a total of 10 points. Just unreal!

Yzerman had one of those series where he played great when the Wings won, but not so when they lost. Zero points in 4 losses, 7 in the three wins. That's a big discrepancy. Was he hurt? I can't remember. But it might be one of the rare times where I would say they should have gotten more out of Stevie Y. He just came off a 137 point year.

 

[reckoning]

The most infamous part of the series was late in Game 7 when Ciccarelli got clipped in the face by Peter Zezel's stick. Everybody in the arena saw it except for Don Koharski. There was no penalty called, and the Leafs scored a minute later to send it to OT. The non-call was quickly forgotten. Two rounds later, a high stick in the L.A.- Toronto series doesn't get called, and the world never heard the end of that one.

I watched Game 7 a few times on DVD; and what stood out for me was:

- Gilmour was quite literally the entire Leafs team. I tried to track icetimes for both teams, and had Gilmour at 32:06. He had points on all 4 Leaf goals and took every important faceoff. Toronto loses the series easily without him.

- Andreychuk was invisible. He and Konstantinov seemed to always be together on the ice, and the Russian was clearly winning the matchup.

- It's ridiculous how much faster Fedorov was than anyone else on the ice.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

I have seen that play 100 times and I have never noticed the terrible line change by Shawn Burr. Yeah, that was awful! How did I never noticed that? I have always noticed the player who was behind Rouse but never really followed why he was in that position in the first place. It wasn't his fault, that was just a bad line change........untimely.

This series warms my heart. Two teams that deserved it. It was great hockey. Bob Cole at his best announcing, Gilmour in his prime, Yzerman in his prime, a new found hope for the Leafs. It had everything. One of the best series in the 1st round ever.

Here are some things I always noticed about this play. Yzerman is well out of position here with Gilmour. To me that is the key that starts it all. The Burr line change just means he had someone to pass to of course. And let's not forget Gilmour, that spring he played in three game 7s and had a total of 10 points. Just unreal!

Yzerman had one of those series where he played great when the Wings won, but not so when they lost. Zero points in 4 losses, 7 in the three wins. That's a big discrepancy. Was he hurt? I can't remember. But it might be one of the rare times where I would say they should have gotten more out of Stevie Y. He just came off a 137 point year.

Good call on Yzerman being on of position Phil....he does lay a pretty good hook on him, one that probably gets called for sure in today's NHL. I obviously learned too though that this series was HUGE for Toronto and its fans....I read somewhere someone said it FINALLY kinda "buried" the terrible pall of the Harold Ballard era etc.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

The most infamous part of the series was late in Game 7 when Ciccarelli got clipped in the face by Peter Zezel's stick. Everybody in the arena saw it except for Don Koharski. There was no penalty called, and the Leafs scored a minute later to send it to OT. The non-call was quickly forgotten. Two rounds later, a high stick in the L.A.- Toronto series doesn't get called, and the world never heard the end of that one.

I watched Game 7 a few times on DVD; and what stood out for me was:

- Gilmour was quite literally the entire Leafs team. I tried to track icetimes for both teams, and had Gilmour at 32:06. He had points on all 4 Leaf goals and took every important faceoff. Toronto loses the series easily without him.

- Andreychuk was invisible. He and Konstantinov seemed to always be together on the ice, and the Russian was clearly winning the matchup.

- It's ridiculous how much faster Fedorov was than anyone else on the ice.

Reckoning, did the clip on Ciccarelli draw blood by chance?

 

[Big Phil]

The most infamous part of the series was late in Game 7 when Ciccarelli got clipped in the face by Peter Zezel's stick. Everybody in the arena saw it except for Don Koharski. There was no penalty called, and the Leafs scored a minute later to send it to OT. The non-call was quickly forgotten. Two rounds later, a high stick in the L.A.- Toronto series doesn't get called, and the world never heard the end of that one.

I'll be totally honest with you, I am not saying it didn't happen, but I have never seen that non-call before. Is there a video for it?

Good call on Yzerman being on of position Phil....he does lay a pretty good hook on him, one that probably gets called for sure in today's NHL. I obviously learned too though that this series was HUGE for Toronto and its fans....I read somewhere someone said it FINALLY kinda "buried" the terrible pall of the Harold Ballard era etc.

It sure did. The last time a goal mattered that much to Leaf fans was McDonald in 1978 and it really didn't matter in the long run because we played Montreal the next round.

One interesting thing, Game 7 had one penalty called, against the Wings in the 3rd period, and that was it.

 

[c9777666]

That series was the beginning of the end for Tim Cheveldae in Detroit

 

[reckoning]

Reckoning, did the clip on Ciccarelli draw blood by chance?

I don't think so. It wouldn't have been a 5 minute major, but it would've definitely been a 2-minute minor, which would've made it difficult for the Leafs to tie the game if they were a man short that late in the period.

Koharski was unpredictable. Some nights he'd call every little infraction. Other nights, like this one, he'd let everything go. The one penalty he called in that game was relatively mild compared to everything else he ignored.

 

[The Panther]

Everybody in the arena saw it except for Don Koharski.

That pretty much describes all 80s'/90s' games that Koharski refereed....

 

[blood gin]

That series was the beginning of the end for Tim Cheveldae in Detroit

He was a weird goalie. Not particularly big but slow and lumbering. Never had any air of confidence about him. Any save he made it always looked like he picked the puck up late and was flustered.

That said in the Leafs nearly won that game in regulation but with seconds to go Cheveldae made a miraculous glove save right on the goal line

 

[JackSlater]

I thought that Detroit gave it away but it was a valuable learning experience going forward. Damn plucky Toronto.

 

[danincanada]

I was the kid in class (Toronto area) with the Red Wings sweater after the game 2 blow out. All the Leafs fans, including teachers, thought it was over because the games were lopsided and they told me I was being cruel by wearing that sweater. Turned out I had to face the wrath when that series was over. It hurt at the time but I don't regret sticking with my team after that and the other playoff let downs that came. I can't imagine being a Leafs fan all this time. Saved myself a lot of heartache but they may finally be in for something great.

The amazing thing about game 7 was that the Leafs didn't draw a single penalty and Detroit only had one. That was a departure from the rest of the series.

 

[blood gin]

I was the kid in class (Toronto area) with the Red Wings sweater after the game 2 blow out. All the Leafs fans, including teachers, thought it was over because the games were lopsided and they told me I was being cruel by wearing that sweater. Turned out I had to face the wrath when that series was over. It hurt at the time but I don't regret sticking with my team after that and the other playoff let downs that came. I can't imagine being a Leafs fan all this time. Saved myself a lot of heartache but they may finally be in for something great.

The amazing thing about game 7 was that the Leafs didn't draw a single penalty and Detroit only had one. That was a departure from the rest of the series.

Back then total whistle swallowing was not unusual in a game 7 and in overtime. Even if the play was just as brutal as it was games 1-6. The refs just decided they were not going to get too involved and settle this yourself. And everyone was fine with it.

 

[blood gin]

I thought that Detroit gave it away but it was a valuable learning experience going forward. Damn plucky Toronto.

They wouldn't learn that lesson next year either