ATD#8 Don Cherry Round 1: #3 Guelph vs. #6 Dallas

[VanIslander]

The Don Cherry division:

First Round Match-Up



Guelph Biltmores

Coach: Bob Johnson
Captain: Ted Kennedy
Alternates: Bobby Hull, Earl Seibert

Bobby Hull - Frank Boucher - Vaclav Nedomansky
Sid Smith - Ted Kennedy - Bill Mosienko
Don Marshall - Orland Kurtenbach - Fleming Mackell
Gaye Stewart - Fred Stanfield - Jerry Toppazzini
Frank McGee

Carl Brewer - Earl Seibert
Doug Mohns - Art Coulter
Lars-Erik Sjoberg - Nel Colville
Tom Anderson

Chuck Rayner
Al Rollins
Charlie Hodge



vs.



Dallas Blackhawks

Coach: Herb Brooks
Captain: Guy Carbonneau
Alternates: Bryan Trottier, Larry Murphy

Harvey Jackson - Bryan Trottier - Bryan Hextall Sr
Dany Heatley - Mike Modano - Jari Kurri
John MacLean - Guy Carbonneau - Jean Pronovost
Red Berenson - Garry Unger - Marian Hossa

Larry Robinson - Larry Murphy
Sandis Ozolinsh - Ron Greschner
Rich Boon - Ed Jovanovski

Tony Esposito
Chris Osgood

Hamilton Gilmour, Dave Schultz, Steve Duchesne
​

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

Guelph Biltmores

PP1: Bobby Hull - F. Boucher - Nedomansky - Sjoberg - Stanfield
PP2: Sid Smith - Kennedy - Mosienko - Mohns - Toppazzini

PK1: Marshall - Toppazzini - Brewer - E.Seibert
PK2: Bobby Hull - Kennedy - Mohns - Coulter

vs.

Dallas Blackhawks

PP1: Jackson - Trottier - Hextall - Ozolinsh - Robinson
PP2: Heatley - Modano - Kurri - Murphy - Duchesne

PK1: Carbonneau - MacLean - Robinson - Boon
PK2: Modano - Kurri - Jovanovski - Murphy

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Initial impressions:

- This is a battle between two inexperienced goalies. Chuck Rayner had a great run in 1950, but only played in 18 PO games in his entire career. Neither of Pappy's goalies have ever one four games in a single PO year. (They're not necessarily bad goalies, of course, just inexperienced). Esposito was arguably the 2nd-best regular season goalie of his generation (after Dryden), but his PO record is disappointing. It's not because he never won a Cup; it's because he gave up some weak goals in series he should have won, and had a rising PO GAA.

- Bluelines are completely opposite. I said in my write-up of Guelp's team that the lack of offense from the blueline would likely hurt his PP and transition game, but they're rock-solid defensively. Dallas's blueline has excellent mobility and skill, but their defensive play is questionable. Ozolinsh is probably the weakest defensive player on any team's 2nd pair, and Jovanovski is so inconsistent you don't know if he'll play like Morrow or McCabe in his own end. Ron Greschner was above average defensively. Even Larry Murphy, a slow skater, is vulnerable against a very fast team like Guelph.

Dallas wins if Robinson and Carbonneau can shut down Bobby Hull's line; I don't see the Biltmores getting enough secondary scoring if Hull/Boucher/Nedomansky are held off the scoresheet.

Guelph wins if they can use their speed to exploit the Hawks' blueline, which is fairly weak defensively and could be vulnerable against a fast team.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Just one thought for now.

Robinson vs Hull should be thrilling.

 

[ck26]

I'll post my thoughts on this series now and some of the rest over the long weekend.

Tactical stuff from Coach Brooks:
When Dallas is at home, Carbonneau's trio + Robinson will check Bobby Hull's line, and we'll do what we can to get Modano and Kurri out there against him in road games. Bobby Hull is exactly who we had in mind when we traded up to get Kurri. Exactly.

Brooks is a coach-'em-up type, and I can't think of many guys I'd rather have behind the bench for a big playoff game. I hope he can eliminate some of Jovanovski's randomness, because when he's playing like Morrow, he's better than Morrow.

Don't think we'll need Dave Schultz in this series, but if we do, we'll pull Hossa, switch Heatley from 2LW to 4RW, slide Berenson up alongside Modano and plug Schultz in with the 4th line. (Berenson-Modano-Kurri, Schultz-Unger-Heatley)

Thoughts on the matchup:
Guelph is one of the dream matchups for me ... I think the Blackhawks stack up pretty well, and I'd be lying to say I don't relish the opportunity to slay pappy's Biltmores.

I don't understand HO's criticism that "none of pappy's goalies have won 4 games in a single playoff" ... LOH says he won 7 in 1950. His ability to carry a bunch of bad teams is impressive, although I wouldn't give him so much credit that it's a quantifiable advantage over Tony Esposito. Rayner and Rollins both won Hart trophies, which is kinda unique for two goalies.

I didn't think there would be a matchup where mine was the more offensive-minded team, but lo-and-behold, it's happened.

Mosienko and Nedomansky (not really his fault) have next to zero playoff experience, and as top-6 forwards, that is huge. Relying on those guys to score could be problematic.

Experienced playoff leaders. Don't know why Larry Robinson was left off my list of alternates, but he has more cups alone than Guelph's three captains combined. Carbonneau has 3 with 2 teams, Murphy 4 with 2 teams, Trottier 6 with 2. All my team leaders have gotten it done in the playoffs over and over and over again.

Not sure I agree that Guelph's defense is better. I think Brewer is really underrated but obviously he's not Robinson. Doug Mohns is another nice player, but the time he spent at forward always gives me pause. Whenever a forward/defenseman (usually old timers) is playing D, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up for all the wrong reasons. I have trouble calling him substantially different than a Sergei Gonchar or a Paul Coffey-type. Colville suffers from the same problem ... these guys didn't play D their whole career, so they've gotta be missing something.

I see more time being spent on Guelph's half of center, and so his "superior" defensive defense will be put to the test more.

 

[shawnmullin]

I don't think you can or should punish international players for not having played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

[EagleBelfour]

Cottonking ... JUST PUT DUCHESNE IN!! Throw Ozolinsh out of the lineup please, it hurt my eyes everytime I see Ozolinsh on your second pairing and Duchesne on the bench.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I don't understand HO's criticism that "none of pappy's goalies have won 4 games in a single playoff" ... LOH says he won 7 in 1950.

Oops, I meant to say aside from the year Lumley won the Cup (which, obviously, is a big difference from never winning 4 in ANY years).

 

[pappyline]

Initial impressions:

- This is a battle between two inexperienced goalies. Chuck Rayner had a great run in 1950, but only played in 18 PO games in his entire career. Neither of Pappy's goalies have ever one four games in a single PO year. (They're not necessarily bad goalies, of course, just inexperienced). Esposito was arguably the 2nd-best regular season goalie of his generation (after Dryden), but his PO record is disappointing. It's not because he never won a Cup; it's because he gave up some weak goals in series he should have won, and had a rising PO GAA.

- Bluelines are completely opposite. I said in my write-up of Guelp's team that the lack of offense from the blueline would likely hurt his PP and transition game, but they're rock-solid defensively. Dallas's blueline has excellent mobility and skill, but their defensive play is questionable. Ozolinsh is probably the weakest defensive player on any team's 2nd pair, and Jovanovski is so inconsistent you don't know if he'll play like Morrow or McCabe in his own end. Ron Greschner was above average defensively. Even Larry Murphy, a slow skater, is vulnerable against a very fast team like Guelph.

Dallas wins if Robinson and Carbonneau can shut down Bobby Hull's line; I don't see the Biltmores getting enough secondary scoring if Hull/Boucher/Nedomansky are held off the scoresheet.

Guelph wins if they can use their speed to exploit the Hawks' blueline, which is fairly weak defensively and could be vulnerable against a fast team.

I will do a more detailed analysis later but will respond to these points now.

- My goalies may not have a lot of Playoff experience but they are in no way inexperienced. Both were first string goalies for terrible teams in the 6 team NHL which meant they played a lot of games and faced a lot of rubber. Because of the teams they played on & Rayner being in the service for 3 prime years they didn't get a lot of playoff opportunities but when they did they came up big, Rayner took his team to the 7th game of the final in 1950 & won the retro Smythe. Rollins was the main goalie for the Leaf cup win in 51 and gave the Habs a scare in 53 by taking the Hawks to the 7th game of the semi's. Both Rayner & Rollins had lower GA averages in the playoffs than in the regular season. Using Number of playoff games to denigrate their reputations just doesn't cut it. Espo, on the other hand, was not a clutch playoff performer & his GA average went up in the playoffs even though he played on much stronger teams. IMO, Guelph has the edge in goal.

- Agree I don't have a transitional D that can match Robinson but I do have several guys that were pretty good. Brewer, Mohns & Sjoberg had exceptional speed. Seibert could rush it if he took a notion and all my D have good puck handling & passing skills on top of being very good defensively.

- I don't think anybody can shut down the Hull line(more later). As far as secondary scoring, The Kennedy line will score their share. It should also be noted the guys like Kennedy & Mackell upped their production considerably in the playoffs.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Last series to comment on. Phew.

This is likely pappy's best entry for the draft. I don't buy the concerns about his defence. Carl Brewer was an excellent skater and puck-mover. Tough as nails, too. And Earl Seibert had great skill and toughness. 10-time all-star can't be wrong. Worth noting that Seibert was traded for Art Coulter. pappy's defence is a strong blend of skill and toughness.

Larry Robinson is going to have to play the best hockey of his life for Dallas to win. Period. Because Robinson is the only defenceman that has a shot of containing Bobby Hull. Hull could set a draft record for points in a series. Dallas has a good array of defensive and two-way forwards, headlined by Guy Carbonneau. But when I look at those defensive forwards, Carbonneau's the only one that strikes me as a guy who could effectively shut-down Hull.

I like the wingers that cotton has on the bottom two lines, but not from the perspective of shutting down Hull. Now toss Frank Boucher into the equation - one of the best playmakers ever, and a great two-way forward. Randy McKay could play RW on that line, and they'd still put up big points. Guelph has something more potent: they have Vaclav Nedomansky, one of the best not in the HHOF.

pappy's second line is a threat, too. Any line centred by Ted Kennedy is going to be dangerous in the playoffs.

There are a lot of things to like about Dallas. Trottier's line is terrific. The second line has two excellent two-way players. Dallas has three players who rate in the top 10 all-time at their respective positions: Jackson, Trottier and Kurri. And they have a top six all-time defenceman in Robinson. But I just don't think they can stop Hull and Boucher. Not with guys like Ozolinsh, Duchesne and Jovanovski. And if you want to know about Tony Esposito's playoff record, just ask pappy.

My advice to Dallas is forget about the match-ups. You don't have a line that can stop Hull and Boucher. I don't know if anyone has a line that can stop them. Edmonton and the Eagles might be able to contain them. So go skill for skill with them, and hope that Trottier's line or Modano's line can limit them. I like the odds of Trottier's and Modano's line against the Boucher line, more than Carbonneau's or Unger's.

 

[Roger's Pancreas*]

Strange. Dallas has a team packed with some of the best two-way forwards of all time, but hangs them out to dry with some of the worst offensive defensemen of the all time draft. There's no better way to reinforce your shoddy blueline, but damn. Ozolinsh and Jovanovski make for one risky flip of the coin.

I'm going with Guelph on this one. They're more stable from front to back (Brewer-Seibert), and have one very underrated second line center in Ted Kennedy.

 

[nik jr]

Cottonking ... JUST PUT DUCHESNE IN!! Throw Ozolinsh out of the lineup please, it hurt my eyes everytime I see Ozolinsh on your second pairing and Duchesne on the bench.

i agree. guelph has home ice, and at home, hull--boucher--nedomansky will rip ozolinsh and jovanovski to shreds. that would probably happen with duchesne in, but ozolinsh is more error-prone.

 

[Spitfire11]

Experienced playoff leaders. Don't know why Larry Robinson was left off my list of alternates, but he has more cups alone than Guelph's three captains combined. Carbonneau has 3 with 2 teams, Murphy 4 with 2 teams, Trottier 6 with 2. All my team leaders have gotten it done in the playoffs over and over and over again.

6 > 5+2+1??

There are very few playoff leaders better than Ted Kennedy and Robinson isn't one of them IMO.

 

[ck26]

Probably too late to affect the voting, I'm happy to drop Ozolinsh for Duchesne if he's as miserable as everyone thinks he will be. PP defenseman should read Duchesne-Robinson / Murphy-Greschner.

Don't understand the thinking that Carbonneau's trio can't hang with Hull-Boucher-Nedomansky. Unless my brain has just totally failed, Carbonneau (with weaker linemates than MacLean / Pronovost) managed to hang with Gretzky / Kurri in the '93 finals ...

 

[Sturminator]

Game 1:

Associated Press - Guelph

Bobby Hull set the tone early in this one. In the first minute of play, he collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and went wide around Larry Murphy before calmly firing a laser past the outstretched glove hand of Tony Esposito. At the 05:43 mark, Dallas equalized on a 15 foot one-timer from Busher Jackson off a 2-on-1 with Bryan Trottier. The teams played even through a sluggish middle frame and were knotted at one until 43 seconds into the third when Ted Kennedy stripped a puck from Dany Heatley in the offensive zone, skated in alone on Espo and jammed a puck through his pads. The Biltmores played conservative hockey for the remainder of the game, tightening their neutral zone coverage and collapsing on everything in front of Rayner. With their big guns on the ice, Dallas mounted a furious attack at the end, but Jerry Toppazini iced it by firing into an open net at 19:33 after cleverly chipping the puck to himself along the boards. All-in-all, it was typical game one playoff hockey.

Final score: Guelph 3 – Dallas 1
Guelph leads the series 1 game to none

 

[Sturminator]

Game 2:

Associated Press - Guelph

After game one, Dallas coach Herb Brooks commented that he was unhappy with the play of Dany Heatley and that he believed the Blackhawks needed to bring the physical game more to the Biltmores. It came as no surprise, then, when Marian Hossa, playing the off-wing, appeared in Heatley’s normal position on the second shift of the game, with Dave Schultz stepping into Hossa’s 4th line role. Dallas got ahead early in the 1st when Jarri Kurri went behind the net to steal the puck from an overadventurous Chuck Rayner before neatly slipping a pass in front to Larry Robinson, who simply tapped it in. The teams each scored a pair of goals in the second frame; Nedomansky and Sjoberg collected the tallies for Guelph, while Modano and Jovanovski scored for Dallas. The Blackhawks appeared set to close the match out before Neil Colville threw a soft wrister through a screen and behind Phil Esposito to tie the game at three all at 18:23 in the third. The Blackhawks were visibly deflated by their sudden misfortune and appeared to be playing for overtime when Frank Boucher put a knife in the heart of Texas, scoring on a quick wrister to the shortside at 19:40 after intercepting a lazy Ron Greshner outlet pass. In the pandemonium after the game, Phil Esposito would not give comment on the third period goals, both of which came on what appeared to be makeable saves.

Final Score: Guelph 4 – Dallas 3
Guelph leads the series 2 games to none

 

[Sturminator]

Game 3:

Associated Press - Dallas

Chris Osgood appeared in net for Dallas, in keeping with coach Brooks’ comments before the game. “Ozzie is a guy who’s been the promised land and I think he’ll play well in front of the home crowd. Tony needs to get those goals out of his head and focus on the task at hand.†The Blackhawks came out flying in front of the home crowd and built an early lead on the strength of a first period natural hat trick by Bryan Trottier, who scored two of the three goals unassisted. Guelph came out of the dressing room in the second period with more fire and made a game out of it on a rebound goal by Orland Kurtenbach and a quick breakaway score by Gaye Stewart. The look on Herb Brooks’ face as the Blackhawks came out for the third period said it all, and the Dallas team skated like men possessed, throwing their bodies into corners, blocking shots and checking Guelph to a standstill. Osgood withstood a brief flurry at the end and Dallas walked away from game three with new life.

Final Score: Dallas 3 – Guelph 2
Guelph leads the series 2 games to 1

 

[Sturminator]

Game 4:

Associated Press – Dallas

The smile never seems to leave Badger Bob Johnson’s face, but whatever he said to Bobby Hull must have gotten his attention. The Golden Jet, held scoreless since the opening minute of game one, erupted with four goals, one-upping Bryan Trottier’s game three natural hat trick. Hull opened the scoring at 07:42 of the first on a booming slapshot that Chris Osgood didn’t appear to see. Osgood said after the game, “That shot was so hard and came back out so quickly that if the goal light hadn’t gone on, I don’t know if anyone, including Bobby, would have known it went in.†Hull collected a pair of second period goals, the second of which is sure to make every highlite reel in the country. Hull won possession of the puck after crushing Guy Carbonneau with a body check in the left corner. He came out front on Osgood and chipped the puck to himself over the outstretched stick of Larry Robinson before wiring a wrister between Larry Murphy’s legs. The shot beat Osgood over the left shoulder and hit his water bottle so hard the bottle flew into the glass above the end boards and bounced back to Frank Boucher, who had been standing by the right goalpost. Boucher caught the bottle and took a drink. “We’re going to call Gatorade after the game and see if we can’t get an endorsement out of the footage of that one,†said a jubilant Boucher in the lockerroom. Hull would cap the scoring with a snap-shot off a pretty feed from Boucher at 12:51 of the third.

Final Score: Guelph 4 – Dallas 0
Guelph leads the series 3 games to 1

 

[Sturminator]

Game 5:

Associated Press – Guelph

Tony Esposito was back in net for Dallas, and responded to chants of “Tooooo-nnnnnneee…Toooooonnnnneeeee†by stoning the Biltmores in their own house as Guelph tried to close out the series at home. Bobby Hull was up to his usual tricks in the first period, clanging a slapper off Esposito’s face mask on the first shift, but the man they call Tony-O stood up to the challenge throughout the evening, turning in one of the finest performances we’ve seen in these playoffs. Phil Esposito, given a day off by Harry Sinden as his Aurora Tigers await their first round opponent, said of his little brother before the game: “Tony will rebound from game two, mark my words. I learned pretty early on when we were kids that punching Tony in the mouth only makes him angry.†After a scoreless first, Dallas took the lead at 5:38 of the second period on a breakaway goal from Busher Jackson, his second of the series. It was all Esposito would need, as he turned aside shot after shot from a frustrated, though determined Biltmores squad. Esposito, who was mobbed by teammates as the final horn sounded, made 42 saves in all on the evening.

Final Score: Dallas 1 – Guelph 0
Guelph leads the series 3 games to 2

 

[Sturminator]

Game 6:

Associated Press - Dallas

Ted Kennedy proved again why he is known as one of history’s great clutch performers. Teeder opened the scoring at 2:14 of the first period, converting a rebound off a partial breakaway by Sid Smith and then iced the game with a shorthanded goal in the third period as Dallas were threatening to tie the game and the series. “That’s what Ted Kennedy does. That’s why he’s the captain,†said Badger Bob Johnson in the press conference after the game, “When the season’s on the line, his eyes get as big as dinner plates. If he hadn’t scored those two goals tonight, you’d all be talking about what a bad series he’d had because you don’t see all the little things he does, night after night, shift after shift. Give me twenty Ted Kennedies and I could conquer Russia.†In-between Kennedy’s goals, Dallas had the better end of it, mounting constant pressure on Chuck Rayner, who was excellent on the night, and drawing even at 4:15 of the second on a Marian Hossa goal before Earl Seibert gave Guelph the lead again two minutes later. “We got beaten by a great team tonight,†said Bryan Trottier after the game. It’s a disappointing way to end the season, but I tip my hat the Biltmores. They played some great hockey.â€

Final Score: Guelph 3 – Dallas 1
Guelph wins the series 4 games to 2

Three Stars of the series:

1) Bobby Hull
2) Frank Boucher
3) Bryan Trottier

 

[ck26]

No wonder I lost ... I had Phil Esposito in goal for game 2.

Well played, Biltmores. Back to the drawing board for next season. More tomorrow morning ...

 

[pappyline]

Sturminator, nice write-up.

Trottier's line "I tip my hat the Biltmores" is appropriate as the team gets its name from the Biltmore Hat Company in Guelph.

Great series Cottonking. You put together a very strong team as your first in the major draft.

can't believe, I finally won a series.

 

[Sturminator]

Sturminator, nice write-up.

Trottier's line "I tip my hat the Biltmores" is appropriate as the team gets its name from the Biltmore Hat Company in Guelph.

Thanks pappy.

Interesting about the name. I wish I could claim I used that line on purpose. I knew they were actually called the Mad Hatters because Andy Bathgate played there, but I didn't know it was because the team was sponsored by a hat company.

 

[arrbez]

No wonder I lost ... I had Phil Esposito in goal for game 2.

damn...then who's centering my top line?

 

[ck26]

damn...then who's centering my top line?

Tony, I guess? Good luck with that ...

Love the quote from game 5 ... good to know that punching Tony Esposito in the face makes him angry.

Two mistakes in building this team: Trading to load up on picks in the top 150 was fun while it lasted, but it gutted me defensemen 3-6 and forwards 7-9. I don't regret any individual picks, but I think I mis-judged the value of defensemen. I think there were good D men still on the board in the 500's and 600's, but obviously other folks didn't. I waited too long to grab D3 and D4. I took "best player available" with just about all of my picks (IMO), but should have said, "screw best forward, I need defensemen" at some point and never did.

Still interested in doing a 2nd round writeup if anyone needs it. And I'd like to hear how people voted on this series. Non-reprisial, I won't hold it against you, etc ... was the writeup indicitive that the voting was sorta close? Or did people vote this 4-0? Anybody have the Hawks winning? And for any reasons not previously discussed at length?

Until next season ... go Blackhawks!