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Dateline: May 16/02

(3) Carolina Hurricanes versus (4) Toronto Maple Leafs

A month ago I predicted the Carolina Hurricanes' playoff season would last about five games: "Ron Francis, Jeff O'Neill and Sami Kapanen lead a maturing team, but Carolina remains a day late and a dollar short in too many areas," I said at the time.

Pretty smart, hey? Guess I forgot about Rod Brind'amour, Martin Gelinas, Sean Hill, Bates Battaglia, Bret Hedican, Josef Vasicek and Erik Cole, the bearded rookie that ate Montreal.

Conventional wisdom says one goaltender has to step up and shoulder the load at playoff time. But the Hurricanes thrive on the tag-team approach, going from Arturs Irbe to Kevin Weekes and back again. Each goaltending change has marked the turning point in a game or series, making coach Paul Maurice look like a master.

Like any team that lasts this long, the Hurricanes have goal scorers throughout the lineup. But the Battaglia-Brind'amour-Cole trio has been unstoppable. If they can be neutralized - a big if - Carolina will find itself short on goals.

Hurricanes' MVP: Brind'amour. Logs a ton of ice time, scores, plays physical, plays defence, wins faceoffs.

Hurricanes' secret weapon: Carolina blocks more shots than any other team in the final four.

How they got here: Defeated New Jersey in six games and Montreal in six games.

By the time Toronto faced Ottawa in game seven on Monday, fully one-third of the regular lineup was missing due to injuries. Bolstered by half a dozen minor leaguers, the Leafs shut out the Senators 3-0. Toronto has had serious injury problems since the Olympic break and those left standing have played inspired hockey to take the team this far.

Can they keep it up? Not if some people don't get healthy soon. Two forwards - Alyn McCauley and Gary Roberts - accounted for half of the Leafs goals in the Ottawa series. Alex Mogilny finally started scoring in the last two games, but this is dangerously close to being a one-line team, which would mean certain death against Carolina.

Roberts is having the kind of spring that earns legendary status in Toronto. It would make a great story if he can carry this team to the finals, but a far more plausible story if captain Mats Sundin comes back to lend a hand. Sundin, recovering from a wrist fracture, says he will be ready to play some time during the series.

Incredibly, Toronto has made it this far without great goaltending by Curtis Joseph, who has been merely good enough. Without Karl Pilar and Jyrki Lumme, the blueline is thin. But they get the job done, so far at least.

Toronto's MVP: Gary Roberts does it all. Believe the hype.

Toronto' secret weapon: Resilience. The Leafs usually play their best after playing their worst.

How they got here: Defeated the New York Islanders in seven games and Ottawa in seven games.

Prediction: Not to deny the Leafs their due, but they were helped along by the inexplicable collapse of a talented Senators club. A similar collapse by the Hurricanes is unlikely and the wear and tear of another long series might be too much for Toronto. But Carolina is short on playoff experience and Toronto has an edge in net. Sundin is among the top five or six forwards in the NHL. If he can play half the series, the Toronto roll will continue.

Toronto in six.

Playoff prediction record so far:
Opening round: Picked five of eight winners. Picked correct number of games in all five series.
Second round: Picked one of four winners, with the correct number of games.

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