[Devils-list] Team Comparisons (fwd)

[Pete Keiper-White]

I sent this to a few people, incl the list, but the list did not like it
cuz I did a BCC. 

ok, while the rain falls I thought I would give ya'll my thoughts on how
we match up with Colorado:

#1 West Colorado vs #1 East Devils

Goal:
Patrick Roy vs Marty Brodeur
Two super goalies. Marty was good in the Pittsburgh series but has not
"stolen" a game for the Devils in this postseason. Roy has been good but
he let St. Louis back into games. Roy seemed to have trouble when the
Blues had big bodies in front of him and the Devils do that as well as any
team. The Devils chased Roy in both regular season games. This is
meaningless but it could have meaning if we get a quick one Saturday
night. Both have solid Finals experience and it really tctc, call it EVEN.

Defense:
Blake, Bourque, Foote, Klemm (maybe) and three/four other guys vs Stevens,
Niedermayer, Rafalski, O'Donnell, Daneyko and White.

The first three on each team are pretty close but Blake gives the Avs an
edge. The last three give a clear edge to New Jersey. Also, Colorado's big
three eat huge amounts of ice time since they all see PP and PK duty. In
game 5 against St. Louis, Blake was out there for over 30 minutes, Bourque
28 and Foote 26. By comparison, in game 5 against Pittsburgh, Stevens led
Devil D with 24 minutes, Rafalski saw 22 minutes and Nieds 18.
Yes, I know Colorado played OT in game 5 but 24 seconds is not
exactly much OT. Brodeur's puck handling ability cannot be overlooked,
especially since Roy is not a puck handler.

Advantage: DEVILS

Forwards:

The top lines are both World class, but after Drury there is a big drop
off in talent on the Colorado side. They say they roll lines but their
stars get a lot more ice time than their other players (their first line
was on the ice over 20 minutes in game 4, and Drury saw 17 mins, then a
percipitous drop off to 14 mins for a couple of players). Meanwhile, in
game 5 against Pittsburgh, Bobby Holik led all Devils forwards with 18
minutes of ice time. Mogillny was second with 17:36 and a few players had
16 minutes. Also, the Avs forwards are not physical which puts them at a
disadvantage since the Devils force teams to dump and then pound on them.
Over a long series this will have an effect. The Devils really do roll
four lines and while none are as dominant as the A-Line they are better
than their Colorado counterparts. Holik and friends should be able to
stymie Sakic and Company. They had trouble against Sundin in the early
part of the Toronto series but in games 6 and 7, when the Devils finally
arrived this postseason, Sundin did not get much. Sakic is a small guy at
5'11" and 185 lbs so he should be more suseptable to the pounding tactics
of Holik. 

Advantage: DEVILS

Special Teams:
The Western Finals were called alot tighter than the Eastern Finals. It
will be interesting to see how the Finals play out. I think that if it
comes down to a Special Teams series we have the edge.


Power Play:

Both teams have had success on the PP but the Devils have two units that
can strike. Colorado's top unit compares favorably to any unit out there
but their second unit cannot compare to Mogs, Nieds and Company. Colorado
lit up St. Louis with the extra man but St. Louis took lots of penalties,
something the Devils do not do. Advantage: Devils

Penalty Kill:

Colorado has done pretty well on the PK in this postseason but they have
not faced a power play as good as the Devils. The Devils have faced an
elite PP team in Pittsburgh and did a very good job shutting them down.
Colorado uses their stars a lot to kill penalties and this will also take
its toll. The Devils do use Elias and Sykora on the second unit but they
are not as heavily relied upon. Pandolfo and Madden make the Devils PK go.
Advantage: Devils

Coaching:
Bob Hartley vs Larry Robinson

Larry has been here before and knows what it takes to win. Hartley is a
first timer who I do not really respect as an NHL coach. He also has a
much harder task because he needs to get his matchup more than Larry does.
Advantage: Devils

==

So, there you have it. In no area of the game are the Avalanche clearly
superior to the Devils. If we lose it will be because of something we
did not something Colorado did. It is kinda scary. In 95 I was happy that
the Devils were there and victories were a bonus. Last year I was
cautiously optimistic. This year I expect victory. 

Noone has said it yet but I think we can finally put the nption
that "The Devils suck when they get the #1 seed" to rest.


			Pete





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