Unfortunately for our two first-round draft picks, both the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins have moved on to the second round. This is exactly where they faced each other at this time last year, and, as many of you are sure to remember, the Flyers came out on top after a historic comeback.
What this means for the Leafs is that one of their draft picks will definitely fall within the 26-30th overall range, and one will not. Ideally, both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators will crack the final four and push one of our picks down a couple notches, but that's an unlikely scenario.
Greg Wyshynski, over at Puck Daddy, has picked the Flyers to finish off the Bruins:
Special teams are huge here, as the Flyers' kill was underwhelming while the Bruins power play was putrid. No forward on the Bruins has looked as good as Danny Briere or Claude Giroux have in these playoffs; the B's need to be a hell of a lot tighter defensively against Philly.
Leaning Towards … My pick out of the East was the Bruins, but the Flyers have looked damn impressive at times — and Pronger's only going to get healthier. So I'm leaning Philly.
More links after the jump.
Leafs Links:
Lanny’s was great in '78, but Harrison’s OT winner in ’72 against the Bruins was amazing, too
The title more or less sums up the article, but just so you know, it's Michael Langlois remembering another great Leafs playoff push.
It’s Richards, Laich or Bust
There are a lot of things I don't agree with in this article, but if you're not tired of the unicorn debate yet, this article might just be for you.
Other Hockey Links:
Wednesday’s Three Stars
Wyshynski's picks.
Bruins dream continues after downing Habs in OT
Nathan Horton’s second overtime goal of the playoffs means that the Habs are "the little team that couldn't". From the Globe.
Lightning strikes in Pittsburgh to win Game 7
Dwayne Roloson makes 36 saves for his second NHL playoff shutout. Again, from the Globe.
Canuck GM fined by NHL for complaining about officials prior to Game 7
On Monday, noted whineocerous Mike Gillis blamed the referees for the Canucks being forced to play a Game 7 against Chicago.
Montreal police close stretch of downtown core for Game 7
Roughly a kilometer of Rue Ste-Catherine was shut down and a "festive zone" was set up. No word yet on the death toll.
