Nitzy's Hockey Den

  Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "I watched the Leafs in their final two games against St. Louis and I can honestly say that they looked better than they have all season." assessed Red Wings centre Steve Yzerman. He continued, "They were very sound defensively and they showed a lot of discipline. They seemed to be concentrating on their defence and then there was Ken Wregget who made so many big saves. We want to get playing again. I expect it will be a very exciting series. I don't see it as a series full of fights but, rather good, solid hockey. The suspense is building and building." Red Wings coach Jacques Demers said, "We have a dream. We have a d...

  Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "That's their problem," is what Maple Leafs coach John Brophy said regarding his opponent, Detroit Red Wings nine-day layoff since before game one of the Norris Final. The Leafs will have had four days rest and he continued,  "I don't think we'll have any trouble with that. Our team is in excellent shape." Goalie Ken Wregget figured the Wings layoff will help the Leafs, "They might be lacking a little game experience. I think we'll do fine with four days rest." Officially, Brophy claims he hasn't made up his mind as to which goalie will start against Detroit, "I'll make that decision early n...

  Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "Same thing happened last year. I had played 30 of 70 games (with the St. Catherines farm club, which Brophy coached). Then, I sat the last ten. It was Ken who went up to the Leafs for the playoffs." explained Leaf goaltender Allan Bester. His last start this season was March 21 at Montreal when the Leafs lost 9-4, he then played a meaningless period at Chicago, April 5. Bester shutout the Red Wings twice in November but Wregget is the man for coach John Brophy. Wregget posted a 1.79 goals against average and a save percentage of .935 in the first round against St. Louis, the odds of Bester getting a start in the next round are slim. De...

  Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "Tell the guy in Detroit with the moustache (Wings coach Jacques Demers) that this is a miracle," quipped John Brophy to the media after his Leafs defeated the Blues 4-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens to win the Norris Semi-final 4 games to 2. Brophy's statement was referring to a quote from Demers three weeks ago  that he later denied, that it would take a miracle for the Leafs to make the playoffs. Brad Smith, a Windsor, Ontario native known as Motor City Smitty scored a breakaway goal less than three minutes into the game. Smith said, "It's the only move I have. I go to my backhand, then pull it to my forehand. Our goalies a...

Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "He'll be out for six weeks. That means the season," stated Leafs spokesman Bob Stellick. He was referring to 23 year-old Gary Leeman who broke his kneecap in the first period of Tuesday's Leafs victory. Leeman will be replaced by Ken Yaremchuk, who played game 4. Toronto is well aware that they should avoid a return trip to St. Louis for game 7 by winning tomorrow. Brophy said."It would be asking a lot to win three games down there." Leaf tough guy Brad Smith was asked about his two fights with Blues goon Todd Ewen. "Obviously their coach is a pretty smart guy," Smith told a St. Louis reporter, "He want...

Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "I don't know where it came from. I was really surprised by it," said Leaf Mike Allison after beating Blues Greg Millen for the eventual winning goal in a 2-1 Leafs victory in Game Five of the Norris Division Semifinal. Allison had lugged the puck out from behind the net, faked out Millen and scored at 11:24 of the third. Millen called it a "major league move" from Allison who faked as if to go to the wide side of the net before coming back to his backhand to flip the puck into the open net. The goal was only Allison's fifth in 58 career playoff games. Brophy insisted he never had a doubt about Mike Allison, "Last ...

Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history. "It'll be nothing fancy. I don't think I'll be getting a lot of ice time. But when I do, I just hope I can play the way I did before I got hurt," explained Leaf defenceman Chris Kotsopoulos after missing the previous 41 games due to severely pulled abdominal muscles. He added, "You can be sure I won't be crossing centre ice too much. I think I can go every shift. I won't go much more than about 30 seconds at a time. But that'll be up to the coach. I'm happy just to get back in the lineup." Brophy said, "I suppose he'll see spot duty until he gets his game conditioning back, until the last minut...