Stanley Cup playoffs Hot 'n' Not List
By Jim Wilkie
Page 2

If you're not ready for the toughest tournament in sports, Page 2 is here again to provide our declarations about what's hot and what's not before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin.

Whether you're picking players for your hockey pool or just searching for that clever icebreaker, then look no further than our list below. It's a long ride, so stock up on tape, bandages, chips and Molsons as 16 teams search for 16 wins between now and June.

What's Hot, What's Not: 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs
Category Hot Not
Sentimental favorite
Saku Koivu

Roger Nielson
Old Ray Ferraro Bourque
Underdog Coyotes CuJo
Red Wings' fear Young Canucks
with nothing to lose
Old legs with
everything to lose
Argument for emptying the vault
Red Wings

Capitals
Argument for rebuilding with more patience and prudence
Coyotes

Hurricanes
Pool pick Owen Nolan (Sharks) Peter Forsberg (Avalanche)
Pool sleeper Darcy Tucker (Leafs) Chris Drury (Avalanche)
Unstoppable force
Todd Bertuzzi
(told ya so)

Brendan Shanahan
Executive Wayne Gretzky Glen Sather
Original Six
Maple Leafs

Bruins
Goalie
Jose Theodore

Dominik Hasek
Playoff beard Goatee sans moustache Soul patch
Ozzy
The Osbournes on MTV

Chris Osgood on Long Island
Scary young club
Canucks

Senators
Rivalry Canadiens-Bruins Devils-Hurricanes
Little guy Doug Gilmour (Canadiens) Cliff Ronning (Kings)
Late-season pickup Joe Nieuwendyk (Devils) Lyle Odelein (Blackhawks)
Region Canada Sun Belt
Money player
Patrick Roy

Steve Yzerman
Coach Robbie Ftorek (Bruins) Joel Quenneville (Blues)
Playoff favorite disguised as a crappy seed
Devils

Blackhawks
High-flying series Canucks-Red Wings Flyers-Senators
Goaltending duel Patrick Roy
vs. Felix Potvin
Patrick Lalime
vs. Roman Cechmanek
Sniper
Glen Murray

John LeClair
Defenseman Bryan McCabe (Leafs) Eric Desjardins (Flyers)
Arena pump-up music
The Strokes

Pink
Checker Niklas Sundstrom (Sharks) Tom Fitzgerald (Blackhawks)
Disappearing act Alexei Yashin (Islanders) Robert Reichel (Leafs)
Pest Ian Laperriere (Kings) Claude Lemieux (Coyotes)
Young gun
Patrick Marleau

Joe Thornton
Enforcer Donald Brashear (Flyers) P.J. Stock (Bruins)
Hitter Rob Blake (Avalanche) Scott Stevens (Devils)
Line Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi John LeClair, Adam Oates, Mark Recchi
Celebrity fan
Mike Myers

Kurt Russell
Camera angle Over the goal Net-cam
Conn Smythe
front-runner

Martin Brodeur

Jason Allison
Swede Markus Naslund (Canucks) Magnus Arvedson (Senators)
Finn Teppo Numminen (Coyotes) Sami Kapanen (Hurricanes)
Czech Bobby Holik (Devils) Jiri Dopita (Flyers)
Cliché "We're just squeezing
our sticks too hard."
"We're not getting
the bounces."
Hockey wife/significant other
Carol Alt
(Alexei Yashin)

Anna Kournikova
(Sergei Fedorov)
Revenge matchup
we can't wait for
Robbie Ftorek vs. Devils Alexei Yashin vs. Senators
Advantage Speed Home-ice
Planets might be aligned team
Kings

Islanders
Reason it will be
a fantastic playoff year
Every team has a legitimate shot to reach finals Red Wings are just too powerful
Stanley Cup
finals pick
Sharks vs. Devils Red Wings vs. Bruins

Jim Wilkie is an editor for Page 2.





ALSO SEE:


Jim Wilkie Archive

ESPN.com 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs index

Shanoff: 2002 baseball Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: The Sweet 16 Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: The NCAA Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for Washington sports

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for NBA at midseason

The Hot 'n' not list for 2002 Winter Olympics

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' not list for Super Bowl

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for 2002

What's hot, what's not for college hoops

What's hot, what's not for NBA 2001-02

What's hot, what's not for NHL 2001-02

What's hot, what's not for college football '01

What's hot, what's not for NFL 2001

What's hot, what's not for summer 2001

What's hot, what's not for NBA playoffs

What's hot, what's not for Stanley Cup playoffs

What's hot, what's not for NCAA Tourney

What's hot, what's not at spring training

What's hot, what's not at Super Bowl XXXV

What's hot, what's not in 2001





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