Leaf fans make deal with Devils

By Steven Lienert
The Phanatic Magazine

The Toronto Maple Leafs held up their end of the bargain Saturday night, but will the Devils come through on Sunday?

With most eyes focused on Tiger Woods' finishing round at the Masters (C'mon Appleby!) or switching back and forth to the Phillies (C'mon Howard!), most of the great province of Ontario, Canada will be focused on the last regular-season game at Continental Airlines Arena (thank goodness!).

That's where the Islanders, who just last week seemed destined for their own April golf tournament, need to beat the Atlantic Division Champion New Jersey Devils to get into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Toronto saved its season last night with a thrilling, come-from-behind 6-5 win over the hated Montreal Canadiens. With the loss, the Habs' season came to a crashing end.

The Leafs. however, may have postponed their fate for one more day.

Sorry to disappoint you, Leaf fans, but the Devils have nothing to play for. They've already locked up the second seed and are going to face Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs. Martin Brodeur probably won't play.

The Isles, on the other hand, are riding third-string goalie Wade Dubielewicz to an improbable first-round matchup with the Buffalo Sabres, the Presidents' Trophy winners.

Another win by Wade and the Isles will extend their season by about four games. Okay, maybe five.

A Devils win, however, would garner the Sabres' attention. Buffalo has faced Toronto twice as much as it has seen the Islanders and the Sabres have just a 5-3 record against the Leafs. Buffalo was 3-1 against the Isles in the regular season.

Toronto would be a nightmare first-round matchup for Buffalo, although the Sabres would win. It's the beating they would take in the six or seven games it would take that would hurt them in the next round, especially if Ottawa is there.

It's a nightmare Leaf fans are hoping comes to fruition.