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ZHL First Round Playoff Previews

Eastern Conference Previews

Hartford Whalers

 1 Columbia 8-Balls 8
Divisional Seed First, Northeast Division Divisional Seed Fourth, Atlantic Division
Conference Seed First, Eastern Conference Conference Seed Eighth, Eastern Conference
Season Record 67-10-5- 139 PTS Season Record

34-38-10- 78 PTS
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Teemu Selanne RW 79 79 74 153
Mike Modano       C 81 34 80 114
Pavel Bure LW 82 38 62 100
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Alexander Mogilny LW 87 31 32 68
Ed Jovanovski D 85 10 34 44
Wayne Primeau C 81 11 27 38
Other Stats

Special Teams
GSA Rank GAA Rank
Offense  4.60  1st Defense  1.99  1st  
% Rank % Rank
PP % 19.0%  5th  PK % 91.0%  2nd
Other Stats

Special Teams
  GSA Rank   GAA Rank
Offense  2.79   12th  Defense  3.18  16th 
  % Rank % % Rank
PP % 11.4%  21st PK % 86.5%  7th
8-Balls                The 8-Balls were a team of transactions in the 2003-04 season.  Players such as Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin made quick stops in Columbia en-route to their present teams.  Patrick Roy has stood tall in net all season, which is the 8-Balls biggest strength.  Alex Mogilny will be on the edge of his heels as he'll try and create some offense for the 8-Balls.  This is their second straight season finishing 8th and a series win would be a fitting closeout to the Balls' last season in South Carolina.                           
Whalers The Whalers were a team of records this season.  They set new ZHL records for wins, and goals by a player to name a few.  A few key trades were made before the trading deadline, proving the Whalers are out for the Cup.  Teemu Selanne scored a fifth of the Whalers goals this season and the first line combined for 151 goals on the season.  Fredrik Olausson and Darryl Sydor both recorded 70 plus points on the blue line to lead the ZHL in defenseman scoring.  Once again, Eddie Belfour proved to be excellent in goal and Marty Biron made his mark as a formidable backup tender.
Season Series Results
Whalers win series 3-0-1
Westbury Lords 2 South Philly Bullies 7
Divisional Seed First, Atlantic Division Divisional Seed Third, Atlantic Division
Conference Seed Second, Eastern Conference Conference Seed Seventh, Eastern Conference
Season Record 43-30-9- 93 PTS Season Record

37-35-10- 84 PTS
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
German Titov LW 80 48 56 104
Saku Koivu C 83 26 56 82
Todd Marchant LW 82 30 42 72
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Keith Tkachuk LW 77 33 47 80
Jeremy Roenick C 77 38 39 77
Chris Pronger D 80 9 54 63
Other Stats

Special Teams
GSA Rank GAA Rank
Offense 3.20 7th Defense 2.65 5th
% Rank % Rank
PP % 16.4% 9th PK % 78.6% 22nd
Other Stats

Special Teams
  GSA Rank   GAA Rank
Offense 2.96  10th Defense 2.88 11th
  % Rank % % Rank
PP % 16.2% 10th PK % 84.3% 11th
Lords                The Lords were once again a solid defensive team, finishing 5th overall in GAA.  Along with that, German Titov is in the prime of his career, notching 104 points during the regular season.  Through trade, the Lords also acquired Saku Koivu, who turned out to be an excellent pickup for the offense starved Lords.  This also gives the Lords a powerful 1-2 punch up the middle with Koivu and Peca.  "Lord Byron" also had a great year, winning 40 games for the Lords.  Possibly the only downfall to this team is their penalty kill, which ranked near the bottom of the league.
Bullies After missing the post season last year, the Bullies found their game and also filled a few gaps this past season.  Chris Pronger is a solid quarterback on the power play as well as an offensive force on the blue line, notching 63 points.  The acquisitions of Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick provided an offensive punch on the Bullies first line.  The Bullies ranked in the middle of most stats in the ZHL, but could very well step it up a notch or two in the playoffs.  The Bullies powerful defense with names like Chris Pronger, Eric Desjardins, and Dana Muryzn could prove too much for the Lords offense.
Season Series Results
Lords win series 3-1-2
Montreal Canadiens 3 East Rutherford Ice Rats 6
Divisional Seed Second, Northeast Division Divisional Seed Second, Atlantic Division
Conference Seed Third, Eastern Conference Conference Seed Sixth, Eastern Conference
Season Record 57-19-6- 120 PTS Season Record

40-36-6- 86 PTS
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Rod Brind'Amour LW 80 43 63 106
Joe Nieuwendyk C 82 28 46 74
Ray Bourque D 80 19 52 71
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Jere Lehtinen RW 80 22 46 68
Martin Straka C 83 18 43 61
Sergei Krivokrasov RW 78 19 41 60
Other Stats

Special Teams
GSA Rank GAA Rank
Offense 3.67 3rd Defense 2.37 2nd
% Rank % Rank
PP % 18.2% 7th PK % 93.1% 1st
Other Stats

Special Teams
  GSA Rank   GAA Rank
Offense 2.77  13th Defense 2.61 4th
  % Rank % % Rank
PP % 18.6% 6th PK % 87.2% 6th
Canadiens            In their sophomore ZHL Season, the Habs certainly turned some heads around the league.  Their farm team produced some great players, many of which made appearances on the Habs during the season.  The Habs have the league's greatest depth by far and aren't affected by injuries at all.  The acquisition of Rod Brind'Amour gave the Habs the one great offensive punch they needed to seriously compete in the league.  The Habs also have a strong core of offensive defensemen, including Ray Bourque, Teppo Numminen, and Boris Mironov.
Ice Rats For the four years the ZHL has been in existence, the Ice Rats have been a strong defense, oriented team.  With Martin Brodeur in net and players like Jere Lehtinen, the Ice Rats tend to keep the opposition's score rather low.  Once again they've reached the 40 win plateau.  The acquisition of Martin Straka should provide the Ice Rats with some offense and Sergei Krivokrasov has been known to explode at times, including the four goal game he had close to the end of the season. 
Season Series Results
Canadiens win series 3-1-0
Quebec Nordiques 4 Woodbury Storm 5
Divisional Seed Third, Northeast Division Divisional Seed Fourth, Northeast Division
Conference Seed Fourth, Eastern Conference Conference Seed Fifth, Eastern Conference
Season Record 45-30-7- 97 PTS Season Record

40-35-7- 87 PTS
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Peter Forsberg C 81 54 55 109
Pavol Demitra LW 83 39 57 96
Marian Hossa RW 81 22 54 76
Top 3 Scorers

 

 
Player POS GP G A PTS
Jaromir Jagr RW 83 35 47 82
Sergei Zubov D 82 12 50 62
Patrik Elias LW 78 22 38 60
Other Stats

Special Teams
GSA Rank GAA Rank
Offense 3.60 4th Defense 2.72 8th
% Rank % Rank
PP % 19.1% 4th PK % 78.3% 23rd
Other Stats

Special Teams
  GSA Rank   GAA Rank
Offense 3.35  5th Defense 2.90 12th
  % Rank % % Rank
PP % 19.1% 3rd PK % 83.8% 15th
Nordiques            The Nordiques have undergone a huge change in the 2003-04 season.  Picking up sniper Pavol Demitra from Woodbury and Roman Turek from the Sasquatches.  The Nordiques have made it to the semi finals each year in their existence, making them one of the league's most consistent teams.  The Nordiques top line of Forsberg, Demitra, and Hossa was one of the top producing lines around the league.  Perhaps the only weak point on the Nords roster is their rather young defense.  Roman Turek will prove to be a solid goaltender in this series.
Storm Known as the team thats only a "weekend" stop for most ZHL players.  Jaromir Jagr was a great pickup for the Storm, but he's been having a bad season with only a point per game.  The Storm have undergone somewhat of a youth movement with rising young stars like Brandon Reid, Filip Novak, Tom Buckley, and Vitali Veremeyev.  The Storm are relying on rather inexperienced players in their lineup, including rookie netminder, Vitali Veremeyev.  Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov will provide a solid twosome on the blue line for the Storm, soon to be Ice Dragons.
Season Series Results
Nordiques win series 5-1-0

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