(Los Angeles, CA) With a final score of 10-5, the Highlanders completed their four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Devils, a team that had played them well in the regular season.
"We definitely didn't come into this series thinking about a sweep", commented team captain Joe Sakic. "They beat us a couple times in the regular season and the games always seemed to be close."
For a team that struggled at times during the regular season, the Highlanders have certainly found their game at the right time of the year. The team has now won 11 consecutive games -- albeit small when compared to Suffolk's streak earlier in the year -- and all three lines are contributing offensively. Coach Muller spoke about his team's balance:
"I think it speaks for itself when you see that none of our top 3 scorers play on the same line. We're getting better balance than we did throughout much of the season where the team relied heavily on Iginla for offense. I think that was the difference. The Devils are a very good team, well managed, and you can see they'll be competing for championships very soon -- and for a long time."
Also advancing in the American Conference were the league-leading Suffolk Fox. Two other series' continue, which will determine whether the Highlanders open the series at home against New England or whether they travel to Detroit.
"We're going to take a day off and then get prepared for whoever we have to play," indicated Muller. "Obviously we'd love to have home ice advantage, but we have no preference to play one team or the other."
New York may have to do some lineup shuffling, as winger Jere Lehtinen is expected back for the beginning of the second round series. How that impacts the lines is still unclear. Some fans are also questioning whether Leclaire's 5-goal performance is enough to warrant switching to long-time starter Tomas Vokoun for the second round.
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