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The Speed Ratings SI special contributor Pierre McGuire ranks the remaining playoff clubs in order of team speed.
1. SENATORS Their forwards go up and down the ice faster than any
other front line in the league. Marian Hossa's acceleration gets
him many scoring chances.
2. WILD Minnesota is alive because of its team speed. Wes Walz is
the Wild's fastest player, followed by Marian Gaborik and Antti
Laaksonen.
3. CANUCKS They have two players with more combined size and
speed than almost anyone else in the NHL: 6'3", 235-pound Todd
Bertuzzi and 6'2", 210-pound Ed Jovanovski. Vancouver is the
league's best forechecking club because of its swiftness.
4. DEVILS They rely on the speed of defensemen Scott Niedermayer,
Brian Rafalski and Oleg Tverdovsky to keep opponents from
spending a lot of time in the attack zone.
5. FLYERS The late-season additions of forwards Tony Amonte, Sami
Kapanen and Claude Lapointe have made Philadelphia much faster
and therefore much better on the counterattack.
6. LIGHTNING Its No. 1 line, one of the most effective in the
playoffs, comprises speed demons Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St.
Louis and Vaclav Prospal. The defense is not very quick save for
Dan Boyle.
7. MIGHTY DUCKS Anaheim is not that fast compared with this
group, but it has burners such as Paul Kariya, Rob Niedermayer
and Petr Sykora on the front line.
8. STARS Mike Modano is one of the fastest players in the league
and Manny Malhotra's speed is underrated, but overall this isn't
an especially fast team.
COLOR PHOTO: JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE BLADE RUNNER Hossa's speed scores him opportunities.
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