Lemieux snapped a 0-0 tie in the third period forcing the puck up ice through brute determination. It was only fitting that he slam home the rebound off of (Sucks to) B.U. alum Jay Pandolfo's slapshot.

Lemieux is one of the biggest pests the NHL has ever known. He runs his little jabroni mouth throughout the entire game. He knows all the dirty little tricks on how to sneak an extra shot when the referee isn't looking. The type of game he plays engenders no respect from the opposition, only animosity.

Yet, the man now has 80 goals in the postseason. The worst part about facing a pest is having the pest score. For my money, Lemieux can be on my playoff roster any year. He's now won Stanley Cups now with three different teams, and he garnered the Conn Smythe trophy for his effort with the 1995 Devils.

That takes a special talent and it is a pure shame that Lemieux has never seen fit to really expend the effort in the regular season that he does in the playoffs. He could surely have posted a couple of 40-goal seasons and have been a potential hall-of-famer. Instead, he's a playoff specialist. The best there ever was, but the measure of a career includes the first 82 games as well.

Wild, Wild West

Oh and there's a series out West as well--arguably for the Stanley Cup--between Colorado, who many consider the best team in the league, and Dallas, merely the defending Stanley Cup champions. As you read this, this series may already have been decided with the Stars gearing up to defend their crown in the Finals.

More than anyone else, the success of the Stars has to be because of Ed Belfour. The Eagle has been pelted at times by the Avalanche in this series, but he has stood tall. He has really erased his reputation as a lackluster playoff performer.

Given my druthers, I'd still take Patrick Roy to win that one playoff series I needed, but one can do a lot worse than the Belfour of the past couple of years.