1) The Colorado Avalanche have the St. Louis Blues to thank for their decisive 5-0 victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Conversely, the New Jersey Devils have the ineffectual Pittsburgh Penguins to blame for their unexpectedly poor showing.

2) In the Western Conference Finals, Colorado was tested, and at times outplayed, by St. Louis, and emerged from the series focused and sharp. The Devils, not tested by a Pittsburgh club that quickly slipped into disarray during the Eastern Conference Finals, came out of that series soft and undisciplined, believing the prognosticators calling for a Devil romp over the President Trophy winning Avalanche. For New Jersey, Game 1 at Pepsi Center was a rude awakening.

3) Led by MVP-candidate Joe Sakic, and career playoff win leader Patrick Roy in the net, Colorado stormed past the Devils, reducing the defending Stanley Cup champs to lame late-game goonery in a certain-to-fail attempt to "send a message" to the Avs for Game 2. If New Jersey is to repeat as champs, the Devils must regain the defensive dominance that led them to be favored to repeat, and free-up the A-line and create better scoring opportunities than they were able to produce in Game 1.

4) There were several keys to Colorado's Game 1 win: 1-Coach Bob Hartley's adjusted defensive pairings, particularly the Bourque/Foote tandem assigned to shut down Arnott & company; 2-Colorado's team speed(and the Devils poor preparation); 3-Colorado getting on the scoreboard first(10-0 in the playoffs when scoring first); 4-Outshooting the Devils 30-25; 5-Roy winning Round 1 of the battle with Vezina candidate Martin Broduer. 6-Rob Blake's offensive contribution, another benefit of the Bourque/Foote assignment to covering the A-line; 7-Colorado's penalty killing(which has been improving with every round of the playoffs).

5) I believe, ultimately, that the weakness of the Devils prior opponents, particularly the dreadful Penguins, present Larry Robinson with his biggest challenge. Can New Jersey elevate(no pun intended) their play quickly enough to stop the Avs from stealing their Stanley Cup? I think they can rise to the challenge, this will be a long series, and we'll all need to flip a coin for the winner of Game 7 just under two weeks from now. Here's why...

6) New Jersey, until proven otherwise over a full seven game series, is the best team in hockey. When on their game, they are the top-scoring team in the league, and their defense and goaltending are second-to-none. The key, though, is their physicality(and meanness), something Colorado must fear and work to combat with their own overwhelming speed. If reduced to a physical series, the Avs are no match for the Devils. In a series that alternately is physical and speed-oriented, it will go the distance. I like the Avs in 7, and the city of Denver and the State of Colorado will explode with joy!!!

7) As an Avalanche fan, winning the Cup is critical to the club's future. This off season, Sakic, Blake and Roy are unrestricted free agents. Go the distance in the Finals, and Pierre LaCroix has all that free money to pay Sakic and Roy. Win the Cup, and Bourque retires, freeing up the money to pay Rob Blake. Then we can all talk repeat in 2002.

8) To sum up, here is my call on the remainder of the Finals: Game 2-Devils; Game 3-Devils; Game 4-AVS; Game 5-AVS; Game 6-Devils; Game 7-AVS WIN CUP