Melrose says with CuJo in net, the Leafs can beat 'anybody, anytime."

"Toronto must cut down the outnumbered chances against, start putting pressure on Martin Brodeur, get shots at him, win some battles in front of his net, and make New Jersey play some defense," says ESPN NHL analyst Barry Melrose. And the Matt Sundin line must start scoring some goals."

Melrose, in an online chat with ESPN.com users, also pointed out that teams can't rely on home-ice advantage because it simply doesn't exist anymore.

"One of the reasons home ice is not a huge advantage anymore is that all the buildings are just about exactly the same. 200x85, all seat around 18,000, all are very bright," says Melrose. In the old days there were some very unique buildings...that is not the case today, thus no home advantage."

In case you missed Melrose's May 3 chat, the following is an edited transcript.

Jordan: Can the Flyers stop Jaromir Jagr and if so how?

Barry Melrose: Great win for the Flyers last night. But they must find a way to stop Jagr. Every time he was on the ice it seemed like he had a chance to score. It might be time to shadow him with a line or one man. Do something different to get him off his game.

Rishi: Will Ray Bourque's injury significantly impact the outcome of the game tonight?

Barry Melrose: This is going to be very interesting how it affects the Avs. Everyone knows what Bourque adds offensively but I think how well he was playing defensively is more important to the Avs team. Adam Foote and Bourque were playing against Steve Yzerman's line and has basically shut them down. This is about 30 minutes of ice time some lesser talented defensmen will have to fill.

		Thu, March 23 When Melrose isn't riding shotgun on the network's nightly program, NHL 2Night, he's out on the road serving as a game analyst for games on ESPN and ESPN2. He also provides reports for SportsCenter and stops by ESPN Radio. Prior to working for ESPN, Melrose was the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings (1992-95). In his first season behind the bench, Melrose took the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals and he's won a Calder Cup (AHL championship) and a Memorial Cup (CHL championship) in his coaching career.

Josh: Jagr or Peter Forsberg? Who would you rather have?

Barry Melrose: They are two totally different players. I personally would love to have both of them. Jagr is the best offensive player in the world. Even with Philly concentrating on him he stills gets three points last night. Forsberg is all around better defensively, more physical, but he's not going to put up the offensive numbers of Jagr. If you cheer for either team they are on, you are a lucky fan.

WingsFan: Can Toronto come back after that embarrassing loss? Was that an awful game or what?

Barry Melrose: Sure Toronto can come back. When you have that goalie you can beat anybody, anytime. Now saying that, he needs some help in these categories. Toronto must cut down the outnumbered chances against. Toronto must start putting pressure on Martin Brodeur, get shots at him, win some battles in front of his net, and make New Jersey play some defense. And the Matt Sundin line must start scoring some goals.

Sherlock: Barry, What do the Red Wings have to do tonight to insure a victory? Chris Osgood has been awesome, but they can't count on that forever.

Barry Melrose: The Red Wings must continue to pound the Avs physically. They must get more traffic in front of Patrick Roy, must get their power play going and Sergei Fedorov must continue to play the way he played in game 3. They got a big favor with the Bourque injury, now they must take advantage of it.

Dave C: Why is the advantage of playing at home not as big an advantage as it generally is in other sports? I hear players say it is easier to play on the road because you don't have the crowd to dictate a certain style of play. Is that really true?

Barry Melrose: One of the reasons home ice is not a huge advantage anymore is that all the buildings are just about exactly the same. 200x85, all seat around 18,000, all are very bright. In the old days there were some very unique buildings, Boston Garden, very small, Chicago, very small, Buffalo, very small. It was really different in every building you went into. That is not the case today, thus no home advantage.

Matt from Boise: Barry, what do you think is holding back the Joe Sakic line in the playoffs? They haven't looked like they did in March and April when I thought they were really coming together.

Barry Melrose: You have to understand that Sakic's line always sees the other team's best defenseman. The same is true for Steve Yzerman. So if those two lines can't score, it's up to the second lines to win the game. In the first two games in Colorado, Forsberg did the job. In game 3 Fedorov did the job. I really think this series, the second lines are more important than the first lines.

bweird: Is Steve Yzerman still hurting? His play has not been up to the standards he has set for himself in playoff years past.

Barry Melrose: I've said this before many times, if you are not hurt this time of year, you have not played very hard. Everybody on every team is hurt. You see Owen Nolan come back and play last night, Jiri Slegr comes back for overtime, that is just part of being a hockey player at playoff time.

Rafael Gomez: Barry, last night the Sharks finally solved Ed Belfour, one of the two coming on a 5-on-3 power play. What must the San Jose Sharks continue to do to keep this series alive, and even have a chance to win this series against the defending champs?

Barry Melrose: The Sharks must score on the power play, because you don't get a lot of 5-on-5 goals against Dallas. And they must get great goaltending from Steve Shields. Last night he stops a breakaway to Mike Modano early in the game to give his team a chance to win.

Jimmy: Why is Scott Stevens continually overlooked for the Norris Trophy?

Barry Melrose: Scott is overlooked just like Darian Hatcher because they do not put up the offensive numbers of Rob Blake, Chris Pronger, or Nicklas Lidstrom. I'm to the point where they should get a trophy for the best defensive defenseman and give the Norris to the defensman that gets all the points.

Rachel: Hi Barry! Do you think it was Ramsey's 4 lines/equal shifts that paid off last night?

Barry Melrose: I think what happened last night was that the Flyers got more aggressive offensively. The winning goal has Andy Delmore jumping into the play creating a 3-on-2 out of a 2-on-2. They must make Pittsburgh play defense.

DEVSFANinColorado: Barry, Will Bourque stay in Denver next year?

Barry Melrose: The longer Colorado goes in the playoffs, the better chance they will have of signing Bourque. Denver is a beautiful city, brand new building, new ownership, and they are going to aggressively try to sign Raymond. The question is, will Raymond leave the East Coast where his family is?

DEVSFANinColorado: Barry, What is your favorite restaurant on the NHL ESPN circuit?

Barry Melrose: The Chop House in Denver is my favorite restaurant in the NHL. Great people running it. Great garlic mashed potatoes. Hopefully I'll get to have some in the Finals.

MikeP.: Curtis Joseph and Martin Brodeur play completely different styles. Does either one have an edge over the other or will this series be decided by offensive power?

Barry Melrose: You're right, they are total opposites. But I would love to have either on my team. CuJo has a much tougher job because his team is not near as good defensively. On the other side of that, Brodeur might only see 15 shots a night so he has to work at staying mentally in the game. I always wondered if CuJo would be a better goalie on a defensive team like New Jersey.

ultbravesfan: Who is the biggest surprise in this year's playoffs?

Barry Melrose: I guess you would have to say San Jose but this is a very talented team who underachieved in the regular season. But again, it's not how you start a season it's how you finish a season that matters. This team is coming together and playing a great style of hockey at exactly the right time.

Great games last night, I expect great games tonight, tune in on ESPN to hear Chris Berman's new nickname's for the remaining playoff teams. Talk to you guys next week. Take care.