(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
Oh, San Jose, will this be the year? Will Joe Thornton finally man up and grab the proverbial bull by the horns? Will Evgeni Nabokov put his best foot forward? Will Dany Heatley be able to push the Sharks over the top? San Jose's quest to shake their playoff demons will begin against a young Avs team that nobody - nobody - foresaw making the playoffs in '09-'10. Led by Coach of the Year Candidate Joe Sacco and Team M.V.P. Craig Anderson in net, Colorado has had a memorable season in what was supposed to be their first year in rebuild mode. Paul Stastny has quietly gone about his business as usual, youngsters Matt Duchene, Chris Stewart, T.J. Galiardi, Brandon Yip, Ryan O'Reilly, and late season addition Peter Mueller have exceeded all expectations, and Adam Foote has led the Avs from the backend with toughness and experience. For the Avs to have any shot in this series, they'll need a) a performance for the ages from Craig Anderson, and b) hit twine on a high percentage of their chances. The Avs employ a bend-but-not-break strategy that seems to almost always work - they'll get their two or three huge saves from Anderson and then off they go. That's what'll they need. If San Jose's top guys bring it, they're golden.
Prediction: The Sharks badly outplay the Avs, who still find a way to linger around. Patrick Marleau has a big series for the Sharks, who are able to persevere despite a great performance from Anderson.
Outcome: San Jose in six.
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators
Does anybody else find it odd that the Nashville Predators Franchise is still yet to win a NHL playoff series? The "Little Engine that Could," led by conductor Barry Trotz, is the kind of team that is simply no fun to play against. Led by defensemen Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Dan Hamhuis, goaltender Pekka Rinne, and an offense that has three seemingly even lines up front, the Predators have enjoyed a consistent and solid season, yet again. Nashville, as a collective unit, understands what it's working with, buys into what Trotz teaches, and competes hard every night. The Hawks come into this year's playoffs with big expectations. After last year's Conference Final exit at the hands of the Red Wings, the Hawks are fully aware of what it will take to come away with Lord Stanley this time around. And, with the addition of Marian Hossa, the maturation of Duncan Keith, and the notion that Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane are one year older, one year wiser, and one year better, the stage is set for the Hawks to take that next step. It will be of vital importance for Chicago to get contributions from up and down their lineup - Dustin Byfuglien, Dave Bolland, and Kris Versteeg were excellent during their playoff run last spring. The only concern for the Hawks is, of course, goaltending. If Nashville can cash with the man advantage - they were 24th in the NHL in power play percentage - their chances to win this series will go up exponentially.
Prediction: Expect a lot of close games. Nashville will have trouble generating chances, their power play will struggle, but they'll linger. One of Chicago's talented third liners will come up big.
Outcome: Chicago in six.
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
It has been pretty peachy for the 'Nucks since their slow start. Henrik Sedin has been absolutely phenomenal from Game One through Game 82, Brother Daniel has enjoyed a career year, Alexander Burrows continued on his path from obscurity to 30+ goal scorer, Ryan Kesler emerged as arguably the Selke favorite, while Roberto Luongo racked up another 40-win season. Coming into this season, I thought Vancouver would have trouble scoring. Well, they finished second in the entire NHL in goals for, behind Washington. They've had some big injuries on defense (Willie Mitchell will continue to be a big loss), but have still performed at a fairly high level, thanks in large part to the emergence of Christian Ehrhoff and the solid and steady play of the oft-injured Sami Salo. But, the reason I find this series so interesting is because of the stylistic play of the Kings. This Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar led club is fairly slow by NHL standards, but is able to dominate along the boards and go about their business in a thoroughly methodical fashion. Goalkeeper Jonathon Quick will need to elevate his game, which has tailed off dramatically of late, if the Kings are to win this series. Goaltending and shutting down the Sedins are, by and far, the two biggest concerns for the Kings in this series.
Prediction: A couple of Vancouver blowouts, some hard fought Kings victories, and a slew of emotional swings for both sides. The Kings don't match up with the speed of the Canucks, but they have plenty of toughness and a high aptitude for winning 50/50 battles. I'm hoping for an exciting series.
Outcome: Vancouver in seven.
(4) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
Phoenix, welcome to the playoffs and come on down! In return for your magical season and fourth place finish in the Western Conference you get...the Wings...finalists in the last two Stanley Cups...2008 Champs...13-1-2 in their last fifteen games...and finally healthy. But, don't for a second think that Dave Tippett's squad will be frightened. Employing a heavily defensive system anchored by soon-to-be Vezina Trophy candidate Ilya Bryzgalov, the 'Yotes have blown the minds of the hockey world by putting together a solid and consistent season. Their defensive group is extraordinarily underrated, while their offense has been able to muster up enough offense to win games. If Phoenix plays the way they have all season, there's no reason to think they can't compete long and hard with the two-time defending Western Conference Champs. For Detroit, the message is simple - stay the course. The Coyotes can be stifling and frustrating defensively, and the Wings will need to hang tough in a series that they are sure to face some hardnosed play, both in the neutral and offensive zones. I'm expecting a very big series from Pavel Datsyuk, who was hampered by injury for nearly the entirety of last spring's playoffs.
Prediction: Simply put, the 'Yotes hang tough, but the Wings are more talented, more experienced, and have been on an absolute tear.
Outcome: Detroit in six.
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