As fans and players alike shed a tear or two in Carolina and Dallas, there are sixteen NHL teams who have fulfilled the first part of their quest and reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The regular season came to an end on Sunday in a rather anticlimactic fashion with both number 8 seeds seemingly backing into the playoffs with losses by Carolina and Dallas. However, those losses have created some intriguing matchups and hockey fans across North America are going to get what they have been craving since Patrick Kane slid an overtime goal by Michael Leighton, some playoff hockey. The good ol' hockey game officially begins its real season on Wednesday as the pursuit of Lord Stanley's mug commences. This year we have a plethora of storylines, animosity and great matchups heading into the first round, so let's take a look at each matchup beginning with the Western Conference and see who has the edge.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 Vancouver Canucks VS 8 Chicago Blackhawks (Winner - Vancouver Canucks)
Oh boy! It seems the Dallas Stars evaluated their situation and determined that their own happiness was far less important than the overall happiness of hockey fans in general. Whether you are a Canuck fan, Blackhawk fan, or just a hockey lover in general, you wanted to see this matchup for the third time in as many years. The President Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks' journey to Lord Stanley will once again have to go through Chicago, a happenstance that is becoming more commonplace as the years go by. However, this particular matchup is unlike the last two in which the Blackhawks sent the Canucks to the golf course earlier then planned. This year the Canucks come in locked and loaded as the undisputed best team in hockey and with a chip on their shoulder.
The Canucks finished the regular season as the NHL's only 50 win team, had 117 points (10 more than Washington), have the best power play and second best penalty kill in the NHL, and lead the league in goals for and against. Wow! Compare that with a Blackhawk team that really doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs if it were not for an inspired Minnesota Wild effort on Sunday evening against the Stars. The Blackhawks roll out the 25th ranked penalty kill and a rookie net minder in his first playoff run (and yes I realize Antti Niemi was in the same boat last year, but this isn't last year), which shouldn't be able to compete with Vancouver's special teams. Furthermore, the Hawks of today are not the Hawks of last year as the losses of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, John Madden, Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager have proven borderline debilitating at times for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blackhawks should give an inspired effort and it may take the Canucks 6 or even 7 games, but in the immortal words of Ace Ventura the Canucks will most definitely 'exorciiiiiiiiiiise the demons'!
2 San Jose Sharks VS 7 Los Angeles Kings (Winner - San Jose Sharks)
Alright, I think this matchup may be the most lopsided one in the entire first round so I am going to keep it fairly brief. The Los Angeles Kings come in as the lowest scoring Western Conference playoff team (tied with Nashville) and are without their leading scorer as Anze Kopitar has been lost for the season due to torn ligaments in his right ankle. They also could be without their second leading scorer in Justin Williams as he remains questionable, but regardless he shouldn't be 100%. Sharks goalie and recent Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi closed the season with a 9-1-1 mark and looks primed for another deep playoff run, this time in a Sharks uniform. The Sharks also boast 7 different players who have reached or surpassed the 50 point marks this season which doesn't bode well for the offensively challenged Kings. The numbers don't lie, this one shouldn't be much of a series and I wouldn't be shocked if it was a sweep, but I will give the Kings some credit and call the series in 5 games to San Jose.
3 Detroit Red Wings VS 6 Phoenix Coyotes (Winner - Phoenix Coyotes)
Going from what is likely to be the most lopsided first round matchup to what could end up being the best first round matchup as the Red Wings and Coyotes meet for a second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs. The Coyotes took the Wings to the brink last year but fell in 7 games to the mighty Red Wings leaving a sour taste that Phoenix would love to avenge. During this years regular season the two teams split four games with 3 of those 4 going into overtime, so you know this series is going to be gruelling. The x-factor could be the health of Wings superstar Henrik Zetterberg as the sniping Swede will not be available when the playoffs begin and their is no timetable as of yet for his return. What this ultimately does is allow the Coyotes to focus more of their efforts into shutting down the Wings other superstar, Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk and company will have to have significant production especially on the Wings 5th ranked power play, as the Coyotes have been subpar all year on special teams.
The Coyotes, meanwhile, come into this series with what can affectionately be known as the poor man's superstar. Shane Doan, the Coyotes captain and only 20 goal scorer, leads a very well balanced offensive attack in Phoenix. The Coyotes have 11 players that have scored in double digits, despite Doan being the only 20 goal scorer, which means they come at you in waves. This balance is hard to defend and should cause problems for a Red Wing team that has given up the most goals against of any playoff team. The goaltending battle should also go to the Coyotes as Ilya Bryzgalov put together another fantastic season and gives his team a chance to win every night. This series should go 7 no matter who wins and I know it is tough to ever bet against the Red Wings come playoff time, but I like the Coyotes to avenge last years heartbreaking loss and advance to the second round.
4 Anaheim Ducks VS 5 Nashville Predators (Winner - Nashville Predators)
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack! The Ducks are back in the playoffs after a one year absence and their bringing with them some hardware. Corey Perry sewed up his first Rocket Richard trophy with a hat trick last Wednesday, edging out last year's winner Steven Stamkos, and became the only player to reach the 50 goal plateau this season. Perry has been unconscious in the last month scoring 19 goals in the final 16 games of the season to send the Ducks bursting into 4th place in the conference and taking home ice advantage in the first round. Alongside possible Norris trophy winner (my predicted winner) Lubomir Visnovsky, the Ducks have the 3rd best power play in the NHL. However, the achilles heel of this Duck team has to be between the pipes where Jonas Hiller is still out with vertigo and Ray Emery has a lower body injury, so Dan Ellis may end up starting the series against Nashville. If the Ducks don't get solid play in net they'll be working on their putting by next week.
Nashville, on the other hand, has no problems in net. Pekka Rinne should get a nomination for the Vezina and has stymied opponents all year long posting a 2.12 GAA and .930 save %. The Preds need every bit of what Rinne gives them as they, along with the Kings, are the lowest scoring playoff teams in the west. The great concern for the Predators is always offensive production as Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn tied for most points on the team with 50. But Barry Trotz has built a phenomenal worker bee system where each player works in unison to suffocate opponents. The Predators seem to have become an annual playoff team but still haven't been able to win that elusive first round. Well here is too Nashville in 2011, your dreams of a 2nd round birth should come to fruition.
There is the first round in the Western Conference put into a little package for you now. The powerhouse Canucks should finally hand the Hawks an early exit, the Sharks will cruise past the Kings, the Coyotes edge the Zetterbergless Red Wings and the Predators finally win their first playoff series. I can't wait until Wednesday when the fun begins! Stay tuned for tomorrow's article where I'll take a look at the Eastern Conference matchups.
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