It is finally here: the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last of the seeds were set yesterday as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks to give the San Jose Sharks the top spot in the Western Conference, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers to knock them from playoff contention. From before its inception the Stanley Cup was established as the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup", by the order of Lord Stanley of Preston, for Canada's top amateur hockey team. It then evolved into just "The Challenge Cup" in 1893, where the winner of the regular season won the cup. After a controversial three team tie, it was that decided the winner of the Cup would be decided on a playoff. Then in 1926, the National Hockey Association and Pacific Coast Hockey Association reached an agreement where their league champions would face off for the Stanley Cup. Thus in 1947, The Stanley Cup Playoffs were born in the NHL. Now that we’re done with history, let's get to the present, The here and now, and give you my picks for the playoffs. We will go round by round in the Western Conference.
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
Say it with me Shark's fans: "This isn't like last year. This isn't like last year." With the addition of Dany Heatly and the pressure taken off Patrick Marleau, it might not be for the Sharks. The game will depend on the man in the net for San Jose Evgeni Nabokov, also the man with the most pressure. Marleau and Nabokov are both on the last year of their respective contracts. It's a 99% slam dunk that ownership will sign Marleau, who is waiting to score 40 goals a year until he retires in teal. But if The Sharks continue to fail in the post-season, it’s gonna come down on their net-minder’s head. Small Note: Nabokov would have no trouble if San Jose wouldn't go on stretches of time where their defense resembles Swiss cheese. The Avalanche has the tools to repeat last year's playoff disappointment and knock the Sharks out as the eighth seed, but I believe the key is the return of the rookie sensation Matt Duchene. Duchene, drafted third overall by Colorado, went on the Day-to-Day injury list on April 10 with a torso injury. The quick, flashy rookie ranks second on the team in goals (24) and third in assists (31). The Sharks have had trouble containing young, fast players such as Los Angeles Kings’ forward Anze Kopitar. But in the end, the Avalanche is a young team with a goaltender that has no playoff experience.
My pick... The Sharks win the series in five games.
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators
This is a good central division playoff matchup. The Blackhawks are a finely tuned athletic hockey machine. After coming off a strong performance with USA in the Olympics, Patrick Kane returned to his club to lead the team in goals (30) and assists (58). Not to mention six 20+ goal scorers including Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Jonathon Toews (Note: of those six 20+ goal scorers, five of them also have 20+ assists). Chicago also boasts a good blue line defense with highlights Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell. Nashville’s gritty style has not boasted high offensive totals, ranking in the bottom half of the league in goals for. The goal for Nashville will definitely be to slow the game down to a grind and make sure that Chicago’s third and fourth line works to make points. If (this is a huge if) Nashville can keep the Blackhawks down to one or two goals a game, it can be possible to edge out a series that would be called a monumental upset. But the young ‘Hawks are just too good.
My pick…The ‘Hawks win a close series in seven games.
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
My eyes immediately locked on this series when I first saw the final standings releases (that is, after I saw who the Sharks were playing). This series could come down to three players: Vancouver’s Henrik and Daniel Sedin and L.A’s Anze Kopitar. Henrik Sedin led not only his own team, but the entire NHL in points (112), while his brother Daniel was second on the team with 85. An impressive line-up of fast forwards and defensemen highlight the Sedin brother’s including Alex Burrows and Mikael Samuelsson, the team’s top two goal scorers (Burrows-35, Samuelsson-30). The Kings have made their way back into the post-season after a six-season drought (not including the lock-out year) behind Anze Kopitar. He leads the Kings in nearly every offensive statistical category. He can decimate a defense before you have the chance to blink. The Kings also sport an impressive goaltender, Jonathon Quick. The four-year man out of Milford, Connecticut won 39 games this year with an impressive 2.54 GAA (Goals Against Average). The Kings only gave up 219 goals during the regular season, but that wasn’t against this Vancouver squad that is running over opponents. If the Kings are going to stand a chance in this series, Kopitar is going to have to be a stand out star and win the series himself. For the Canucks though, I am going to pick an off-the-wall key to the series player: Andrew Raycroft, the Canucks’ back up goal-tender. If he can pick up a game while Roberto Luongo gets some rest, it will benefit Vancouver tremendously.
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