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By YanksWS96, Section NHL
by Matt Wells We've been through 82 regular season games. 16 teams will be playing hockey this postseason. Only the best of the best will survive. We've gone through a season that featured the retirement of Mario Lemeiux and the fantastic seasons of rookies Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Now, it's time for postseason hockey. Let the games begin!
EASTERN CONFERENCE (1) Ottawa Senators vs (8) Tampa Bay Lightning The Senators won all 4 games during the regular season against the Lightning, scoring 4 goals in each game. The Senators, the East's top seed, are one team that nobody wants to face, even though they are without goalie Dominik Hasek. The return of big man Zdeno Chara to the lineup makes the Senators stronger on defense. The Senators hit a few snags towards the end of the season, but expect them to turn it up in the playoffs. The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup Champs from two years ago. However, they barely snuck in to the final spot, outlasting both the Atlanta Thrashers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis still grace the team with their offensive talents; however, goalie John Grahame will have to be at the very top of his game in order for the Lightning to have a fighting chance. Prediction: Senators in 5. The offense in Ottawa is just too overwhelming for any NHL team, let alone an 8 seed. Grahame has struggled in net of late, and don't take the name of Ray Emery (Ottawa goaltender) lightly. Emery has filled Hasek's shoes beautifully. Carolina Hurricanes (2) vs Montreal Canadiens (7) The Hurricanes were one of the surprise teams in the NHL this year. They held the top spot in the conference for most of the season; however, they lost it on the last day. The 'Canes swept the season series from Montreal, scoring 25 goals in the 4 games. However, the Hurricanes have slumped of late, losing 4 of their last 5 games. Goalie Martin Gerber is going to have to erase his recent slump if the Hurricanes hope to win. The Canadiens, meanwhile, have been one of the hotter teams in the league. Two weeks ago, the Canadiens were riding an 8-game winning streak. They have, however, lost 4 of their last 6 games - 2 of those losses occurred against the New Jersey Devils and 2 occurred against the Buffalo Sabres. Both of those teams are playoff bound. Prediction: Hurricanes in 6. I think Carolina's Eric Staal will be the X-factor in this series. Staal tallied 100 points during the regular season, and the Canadiens may have trouble shutting him down. Who the Canadiens put in goal may determine how competitive they are - Cristobal Huet (18-11, 2.20 GAA) and David Aebischer (29-17, 3.09 GAA) have both had good seasons, with Huet recording 7 shutouts this season. (3) New Jersey Devils vs (6) New York Rangers The Devils finished the regular season winning 11 games in a row. No team wants to face goalie Martin Brodeur in the postseason, and the Devils are riding the offense of Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Patrik Elias. The Devils are by far the hottest team in the league, meaning that the Rangers could be in serious trouble. The Rangers have nearly done the complete opposite of what the Devils have done, losing their last 5 games. They once had an 18 point lead over the Devils in the division; instead, they ended up losing the division on the final day. Jaromir Jagr was shut down towards the end of the season, losing the scoring title to Joe Thorton and the goal scoring title to Jonathon Cheechoo, both of the San Jose Sharks. Prediction: Devils in 5. The Devils have just been too good recently, and I don't expect them to suddenly stop winning. The Rangers will have a rookie goaltender in net in Hendrik Lundqvist, and it will be interesting to see how the rookie responds to the playoff pressure. Expect Martin Brodeur to be at the top of his game, and the Rangers to have a tough time getting the puck in the back of the net, even if they do have Jagr. The Devils have never beaten the Rangers in a playoff series...I expect that to change this time around. (4) Buffalo Sabres vs (5) Philadelphia Flyers Alongside the Hurricanes, the Sabres were one of the pleasant surprises this season. The Sabres have the luxury of having two good goaltenders - Ryan Miller and Martin Biron - ready to play when called upon. Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, and J.P. Dumont have enjoyed very good offensive seasons; we'll see if they can continue that in the postseason. The Flyers, despite not winning the division, were very impressive this year, given the number of injuries the team sustained. They have not named a starting goaltender for the postseason; however, either Antero Nittymaki or Robert Esche are formidable choices. Peter Forsberg is returning from the injured list, and the Flyers alternated between wins and losses (5-5) during their last 10 games this season. Prediction: Sabres in 6. The question mark will be Sabre goalie Ryan Miller, another rookie netminder. If he crumbles under the pressure and if he plays like he did during the Sabres slump in March, the Sabres may be in trouble. However, the Sabres are one of the fastest teams in the league and we will see how the Flyers stay-at-home type of defense matches up against the speed. The Sabres took the season series 3 games to 1. WESTERN CONFERENCE (1) Detroit Red Wings vs (8) Edmonton Oilers The Red Wings are the President's Trophy winners, accumulating a league-high 124 points. Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Tomas Holmstrom (among other Swedes on the team), are hoping to add more hardware to the gold medals they earned for Team Sweden in the Winter Olympics. The Wings won 8 of their last 9 games during the regular season, losing only on the last day. In addition, Detroit recorded at least one point in 20 straight games over the past month (14-0-6). The Oilers nabbed the 8th spot in the West by outlasting the playoff-absent Vancouver Canucks. Much like the Buffalo Sabres, the Oilers don't have any players that are near the top of the league in scoring. However, Ryan Smyth (66 points) and ex-Bruin Sergei Samsanov (53 points) have the potential to put the puck in the back of the net. Goaltending could be an issue, for the best record of any goalie on the team is a mere 3 games over .500 (Jussi Markkanen - 15-12, 3.13 GAA). Prediction: Red Wings in 4. The Wings are just too strong for the low-seeded Oilers and the lack of starpower in Edmonton, both on offense and in net, will mean an early exit for the Oilers. The season series was tied at 2 (both Oiler wins came in overtime), but I think the Wings' star power will overwhelm Edmonton. One side note: Wings goalie Manny Legace lost 8 games this year. That's right...just 8. (2) Dallas Stars vs (7) Colorado Avalanche The Stars accumulated 112 points this season en route to yet another Pacific Division crown. Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow, and Jason Arnott carried the Stars offense this season, with youngster Jussi Jokinen coming up huge in shootout situations. Goalie Marty Turco was 41-19, while his backup, Johan Hedberg, was 12-4. This gives the Stars much-needed depth at the goaltender position. The Stars lost 6 of their last 10 games. The Avalanche, like the Stars, are deep on offense. Joe Sakic still leads the way. Alex Tanguay had another solid season, compiling 78 points, while Milan Hejduk and Andrew Brunette put up solid numbers as well. Goalie Jose Theodore, acquired in the middle of the season from Montreal, is likely to get the starting nod to be in net. The Avs, however, lost 5 of their last 7 games. Prediction: Stars in 7. This series will be close, especially if Theodore can return to the player he was in 2001 in Montreal, when he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP and the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender. That is a BIG if, however. The Avalanche, like I said, are deep offensively; however, Marty Turco should continue the success he enjoyed during the regular season. This should be one exciting series. I will say this: a struggling Theodore will seriously damage the hopes of an Avalanche win in this series. (3) Calgary Flames vs (6) Anaheim Mighty Ducks The defending Conference Champion Flames enjoyed a great season, led by goaltender Mika Kiprusoff. Kiprusoff was 42-20 with a 2.07 GAA: the wins total placed him second behind Martin Brodeur and the GAA was the best in the NHL. Kiprusoff also recorded 10 shutouts. Jarome Iginla still leads the way for the Flames offense, though he recorded just 67 points this season. The Mighty Ducks were led by the offense of Teemu Selanne this year, with Andy McDonald filling the supporting role nicely with 85 points. Goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere was 30-15 in net, and the Ducks defense was significantly better than it has been in the past. Scott Niedermayer, who came over from the Devils, was solid defensively and tallied 50 assists. The Ducks hope Giguere will put up the postseason numbers he did in the 2003 playoffs, when he put up 5 shutouts. Prediction: Flames in 6. The player the Ducks have to worry about in this series is not Jarome Iginla, it's Mika Kiprusoff. If Kiprusoff can mirror the performance he had in the playoffs the previous season, the Flames may be able to ride him far into the postseason. The Flames will have to shut down the likes of Teemu Selanne; if they do this, they should win the series. (4) Nashville Predators vs (5) San Jose Sharks Many thought the Predators would be finished when they learned that starting goalie Tomas Vokoun would be lost for the entire season, playoffs and all. Instead, backup Chris Mason won 6 straight starts to close out the regular season. Paul Kariya's is the guy the Sharks will have to focus on; he finished the year with 85 points, including 31 goals. The Sharks seemed to be left for dead in November. Then something happened: they acquired Joe Thornton from Boston. Can you say "brilliant'? Thornton ended up leading the league in points, while linemate Jonathon Cheechoo led the league in goals. These two led the Sharks resurgence into the playoff picture. Evegeni Nabokov has appeared to lose his starting job, for backup Tesa Voskala was able to finish the year with a 23-7 record, much better than Nabokov's record of 16-19. The Sharks won 8 games in a row, before losing their season finale. Prediction: Sharks in 5. The line of Cheechoo and Thornton is the top line in the NHL right now, and the playoffs should bring out the best in both players. Nashville has enjoyed a terrific season; however, Mason will have to be at his best to stop the dynamic duo. Here's a side note: After the Sharks acquired Thornton, they went 36-15-7. He made that big of a difference. ------------------------------------- Those are the NHL first-round matchups in a nutshell. I know I haven't picked many upsets, but these are my feelings on how the first round will turn out.
Offensive Player to Watch: Joe Thornton
Who has the best chance of running the table in the East, you ask? My pick is the Devils. I'll take the Sharks in the West, since Thornton and Cheechoo can't be shut down...at least, not for now...
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