It's that time of the year again. Yes, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have rolled back into town, and we've got all hands on deck to tell you what to expect over the next two months as the NHL determines its champion for 2008. Today, we'll look at both conferences in separate roundtable discussions, starting here with the West. We kicked off our series previews last night -- click here for all of the rest -- and we'll have the balance complete before the puck drops on the first playoff game at 7:00 p.m. U.S. EDT. Enjoy.
Eric McErlain: Just like last season, I get the distinct suspicion the top of the Western Conference is a bit stronger than the East, with three teams -- Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim -- the leading contenders to both represent the conference and to win it all.
In the next tier, I've got what I like to call the pretenders, the teams just happy to have punched a ticket to the postseason: Nashville (overmatched), Calgary (too inconsistent) and especially Dallas (not physical enough). Sure, they piled up the penalty minutes in their season finale against San Jose, but I just don't think they have the bodies to compete.
Then I've got the dark horses, in this case James' pick to win it all from a year ago, Minnesota along with Colorado. The Wild seem to have the goalie and the system set to go deep, but their offense has a tendency to disappear at exactly the wrong moment. As for the Avs, Theodore has shown flashes that indicate that he's back, and could possibly steal a series or two.
So what's everyone thinking these days?
Earl Sleek: I think your breakdown of teams is fine, Eric, but I still think the gap between these tiers is pretty small. In a seven-game series, I think any of these teams is capable of beating out their opposition.
What may prove the major differentiator is composure; how well will teams respond to falling behind in a series, or if they're ahead, how quickly can they close the series out? This is true for all four western series, but I think I'm paying particular attention to how the SJS-CGY series starts. The Sharks are a team that could completely steamroll the Flames, given the run that they've been on, but if the Flames steal an early game or two, do the Sharks have the character to turn the series around? Fairly or unfairly, the Sharks have a reputation of falling apart in the postseason, and it will be interesting to see how they respond to adversity, if it even emerges.
Like I said, this probably applies to all four western series; all four lower seeds are pretty darn good teams at times. It's probably fair to assign a series edge to the teams with home ice advantage, but I wouldn't be particularly surprised by any upset. It may prove that whoever survives the first round with the fewest complications has an advantage to win the west, though even then I'm sure I'll talk my way out of strongly predicting any series this playoff year.
James Mirtle: I, too, give Calgary a lot more credit than to call them a pretender. The Flames have a ton of grit and some terrific "top-end" pieces like Iginla and Phaneuf that will make them a real threat in this series.
The Sharks offence is incredibly dependant on one player, someone who has a history of subpar playoff performances, and Thornton's going to be ridden in to the ground by Calgary's checkers.
I think that'll be a great series, one that goes deep. Dallas and Nashville are probably in trouble.
Eric McErlain: I could see where you could think I'm not giving Calgary enough credit. I looked back at last year's post, and I will stick to one thing I said about them a year ago: From top to bottom, they're just as or even more talented than the team that went to the Finals in 2004.
As for the Sharks, they indeed have some questions to answer, with that 2006 series against Edmonton weighing most heavily in my mind. All they needed was one more goal in OT, and they might have won it all that season against Carolina. Then again, they just seem so much deeper than in the past, especially with Brian Campbell on the blue line now. Last season we actually had people writing that Craig Rivet was the solution to what ailed San Jose. While I like Rivet and think he's a solid professional, I think that was overstating the case.
My only bother with Calgary is that they've been so inconsistent this season. We've seen plenty of teams turn it on in time for the playoffs in the past, I'm just having trouble finding a reason to believe that Calgary will suddenly emerge that way right now.
With these thoughts in mind, which of the top four might be the most vulnerable?
James Mirtle: Probably Minnesota, if only because Colorado added a ton of reinforcements at the trade deadline. That series is really a coin flip, but the Avalanche get bonus points because of the way Peter Forsberg has played lately (take a look at his recent stat lines) and the fact they dealt for Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei on the blueline.
That's quite an upgrade.
My only real question with Colorado is what they get out of Jose Theodore, who has redefined inconsistent this season.
Greg Wyshynski: Obviously with the albatross of the President's Trophy and the fact that they're overwhelming favorites to beat the Predators, the recipe is right for Dan Ellis to post three shut outs and the Red Wings to go out in one. But that's not going to happen.
I'd have to second Minnesota as being in danger. Colorado's great when its healthy, and it'll be interesting to see if some of these veterans have a second gear in the postseason. Minnesota will try and pound the Avs into oblivion, and should have no fear in doing so because the Wild have the fourth-best kill against the third-worst power play in hockey.
That said, Avs in seven -- two days off before Game 7 will mean the world for Forsberg.
Bruce Ciskie: My initial thought is Minnesota. However, they played quite well down the stretch, and they're a good defensive team that will benefit from the fact they're facing the shakiest goaltender this side of Marty Turco. Theodore is the key to that series. You know Colorado won't score much, but if Theodore is better than expected, they're going to be in every game.
San Jose isn't deep offensively, but they have a world-class goaltender in Nabokov. He's better than Kiprusoff, and he has a better supporting cast than Calgary provides.
Anaheim isn't losing to Dallas, as much as I'd love to see it happen. Same for Detroit against Nashville. Sure, Dan Ellis could get hot and steal a game or two, but that's where it's likely to end.
James Mirtle: The Wild actually surprised me this season in that they haven't been as airtight as in the past (I know, I had Backstrom in my pools). They allowed the second-most goals in franchise history, and finished in eighth in goals against.
That sounds pretty good, but keep in mind they were first last season.
They rely on a lot of young players to produce, so it's a bit of youth v. experience in this series.
Jes Golbez: It's time to stop giving Kiprusoff so much credit until he proves that he deserves it.
Let's face it, he's been rather terrible this season, and part of the reason why the Flames haven't been as good as 'they should be'. For the past two seasons, Kiprusoff has not been within the top tier of goaltenders like he was back during the Flames run to the finals. I wouldn't want to have to count on this guy.
Calgary's special teams are also well in the bottom half, which is not a surprise given that Keenan is their head coach.
Minnesota appears to be a team that is not all that and a bag of chips, but they had the league's 4th best PK and their Power Play was also pretty good. Never count out a Lemaire-coached team once the playoffs start. Their defensive corps seem rather weak compared to their conference rivals, and that will be their biggest downfall.
Nashville is going to get blown out pretty quick. Yeah, I'm not super high on Detroit, but Nashville is not likely going to be the team that beats them. Wait until the Wings go up against the physical beasts from San Jose or Anaheim
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