Sportsroids.com’s Western Conference Playoffs Predictions

The Western Conference welcomes newcomers (Columbus), perennial powerhouses (Detroit) and those who haven’t been there in quite a while (Chicago, St. Louis). Those facts make for a very interesting two months so we at sportsroids will try to make it simply for you by previewing the match-ups.

1. San Jose Sharks VS 8. Anaheim Ducks
The first all California NHL playoff match-up since the 1960s puts the old dogs against the new kids on the block… in a way. San Jose has had some very good teams in recent years and have experienced a fair amount of playoff success by getting their consistently and winning their fair share of games. Despite the wins racked up since their inception into the league in the early 1990s, the Sharks have yet to reach the hockey summit. Expectations are now higher for them than ever before after a disappointing year last season leading to the firing of Ron Wilson in favor of Todd McClellan who brought the Sharks their first ever President’s Trophy. The Sharks are a relatively young team but the fans are tired of second round exits and are very much expecting a strong run at the Stanley Cup from the Sharks. On the flip side are the Anaheim Ducks who have been in the league less time than San Jose but already have two Cup finals trips to show for along with a Stanley Cup Championship two short years ago. In that regard the Ducks are the old dogs because they have “been there, done that” where San Jose has not. Bottom line is, the series will come down to experience versus youth; although I think Anaheim is a very dangerous team (despite their 8^th seed) who can cause a lot of damage if they get out of the first round. However, I think the Sharks time is now, their coach, city, and players are all read to take that next step and it starts with a six game series win over the in-state rival Ducks.

2. Detroit Red Wings VS 7. Columbus Blue Jackets
Much like the Sharks-Ducks series the Red Wings have been there done that and Columbus hasn’t… ever. This is the first playoff go around for the city of Columbus and the Blue Jackets franchise. There will be a lot of energy in the Nationwide Arena game four as the Blue Jackets host their first playoff game. Despite all the energy the Blue Jackets will have going into Detroit the Red Wings will have too much fire power for the Blue Jackets to succeed. Goaltending has been dicey all season for Detroit but as Chris Osgood has shown before when it counts he is top-notch. Blue Jacket stars Rick Nash, R.J. Umberger, Kristian Huselius, and rookie phenom Steve Mason will give Columbus a punchers chance in this series but will come up short. Cronwall, Zetterberg, Lindstrom, Franzen, etc. will be way too much for upstart Columbus… Detroit in five.

3. Vancouver Canucks VS 6. St. Louis Blues
Both teams have been hot as of late as St. Louis came from being down and out all the way up to the sixth seed; while Vancouver was 12 points down to Calgary only to surge back to snatch the division title from the Flames. When two hot teams meet on a playoff collision course there are usually a lot of fireworks and should make for a very entertaining series. The Blues have a lot of talent on their team in guys like Brad Boyes, David Backes, David Parron, rookie sensation T.J. Oshie and goaltender extraordinaire Chris Mason. They fought hard to reach this point and have a city that hasn’t seen the playoffs in quite some time pretty charged up. St. Lous will undoubtedly put up a great fight and may very well pull off the upset. However, the Sedin twins, Alex Burrows, Mats Sundin, and Roberto Luongo (the X-factor and probably the most important piece to Vancouver’s puzzle) will push forward in the playoffs and dispose of the Blues in five.

4. Chicago VS 5. Calgary
The Blackhawks are finally back to the playoffs and the city is on fire, burning with passion for their hockey team. Martin Havlat, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp along with solid goaltending from Nikolai Khabibulin earned Chicago home-ice in the first round and some very excited fans. Many think Chicago can be very good for a long time but this year may be just a bit too early for the Blackhawks. They are up against a very tough first round opponent who are under a lot of pressure to finally perform in the playoffs after underachieving since their Cup Finals appearance in 2004. The Flames have assembled a lot of stars—Jarome Iginla, Mike Cammalleri, Dion Phaneuf, and Olli Jokinen to name a few—but the most important player on the ice will be Mikka Kiprusoff. The highly touted netminder has been nothing short of spectacular for Calgary over the years but has played a lot of games over the years (including this season) and has faced a ton of shots. Kiprusoff can hold up but will need help from the team in front of him to take some of the pressure off and limit the shots the Blackhawks get on net. 25-30 shots per game are ok but once you get higher than 30 consistently Kiprusoff is only human and will break down. Limiting shots on goal for Calgary is of the utmost importance if they want to finally have the success many think they can achieve. Although they blew their division lead down the stretch I think the Flames have the right pieces assembled to go deep into the playoffs…starting with a six game series victory over Chicago.

Blue Jackets Success Good for Hockey in the USA?

The Columbus Blue Jackets have registered a point in eight straight games and have won seven of those contests including a four game winning streak. This recent streak, backed by the stellar play of netminder Steve Mason, puts the Blue Jackets in prime position to make the playoffs for the first time in the team’s brief history. Helping Mason lead the Jackets success this season is mister Blue Jacket himself Rick Nash who has been a very bright spot on a team which has had very limited success—that is, until now. Offseason acquisitions Kristian Huselius (Calgary) and R.J Umberger (Philadelphia) have helped make the Jackets a viable contender this year and possibly for years to come. With a core group of relatively young players Columbus will be making plenty of noise on the ice for many years to come.

The success of the Blue Jackets thus far this year is only half the story because what we’re seeing is a potential hockey hotbed in its infancy. Until this year the only hockey presence in Ohio that has had any sustainable success has been via the Ohio State University. Although success at the University level is great the potential for Ohio to blossom in terms of hockey almost certainly requires the success of a major professional team. The significance of the Jackets being in Columbus is that they are the highest level of professional sport in the city which means there is no competition for fan fair from the popularity giant that is the NFL. Success for the Blue Jackets can make them the darlings of the city and would be the first of its kind in the U.S. since other cities tend to have other pro teams in one of the other three major sports. With that in mind, the on ice play of Rick Nash and company is not significant only to the potential of the Blue Jackets and the city of Columbus, but it could also be a major victory for the popularity of the sport of hockey in the U.S. So American hockey fans, if your team happens to fall out of contention throw a cheer the way of the Blue Jackets, their success might help you out more than you realize.

Western Conference Race Heating Up

The second half is now upon us and the playoff races on both sides are heating up. The next two articles will preview the next 2 months telling you who’s in and who’s out. The West today, next time the East will be the focus.

In the West the top four are more or less in place with San Jose leading everyone by no less than 8 points steam rolling toward the playoffs and possibly the President’s Trophy. But as you look down toward the fifth seed it gets very interesting. The Anaheim Ducks are in sole possession of 5^th place with 55 points but are only ahead of sixth by two points where there are FIVE teams tied with 53 points with only three playoff spots to earn. Should it come to the point where a tie-breaker is needed to determine who survives this gridlock I’ll have it for you right here, but until then who needs the headache? So who is going to come out of this mess to participate in the second season? Under the assumption that San Jose, Detroit, Calgary, and Chicago will all make it (in what particular order it matters not, they’ll be the top 4 seeds) we’ll consider the lower half. Five through eight as of this moment (in order) look like this: 5. Anaheim, 6. Edmonton, 7. Dallas, 8. Minnesota. Columbus and Phoenix also have 53 points with Vancouver just behind with 52. To conclude this article is a brief write up on all seven teams remaining in the race and why they will or will not make the playoffs. But regardless of who gets in if you’re a fan of hockey then the next 2 and a half months are going to be incredible.

IN – Anaheim, Minnesota, Phoenix, Columbus

Out- Edmonton, Dallas, Vancouver

IN:

Anaheim – Despite a slow start, losing their general manager, and the aging almost before our eyes of every star on the team the one thing the Ducks did not lose was their hockey IQ. A team full of older guys who aren’t as talented as they once were and are not as physical as their Cup team from two years ago but they are all smarter than the next guy. So while teams are busy skating circles around the old guys dominating almost every moment of the game, come period three the “old guys” are still hanging around and next thing you know the Ducks are celebrating a win.

Minnesota – Defense, defense, defense, and more defense. Did I mention Minnesota plays great defense? When push comes to shove, that pesky neutral zone trap always prevails.

Phoenix – Gretzky has these guys playing like world beaters. And on the backs of Shane Doan the Coyotes can and will shock a lot of teams. Not only will they get in but if the match-up (I mean you Calgary) is right they’ll make some serious noise in April.

Columbus. Yes Rick Nash is awesome, and RJ Umberger provides a dynamic the Blue Jackets have lacked since their existence. But the key to their success is Steve Mason, his 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage says it all. One and done? Yes, but this team will be good for many years to come.

OUT:

Edmonton – will somebody please score a goal? If you can’t score you can’t win, it’s not rocket science.

Dallas – Marty Turco has been doing it by himself for too long and now it’s finally wearing him down. When you have a GAA of 2.98 and a save percentage of .888 you’re getting NO help.

Vancouver –Luongo is fantastic but Mats Sundin is not the answer to your offensive problems and never will be. The Sedin twins just AREN’T THAT GOOD! Time to scrap this team and start over; what a waste of money.