Winding Down The Season...

The stats are in, the playoff teams decided, and the fans excited (or in my case, dejected). So yes, it's time for a team-by-team analysis. Have no fear, however, the next one won't be until the first round has elapsed and there will be only half the teams from this one. So let's jump right into it here...

HOW THE PLAYOFF ARRANGEMENT WILL LIKELY LOOK

East:

1. Buffalo
2. New Jersey
3. Atlanta
4. Pittsburgh
5. Ottawa
6. Tampa Bay
7. NY Rangers
8. Montreal

The Matchups:

1. BUFFALO vs MONTREAL: Buffalo in 5. The Sabres have the Jack Adams Trophy winning coach, as well as a lot of speed, offense from the blueline, solid goaltending, and depth through the lineup. Halak will play a solid series, but the Canadiens will not be able to stifle Buffalo's 30+ goal scorers (Briere, Pominville, Drury, Vanek). Huet will play the second half of the round to relieve Halak after 2-3 games.
2. NEW JERSEY vs NY RANGERS: NY in 7. We could have an upset in the making, here. Henrik Lundqvist has more than proven his abilities as a goalie that can play through a regular season (67 GP, 2.37 GAA, 0.916 SV%, 5 SO) and is used to situations that push him to the wall after his dazzling performance in the Olympics last season. Jagr will respond well to his return to the post-season, and decimate the New Jersey defense. The Devils have relied on excellent defense, as they always do, and will not be able to foil Lundqvist often enough to proceed to round two.
3. ATLANTA vs TAMPA BAY: Tampa in 6. It is simply a matter of a team making its first playoff appearance against the squad that won Lord Stanley's cup in 2004. Most of the cornerstones of that cup-winning team are still there (Richards, Lecavalier, St. Louis, Prospal, Boyle). Atlanta will make a valiant effort, but still come up short. Kari Lehtonen is going to be facing two snipers with goal totals in the top five and over 100 points each (Lecavalier 51G, 106P, St. Louis 43G, 101P). Tampa lacks goaltending stability, but will decimate the Atlanta offense. It's going to be a high-scoring round with no shutouts.
4. PITTSBURGH vs OTTAWA: Ottawa in 6. The Senators would have first place nailed if it weren't for Lindy Ruff and his Sabres. Crosby, Staal, and Malkin will have Laraque to watch their backs, but Wade Redden is going to lay one of the trio out, and prepare for a line brawl, followed closely be deteriorating Penguin performance. Ottawa is too strong and deep to lose to the Penguins, whose talent is either Rookie or 1-2 Years Vets. Marc-Andre Fleury will have difficulty adjusting to the pace of the Playoff game, and will need his defense to save him repeatedly, while Heatley and Spezza will catch fire and decimate him.

West:

1. Nashville
2. Anaheim
3. Vancouver
4. Detroit
5. San Jose
6. Dallas
7. Minnesota
8. Calgary

The Matchups:

1. NASHVILLE vs CALGARY: Nashville in 4. The Flames will be shelacked by the quick, high-octane offensive of the Preds. Nashville's blueline offense is arguably the best in the league, and Timmonen, who faces a contract year, will step it up to boost the offers he will undoubtedly get over the summer. Kiprusoff has not been the same goaltender that mesmerized everyone last season, and Iginla has displayed less than satisfactory offense all season long. Brad Stuart hasn't been the dynamic Offensive Defensemen that he was supposed to be when he was brought to Cowtown just previous to the trade deadline.
2. ANAHEIM vs MINNESOTA: Anaheim in 6. The ducks have put together possibly the most complete team of the season, with fiery young guns (Getzlaf, Penner, MacDonald, etc), dynamic vet Teemu Selanne, and two of the league's most elite blueliners (Pronger and Niedermayer). The ducks went too far last year to not make it even further in this off-season. The Wild own nearly no playoff experience, and Niklas Backstrom is likely to fold under the mounting pressure. Solid coaching will allow the Wild a couple of wins, but not enough to hunt the Ducks. Anaheim boasts the highest scoring defensive core in the league, which has been something of a problem for Minnesota.
3. VANCOUVER vs DALLAS: Vancouver in 7. This is basically a case of a fiery team that has come together this season to impress and astonish all, pitted against a team with a wealth of playoff history, and a handful of cups in the last decade. The Sedins have turned heads so quickly this year that they are sure to have upcoming whiplash lawsuits in the off-season. Roberto Luongo has responded exceptionally to the change of environment from an unsuccessful hockey city to the home of around a million hockey-crazed Cancucks. Kevin Bieksa has come out of nowhere to lead the Canucks defensive core in scoring, and operates well on the powerplay. Dallas isn't young enough to keep up with Vancouver, and cannot squeeze any wins by using Jussi Jokinen in the shootout. Maybe with Modano wearing the "C", but certainly not now.
4. DETROIT vs SAN JOSE: San Jose in 5. UPSET TIME!!! The Wings find themselves with yet another padded regular season record due to the 32 Games played within their own division. The Sharks' Thorton/Cheechoo combo isn't likely to be stifled by the Wings, and Matt Carle will be deadly from the blue line. Again, the Sharks have two starting goaltenders (Toskala and Nabokov), meaning they won't find themselves in the situation that decimated the Cup hopes of the Edmonton Oilers last year. Bertuzzi, picked up at the deadline, will create open ice for Datsyuk and Zetterberg to dangle in, but, if pitted against 6'4" Thornton, will get shut down. Guerin is likely quite happy to be on a cup-contending team, and will be an asset to the offensive depth of the Sharks.

So there you have it. I'll root for the Penguins and the Canucks once I get over the dejection of knowing that my Oilers could get womped by a Jamaican hockey team.

John