Read 'em and weep. Or rage. Or laugh. Or question my sanity. Whatever, just keep it clean and remember, if I didn't pick your team to win, don't take it personally, it's just an opinion, and as the great Toe Blake once said, "predictions are for gypsies". I look forward to your responses, but please, if you disagree, keep it clean, and let's just have some fun, ok?
I'll have the Eastern Conference preview and predictions on Tuesday, April 8th.
Detroit Red Wings vs Nashville Predators: Wings won the season series 5-3. Detroit was the top team in the NHL this season, while the Predators barely scraped into the post-season on the last week of this season. The Predators are well coached and possess good goaltending, a solid defensive system and a dangerous first line centered by Jason Arnott, but have yet to win a playoff series and were barely above .500 down the stretch. Red Wings are deeper in talent and experience and have proven capable of adjusting to a more physical post-season style. Questions have arisen of late regarding their aging goaltending tandem of Hasek and Osgood and injuries have dogged them in the second half. This could be a closer series than expected but ultimately Detroit’s depth will see them through. RED WINGS IN SIX.
San Jose Sharks vs Calgary Flames: Flames won the season series 3-1, but down the stretch the Flames were merely a .500 club whilst the Sharks were red-hot, losing only once in regulation in their last 22 games. The Sharks received Vezina-worthy goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov and possess a good defense corps buoyed by recently acquired Brian Campbell. Their offense has significantly improved in the second half, led by Joe Thornton who’ll once again try to answer his critics with a strong post-season. The Flames playoff hopes will once again rest with captain Jarome Iginla, goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff and blueliner Dion Phaneuf. However, Kiprusoff has had an average season, Phaneuf has yet to step it up in the post-season and concerns over their offensive depth should once again hold them back. SHARKS IN SIX.
Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche: Wild won the season series 5-2-1 and clinched the Northwest Division, while the Avs battled through injuries to finish sixth overall. Minnesota is one of the best defensive teams in the league so expect them to aggressively check the Avs and make the most of their offensive opportunities, led by offensive star Marian Gaborik. There is however concern over their lack of depth at center, and if the Avalanche can match their physical play the Wild could find it rough going. The Avs have experienced leadership in Sakic, Forsberg, Smyth, Foote and Hejduk, rising young players like Paul Statsny and solid netminding in Jose Theodore. Still, most of their key players are long in the tooth and it remains to be seen if they have enough in the tank for a long playoff grind. WILD IN SIX.
Anaheim Ducks vs Dallas Stars: Stars won the season series 5-3, but down the stretch these were two teams going in different directions, with the Stars floundering and the Ducks surging. Anaheim is the defending Stanley Cup champion, possess a proven playoff goalie in JS Giguere, the deepest blueline corps in the league and can wear down opponents with their physical play. The Stars enter this series with too many questions. Can Marty Turco win big in the playoffs? Can they recover from the loss of Sergei Zubov to injury? Can Brad Richards find his scoring groove in the post-season? Can they physically match up against a driven Ducks team? DUCKS IN FIVE.
These predictions are horible! They are not even close to what is going to happen, way off. The Wild will win in 5 or 7 games not 6. Otherwise I totally agree with all the other series.
Last edited by WildGophers on April 7th at 4:57 PM.
I disagree with your prediction of Sharks and Flames and I am not a Flame fan. Flames are tough and intimidate the Sharks as shown by the season series. It will be a tough six or seven game series with Flames on top.
Typical predictions that are just for fun, who knows what the playoffs will have in store. I do feel that the Preds, Flames, Stars and Avs have a better chance to win then most people give them credit for. The Avalanche and Wild series could have been either way with the Avs third seed and Wild sixth, so this series will be a close one. Also the Avs have great players and team chemistry that will help them win. The "old" Avalanche players are very well prepared and conditioned so that shouldn't even be of concern (the Wingers are the elderly ones). Avs in 5 or 6 seems possible.
Stars/Ducks - I am a long time Stars fan living in Dallas. I've watched just about every minute this season and for the last 5 seasons. I really hate it...but Spector is dead on here. There is NO WAY this team plays cohesively enough or with enough grit in the offensive zone to even have a chance against the Ducks D corps. The Ducks move the puck way too well for a dump and chase game plan, and they stand up too well at the blue line for a puck possession attack.
In my opinion, this team lost its desperation and its heart when Guy Carboneau retired, and they've never found it since. For the Stars to have any hope here would require a season-ending injury to JSG early in this series. Hope they prove me wrong though...
San Jose/Calgary is my mulligan pick. It's too close to call. Both are anchored by elite netminders, solid defense, and stocked with good offensive players. As said, the season series went to Calgary, but San Jose was awfully hot down the stretch.
General concurrence. Them's bett'n picks.
Interesting side-note, this and the Washington/Ottawa series are the only two series pitting non-divisional opponents against each other.
I can't see the preds lasting that long. - Wings in 5
San Jose and Calgary I'll agree. - Sharks in 6
Wild can't score enough and the Avs have got sooo many weapons at their disposal. - Avs in 6
Everything Dallas can do, Anaheim can do much better. - Ducks in 4
Honestly, every series in the West could go to the underdog. Detroit is limping into the playoffs with an injured roster. San Jose (although I think they have the tools to go all the way) are still San Jose and they need to win some post-season games to make me a believer. Colorado's offense could put the pressure on the Wild. And there are holes in Anaheim's roster if Dallas can capitalize on them.
That said, time to put the money where the mouth is:
Detroit over Nashville in seven, a series that goes the distance due to the injuries suffered by the Red Wings.
San Jose over Calgary in six games, featuring possibly the best hockey available in the first playoff round. (Sorry to go against your boys, OntarioFlamesFan, but when the Sharks go on to win the Cup, and you make the claim the Flames are a great team because they lost to the the eventual winner, I promise to do my best to keep a straight face and be supportive).
Minnesota SHOULD win over Colorado, but the Avs are on a mission and I think Denver will pull the upset in six games. I'm gambling that the Avs firepower can stay healthy long enough to do the job.
And while I'd love to see Anaheim steamrolled in the first round, sadly Dallas is not the team to that task. Unless Turco steals one along the way, this is a four game sweep for the Ducks.
When the dust settles, that'll set up a Detroit-Colorado and San Jose-Anaheim semifinal, leading to a San Jose-Colorado Western Conference Final, and a San Jose berth in the Stanley Cup Final.
For the most part I agree with the picks except I would pick the Avs over the Wild. As a Flames fan I certainly find the prospect of playing the Sharks daunting. We were 3-1 but our last victory was in early Feb before 20 without a regulation loss streak started. To give myself something to hold onto I will make these comments: Kipper had a (below) average season for him, although he has shown flashes of brilliance. I am not as concerned about the "offensive depth". Nolan has played fiercely against his old team. Lombardi is starting to find the net. Boyd, Nystrom and Moss have looked stellar the last week (when they all finally got some ice time). Many people tell me Flames like Tanguay and Huselius will wilt under pressure. Remember Tanguay in 2001? Even last year he got 4 points against the Wings (in 6 games). The Flames problem is NOT offensive depth, it is getting the puck out of our end. Put Campbell on the other side of the ice and you'd turn the tables pretty quickly.
My darkhorse pick is Calgary. SJ peaked too early, and I'm not sure Spector was writing about the correct team here... SJ is the team with "concerns over offensive depth" and Joe Thornton is the one who "has yet to step it up in the post-season". Everybody seems to forget that SJ has done this every for the last four or five years. They finish the regular season strong, get picked by all the talking heads to go all the way, then choke in the second round. This year I think it will be the first round, especally if kippers on his game...
1) This is where those silly OT losses annoy. For instance the Wings 5-3 against the preds. Sounds impressive huh? However, from a Nashville perspective they are 3-3-1. That sounds even. LOL
Good to finally be back on here......been away for a while and I miss the jokes about the flames not winning the cup, but seriously people!!! LOL
I will go out on a limb and say this...I honestly think that the winner of the Flames and San Jose series will win the cup. San Jose has an amazing team and anyone who disagrees is doing so without merit....but Calgary has had their number this year. Every team in the west is a legitamite contender, but each team has a weakness. It all depends on who faces who.
Detroit over Nashville in 6, Calgary over San Jose in 7, Colorado over Minnisota in 6 and Dallas over Anahiem in 7.
The real season has started and both the hated leafs and oilers have the same chances I gave them at the begining of the season!
I'd love some clarification re: Flames lack of offensive depth vis-a-vis San Jose. So you compare Iggy (98 pts) vs. JT (96 pts) - 2 of the best in the game - the ultimate gritty forward / goal scorer vs. the best playmaker in the NHL... ... then you compare speedy Euros Huselius (66 pts) with Michalek (54 pts)... compare good Prairie boys - Langkow (65 pts) vs. Marleau (46 pts (and a dreadful +/-)) ... then Tanguay (58 pts) vs. Pavelski (39 pts)... if we want to keep going Lombardi (36) vs. Cheechoo (37), Conroy (34) vs. Roenick (33), Nolan (32) vs. Grier (22) --- Where's Calgary's lack of offensive depth?
Am I the only one who thinks Turco will actually step up and give the Ducks a series? I still think the Ducks will win, but it will take at least 6 games.
actually I'm OK with most of the predictions here. If there is to be an upset though, I'll pick Colorado over Minnesota because I still Remember Jose Theodore and his first round heroics of '02 and'04 and that triple overtime win against the Devils in '98. Yes all in the past but all in the first round as well, I got a feeling!
Been a long time since we talked. Hope all is well. I agree with some of the predictions, however I think the Avs in 6 and the Flames in 7. I just wish we could enjoy more televised hockey. I hate watching the scoreboard on the computer. The strike killed hockey in America for a while.
If you can afford the Centre Ice package (about $140 a season), you'll get every game the NHL plays from the drop of the regular season puck through the first two rounds of the playoffs (then Versus and NBC take over exclusively).
There's also a Centre Ice option to stream up to four games at once over your computer if you've got a broadband connection.
We are never without hockey in the McCallum household thanks to NHL Centre Ice (except on those rare occasions when DirecTV forgets to pick up the Oilers feed and we have to call Houston... but let's not get into that right now.)
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on April 10th at 7:58 AM.
I'm a huge Wild fan and love to see a Western Final between the Wild and Dallas North Stars. Unfortunately, I don't think either team will make it.
Injuries really have hurt the Wild. Losing Foster and Nick Schultz are huge. It will be difficult for a team that stresses defense to lose its two best defensemen. It means Burns, Johnsson and Skoula will log more minutes than normal. Sean Hill, Keith Carney, and Pteri Nummelin will now see regular shifts after being in and out of the line-up all season.
Mark Parrish got hurt in Game 1 and may be out for a while. Chris Simon will likely get more ice time. All these injuruies will certainly limit the moves that Jacques LeMaire can make.
Ultimately, any Wild play-off success will come down to how badly the players want to win. It is going to be interesting to see.
Detroit/Nashville: Well, Detroit is simply the better team and Nashville has no notable advantages anywhere in this series. I'll take the Wings in 5/6.
San Jose/ Calgary: The best series of the first round in my own opinion. In goal, it looks to be about even - albeit, if Kipper plays to the top of his game then he is better than Nabokov. Defensively, both teams are very good but the Sharks have no one defensively that matches up to Dion. Slight advantage to Calgary. San Jose has better forwards on paper, but while Iggy has proven to be a playoff performer Joey T and the rest of the Sharks have not.
I'll take a slight upset here and take the Flames in 6/7.
Wild/Colorado: Two teams with a lot of question marks. Can Theodore play well in the playoffs? Can Forsberg/Gaborick stay healthy? Do the Wild have enough secondary scoring? I do not see either team making a serious run at the cup but I got Colorado in 7 here.
Ducks/Stars: I agree with almost everything Spector has said on this series. The Ducks are the team to beat this year, not only because they are the defending champs but they are arguably just as good as they were when they won.
Care to revise your picks? I suppose they are still remotely possible at this point, except the ducks in 5.. That one is not even remotely possible... Better yet, It looks like the only one you picked right will be the wings... but you should have said in 4....
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
