Playoff Predicitions: Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks (1st Seed) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8th Seed)
Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks

Offence: Chicago
Defence: Vancouver
Goaltending: Vancouver
Coaching: Chicago
Special Teams: Vancouver

My first big upset is the defending stanley cup chicago blackhawks beating the president trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. Sure, Chicago doesn't have the same depth that they had in the past but I still think they have all the tools to be successful in the post season. If Chicago was rated number one and Vancouver was 8th im sure a lot of panels and fans would be singing a different tune. The fact is, Vancouver had a lot of gimmie points against a weak division and has NOT looked very good at the end of the season. Luongo has a history of chocking when everything is on the line and with the lose to Malholtra I don't see the Canucks having either the scoring depth or a very good penalty kill. Chicago has a VERY good powerplay but still has to work on their penalty kill if they want to be successful. Ironically they had a poor powerplay last year and a strong penalty kill so i'm not too worried about special teams with the hawks.

I also think the Hawks match up well. They have Keith and Seabrook to shutdown the sedins while the canucks will have to heavily rely on guys like Kesler, Samuelsson, and Raymond to put up points. IMO they will have a hard time doing that against a Brian Campbell that has a +28 and Hjalmarsson with a +13 on the season. As far as goaltending goes, Corey Crawford has allowed 2.30 GAA while Luongo has allowed 2.10 GAA. As far as goals for go, Vancouver has scored 262 goals while Chicago scored 258 goals. If the sedins can get shutdown, Chicago should have the edge in this series. I might be crazy for picking an 8th seeded team but its hard not to pick them after they destroyed the canucks in the playoffs last year.



San Jose Sharks (2nd Seed) vs. Los Angeles Kings (7th Seed)
Prediction: San Jose Sharks

Offence: San Jose
Defence: Los Angeles
Goaltending: Los Angeles
Coaching: San Jose
Special Teams: Tie

The Los Angeles Kings are going to have problems scoring goals against the San Jose Sharks. Even with Anze Kopitar the kings finished 21st in the leauge on the powerplay. Still, the kings had the fourth best penalty kill while the Sharks were 24th in that category. The Sharks were second on the powerplay this year and if either team can improve either rank in the post-season they should be able to win the series.

I think the Sharks have the goaltending they did not in the past. Antti Niemi has a .920 save percentage and six shutouts on the year. Dany Heatley could also relaly break out in the playoffs given his 64 points in 80 games this year. Another thing worth noting is that the only players with a negative +/- this year were their team leader in points (Patrick Marleau with -3) and Devin Setoguchi with -2. This is much different then Jack Johnson's -21, Brad Richardson's -13 and Trevor Lewis's -11. The nail in the coffin is that San Jose has SEVEN twenty goal scorers while LA will be icing three.



Detroit Red Wings (3rd Seed) vs. Phoenix Coyotes
Prediction: Detroit Red Wings

Offence: Detroit
Defence: Detroit
Goaltending: Phoenix
Coaching: Phoenix
Special Teams: Detroit

Phoenix has a terrible powerplay and a terrible penalty kill. Factor that in with the team only have one 20 goal scorer (Shane Doan with 20), I don't see where the goals are going to come from when the game is on the line. Sure, someone might step up but Detroit has four twenty goal scorers. Somehow the Yotes have mustured wins against the wings this season but I don't see it continuing in the playoffs.

I think Bryz is a stellar goaltender but im not convinced that he is that much better then Howard. Howard had a .924 save percentage last year and was sitting at .915 save percentage in the playoffs last year as well.



Anaheim Ducks (4th Seed) vs. Nashville Predators
Prediction: Anaheim Ducks

Offence: Anaheim
Defence: Nashville
Goaltending: Nashville
Coaching: Nashville
Special Teams: Anaheim

Once again, Nashville is a team that is going to struggle scoring goals. They have a brutal powerplay and were almost a team that had ZERO twenty goal scorers this season. Luckily Sergei Kostitsyn finished with 23 goals and Patric Hornqvist finished with 21 goals. Pekka Rinne is the only reason that the Predators are in the playoffs right now and he will have to stand on his head if they are going to beat the ducks. Having said that, statisically speaking Jonas Hiller and Ray Emery aren;t that far back on his numbers.

Also given the role that Corey Perry scored fifty goals and on a hot streak isn't going to help the predators. The ducks also have two solid lines that can produce while Lubomir Visnovsky is an impressive +18 and Toni Lydman is an impressive +32.

(pictures courtesy of thenow.ca, nhl.com, unathleticmag.com, admatch-syndication.mochila.com)