Western Conference Quarterfinal Predictions

(1) San Jose Sharks vs (8) Colorado Avalanche
The Scoop: The Sharks are coming off another season where they're finishing the best in the West. Despite their reputation as choke-artists, the fact that Colorado rode the hell out of goaltender Craig Anderson during the regular season is what's going to lead to Colorado's early exit from the playoffs, even when you include San Jose's first line of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dany Heatley.
Dave says:San Jose in 5
Mike says:San Jose in 4

(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs (7) Nashville Predators
The Scoop: The Blackhawks started to realize their potential two seasons back and are coming off a Western Conference Final appearance. Nashville has a very strong defensive corps despite the fact that they aren't the most prolific team in the goal-scoring department. Dave thinks Chicago has better "stuff" and Mike thinks Chicago's firepower makes them +1 this series.
Dave says: Chicago in 7
Mike says: Chicago in 5

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs (6) Los Angeles Kings
The Scoop: The Canucks have the Art Ross Trophy winner Hendrik Sedin; but goaltender/captain Roberto Luongo has not looked like his usual Vezina-contending self. L.A. is very inexperienced but has a lot of legitimate firepower. Dave thinks that L.A.'s firepower will get them over the top; Mike thinks that Jon Quick's been drained and even though Jonathan Bernier can do his best Cam Ward impression, the Sedin Bros aren't your average scoring duo and will be insane to contain.
Dave says: L.A. in 7
Mike says: Vancouver in 5

(4) Phoenix Coyotes vs (5) Detroit Red Wings
The Scoop: The Coyotes seemed to battle just about everything this season to get their first playoff berth in 8 years. Their reward? To face the red-hot Red Wings; whom are dominating thanks to the return of power forward Johan Franzen and stay-at-home defender Andreas Lilja. Dave thinks that the combination of experience and firepower will put Detroit over the top; Mike thinks that both teams will play torrid two-way hockey but at the end of the day; the goaltending will be the difference.
Dave says: Detroit in 5.
Mike says: Phoenix in 7.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Predictions

(1) Washington Capitals vs (8) Montreal Canadiens
The Scoop: The Capitals are coming off a season where they easily clinched the Presidents Trophy after playing in what was arguably a weak division. Overall, while Montreal has a decent group of forwards, it's not going to be enough to prevent a Washington Capitals onslaught.
Mike and Dave both say: Washington in 5

(2) New Jersey Devils vs (7) Philadelphia Flyers
The Scoop: The Devils ended up winning the division thanks to some solid goaltending (surprise) and a semi-consistent offensive attack. While the Flyers look great up front, and even on the blueline, they're down to their third-string goaltender Brian Boucher to bail them out and it doesn't look promising. Dave doesn't think the Flyers have a chance; Mike thinks the Flyers will have a few respectable games but the series will ultimately succumb to the Devils.
Dave says: New Jersey in 4
Mike says: New Jersey in 6

(3) Buffalo Sabres vs (6) Boston Bruins
The Scoop: The Sabres have had some spectacular goaltending thanks to Ryan Miller which could either propel them or potentially run out (eek). Nevertheless, Boston's battling the injury bug and while Tuukka Rask has done exceptional since Tim Thomas began to sputter, he alone may not be enough to compensate for the loss of Marc Savard, Andrew Ference, Dennis Seindenberg, and Mark Stuart. Dave thinks Boston will make it a contest, Mike thinks it's going to be close to a squash match.
Dave says: Buffalo in 6
Mike says: Buffalo in 5

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (5) Ottawa Senators
The Scoop: The Pens come in to defend their Stanley Cup championship but don't end up winning the division; not the greatest sign. Nevertheless, they're taking on the Senators who have an amazing player in Spezza but have some question marks in goal. Dave thinks that Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will pick the wrong time to become ineffective; Mike thinks that's already a problem for the Senators and that's where the fun will end.
Dave says: Ottawa in 6
Mike says: Pittsburgh in 4

This Just In...

The Phoenix Coyotes (4th Seed) and the Detroit Red Wings (5th Seed), the two teams we wholeheartedly endorse on this blog, are going to be facing off in the opening round of the playoffs.

Regardless of who wins, this is a major coup for the Coyotes organization, especially when you consider how many Wings fans live in Arizona.

Season Review: New York Rangers

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the last team to be eliminated from playoff contention before the postseason begins: The New York Rangers.

Season expectations: The team made it to the postseason last year when they were eliminated by the Washington Capitals after having a 3-1 series lead over them. GM Glen Sather did a good job in sending Scott Gomez to Montreal for Christopher Higgins and, essentially, cap space. He used that to sign Marian Gaborik from the Minnesota Wild in hopes that could invigorate Chris Drury's struggles despite his massive contract. While there were complimentary signings such as Vaclav Prospal and Don Brashear, there wasn't much room for improvement because of the contracts that Drury, Wade Redden, and Michal Rozsival were earning receiving so the team had to use their young talent and role players to develop some type of cohesive scoring.

My prediction: I figured they would end up fourth in the Atlantic Division and eleventh overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: They finished ninth in the conference and fourth in the division.

What went wrong?: You mean besides the fact that Gaborik was the team's only consistent point producer?

The "Fire Sather" mantra that seems to becoming more prominent has a lot to do with it. The guys on the team making the highest salaries are Gaborik, Drury, Redden, Rozsival, and Hendrik Lundqvist to which only Gaborik and Lundqvist have even come remotely close to justifying their pay. As a matter of fact, Drury, Rozival, and Redden each had career lows despite the fact that they're being paid to be the team's "go-to-guys" In the end, Gaborik, Prospal, and Brandon Dubinsky, were the only full-time Ranger members to earn more than 40 points for the season and no matter how good goaltending is, to only have three 40-point-scoring players is a huge problem, especially when you consider that there were only four other players who score better than 30 points.

So it turns out when you spend all that money on a handful of players, the guys you get to compliment them can either be hit or miss. Brashear was acquired to be the team's enforcer while Aaron Voros was acquired during the 08-09 offseason to give that third or fourth line toughness. In the end, the team had to trade for both Jody Shelley and Brandon Prust because the former two couldn't effectively carry out their duties. The team traded Lauri Korpikoski to the Phoenix Coyotes for speedy Enver Lisin and while Lisin was on fire during his first few games, he eventually cooled down as the season progressed. Olli Jokinen fared well when he initially came over from the Calgary Flames, but he became completely invisible. The team has promise but too much inconsistency throughout the lineup to make it gel.

So what's next?: Well, the team's going to go into the off-season wanting to lock up their RFAs (Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Prust, and Erik Christiansen, to be specific) and maybe bring back Lisin and some of the other UFAs like Prospal, who was very well considering his $1.1M salary. Otherwise, Sather's going to have to maneuver over some elephantine contracts and the Rangers faithful may have to spend the next season or two watching someone else come April.

Season Review: Calgary Flames

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Calgary Flames.

Season expectations: Many people in Alberta expected these guys to go deep into the playoffs this season. They acquired Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes to give them a big first-line center, Jay Bouwmeester joined a defensive corps that featured Dion Phaneuf, and goaltender Miikka Kipprusoff is regarded as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.

They spent a lot of money on their top guys while not necessarily having the best fortification on the lower lines. Heck, they really didn't have much of a secondary scoring line and while Nigel Dawes was solid at the start of the season, they eventually started to cool. I forewarned in my preseason preview that "This team looks like a Jenga game to me... if that one piece at the bottom gets removed at the wrong time, expect disaster and nothing else."

My prediction: The team will finish third in the Northwest Division and tenth overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: The team was the last team to be eliminated from playoff contention following their loss to the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche's victory over the Vancouver Canucks. They'll likely finish third and ninth, respectively.

What went wrong?: You mean aside from the salary structure that made building a balanced team nearly impossible?

I can't fault how they've paid Kipprusoff but they didn't use Curtis McElhinney nearly enough and even when they got a proven backup in Vesa Toskala, coach Brent Sutter may have rode Kipprusoff a little too hard.

The Jay Bouwmeester signing didn't pan-out as well as they hoped and that lead to Dion Phaneuf, who was considered to be the defensive face of the franchise, leaving via trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rest of the defense was very underwhelming. Maybe too underwhelming from what they were being paid.

Finally, the depth forwards were essentially rebuild out of cast-offs from a losing Phoenix Coyotes team. While Dawes was a bright spot, Jokinen and Sjostrom ended up moved due mid-season while Brian McGrattan hasn't been in a game since the end of January. There's some guys who wanna win and there's some guys who wanna paycheck. Calgary learned that the hard way.

So what's next?: Massive reconstruction that may have to involve biting the financial bullet or salary banishment to the AHL. These guys already have over $49M committed to next season. They're gonna have to eat some salaries for trades certainly but who's going to take Daymond Langkow at $4.5M? Next year might be just as bad, folks.

Season Review: St. Louis Blues

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The St. Louis Blues.

Season expectations: These guys were the Cinderella team of the Western Conference last season. No one expected them to do much (especially since blue-chip prospect Erik Johnson had a freak accident while golfing) but they ended up crashing the playoff party, where they were dispatched in the opening round. No they weren't spectacular, but they seemed to find a system that suited them. Still, they still didn't seem to have "it" so if they were to make the playoffs, they'd have to work harder than everyone else.

My prediction: I figured they would finish fourth in the Central Division and ninth overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: They were eliminated last night with the Colorado Avalanche victory over the Vancouver Canucks and will likely finish fourth and tenth, respectively.

What went wrong?: You mean besides having the worst home record in the NHL?

One thing is true, you can't blame the fans! 17 consecutive sellouts for a non-playoff team in a struggling midwestern market goes to show that despite the terrible home record, these people love their team. Hopefully the young guys realize that and use that as ammunition to terrorize one of the toughest divisions in hockey next season.

Really though, there wasn't much wrong with the team; just not enough to get them over the hump. There wasn't enough offense from their defense and not enough defense from their their offense. Yet for a team who scores by committee, they're definitely doing it right. The goaltending was very solid and given their depth at that position; they'll be good even if Chris Mason takes off during free agency. Coach Andy Murray seemed to be rubbing players the wrong way and was canned halfway through for Davis Payne, who's earned a 22-14-3 so far with the club.

So what's next?: It's not uncommon for such a young team to experience a setback like that. They weren't blown out of the water; they just didn't have enough stuff. A good off-season can change that quickly though, even though Keith Tkachuk is figuring to retire, so a good veteran signing could make a difference for the developing players.

Season Review: Anaheim Ducks

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Anaheim Ducks.

Season expectations: The Stanley Cup Champions in 2007, the Ducks were looking to go into the season with an explosive group of forwards and an exceptional pair of goaltenders. Sure the defense was a little thin but Scott Niedermeyer could do the work of 2 men and their young guys like Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski could step in an make a difference offensively. These guys were looking to at least compete for a playoff spot if not go deep into the playoffs.

My prediction: I picked them for first in the Pacific Division and second overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: The Ducks were eliminated last night thanks to both losing in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings and with the Colorado Avalanche's victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

What went wrong?: You mean besides being the most penalized team in the NHL?

Well, the platoon couldn't quite platoon after all. J-S Giguere ended up performing poorly for the Ducks and was eventually shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Vesa Toskala, who then traded to the Calgary Flames for Curtis McElhinney (and considering McElhinney's success in Anaheim and Toskala's success in Calgary, one wonders how the teams would have fared had a three-way trade been completed sooner.) Jonas Hiller performed admirably for both his NHL and National Team this season, but now he's down with injuries and out of the playoffs, which is such an undeserving end for a goaltender who's been a warrior all season.

The defense didn't work out the way the team hoped as well. Whitney was eventually traded for Lubonmir Vishnovsky, Wisniewski was effective whenever he wasn't serving a suspension, and there never seemed to be the "Number 4" guy for people to have on the team; just a top-3/bottom 4 defensive group. Not to disrespect the efforts of Sheldon Brookbank (who made the Nick Boynton signing seem redundant) but there just had to be that one extra guy who could make the Top 3 the Top 4. It just didn't happen.

To an effect, I was also not a fan as to how the scoring forwards were set up. I mean, it's cool to have the youth on one line and the experience on another, but is that really the best way to develop a winning chemistry? Why not have Bobby Ryan skate with Saku Koivu and get the Finnish Flash himself (Teemu Selanne in case you don't know) to act as a deft compliment to Ryan Getzlaf? The defensive forwards weren't necessarily ideal but definitely adequate so I think more could have been done to address scoring (though in fairness, Joffery Lupul's injury didn't help things.)

So what's next?: Well, there needs to be some well thought-out additions made in the off-season to work within their cap and plans. I'm also not certain coach Randy Carlyle will be back next season given the team's issues with discipline now coupled with a lost season. They've got a competitive team though, so they shouldn't have to blow it up to make it work.