1st Round Playoff Breakdown (Western Conference)

Okay, to start I have knowingly abandoned what I wanted to be a responsibility for myself to write this blog. I will set that aside just in time for the NHL playoffs. This year, just as any other, looks to be exciting right from the start. The Western Conference saw Vancouver take number one with out any issues while the rest fought till the last day of the year to get in. Four Pacific Division teams found their way in to the post-season (San Jose, Anaheim, Phoenix, Los Angeles), with Dallas being beat out of the final spot by Chicago even though both teams lost. The Eastern Conference saw a lot of injuries to key players on teams with high expectations. At the end of it Washington came out on top after a very up and down season. The Capitals have a different approach this year and they are hoping to finally make a deep run in this years post season.

The Western Conference

image through espn.go.com 

The Vancouver Canucks took the President's Trophy with ease this season but that means little when it comes to the playoffs. The last to win the regular season trophy and win the cup was the '03 Detroit Red Wings and many recent winners of the trophy have found even the first round

troubling, just ask San Jose and Washington. This team looks different then teams of the past but in their way stands the team that took them out of the playoffs the last two seasons, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sedins as usual have played an enormous role as Daniel will win the Art Ross for most points this season after brother Henrik did last season. Daniel is looking to follow again in his brothers footsteps as he will look to walk away with another piece of hardware Henrik took home last year, the Hart trophy for Most Valuable Player. Roberto Luongo had another great regular season but that doesn't prove he will overcome his post season failures.

The Chicago Blackhawks, last year's Stanley Cup Champions, had to scratch and claw their way in to the playoffs. The champions finds themselves in front of a familiar foe as they sit in the way of the Canucks. Chicago, due to cap issues, was forced to see many key players leave the nest most notably Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and goalie Antti Niemi. Chicago still has a potent offense with young captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. Patrick Sharp also had a monster season. Chicago saw a lot of air time on NBC and their play was inconsistent. You could see the team that won it all last year or a team that doesn't belong to be in the playoffs. They have the talent and the confidence that they can beat Vancouver again, but do they have the goaltending. Marty Turco was brought in on a one-year contract to be a quick fix and hasn't panned out. Corey Crawford has taken over and done well but can he win the playoffs?

This is finally the year that the Canucks get past the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks are tough and will make it a fight and I wouldn't be surprised if they upset but I expect this to be handled by Vancouver.

Canucks in 6

The San Jose Sharks finally got over the hump last season and made it to the conference finals where they were ultimately swept by Chicago. To their credit every game in that series was close and could have gone their way but they didn't and Chicago went on to win it all. The Sharks still have a dangerous offense with Joe Thornton now being the captain. Behind him is still Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi and rookie Logan Coture. Coture is a Calder hopeful for the league's best rookie. Last year's cup champion goalie Antti Niemi has taken control of the starting position over Antero Niittymaki. He will not have to be great, much like when with Chicago, in order to take the Sharks deep. Defense is suspect except for cup winner Dan Boyle. 

The Los Angeles Kings came into this season with very high hopes. The experts had LA at the top of the Western Conference and they made brief appearances there early on. Recent injuries to Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams really dampend the Kings hopes of any kind of run. Williams is expected back at some point but the more important Kopitar is out indefinitely. The Kings still have a very talented defensive core and goalie. Jonathan Quick was able to win every contest that went to a shoot-out this season, to bad that now becomes irrelevant. The defense in front of him is young and will have to be on top of its game. Drew Doughty is undoubtedly talented but at times this season lacked the same tenacity and work ethic as his rookie year. Jack Johnson, Willie Mitchell and Rob Scuderi prove effective in a tough division in the Pacific but the losses up front are too huge. Ryan Smyth and Dustin Brown can only do so much. Along with them is new acquisition Dustin Penner who failed to register a point in the final 12 games of the season. The Kings also went 1 for 22 on the Power Play since losing Kopitar.

If the Kings were healthy this post season division match-up could have been interesting. San Jose has also been playing very impressive hockey down the stretch.

San Jose in 5

The Anaheim Ducks looked like they would be watching the playoffs this year for a lot of the season but Corey Perry propelled them into home ice for the first round into the four spot. The ageless Teemu Selanne put together a fantastic 80 point campaign while Perry exploded for 98 points hitting the 50 goal mark for the first time his career, in fact before this year he hadn't even surpassed 32 goals. Along with good play from Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Lubomir Visnovsky, Anaheim is looking dangerous at the right time. The goalie position didn't look to be a problem early on as Jonas Hiller was looking like the dominate net minder he was in the Olympics. However, he fell to severe fatigue and Anaheim was forced to look for help. They then brought in Ray Emery and Dan Ellis who have filled the void and put the Ducks in a prominent position. Ellis appears to be the most healthy at the moment and I believe will get the start. 

The Nashville Predators manage to get in playoffs consistently and prove not to be an easy out. They fight hard like they have all season but they have never in their short history passed the first round. Goalie Pekka Rinne has been the team's best player and will have to be if they have a chance to upset Anaheim. The Preds are a team that doesn't have that explosive scorer but gets it done with the team working as a whole. Nashville had only two players get 50 points this year, Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn. This team will look to fight on for a chance at the next round but even with a sold base Anaheim appears too tough at this point in the year.

The Ducks are hot at the right time and the Predators are just not there yet. They have a solid team but just caught the wrong team at the wrong time. 

Anaheim in 6

The Detroit Red Wings are always a team you don't want to face in the playoffs. They saw similar injury problems that could have doomed them last season, resurface late this year and they will be forced to be with out Henrik Zetterberg for at least the first game of the playoffs. They are once again the oldest team in the playoffs with an average age of around 30 years. They come with a lot of experience and are a franchise that simply knows how to win. It is not even worth mentioning all the great names on the roster. They have players that know how to perform in big games and will be doing so for years to come. Jimmy Howard has had injury problems along with back-up Chris Osgood. The back-up for the playoffs to start will be Joey MacDonald. If anything happens to Howard it will be difficult for MacDonald to help Detroit. 

Last year the Phoenix Coyotes were the team destined to move on to the second round for the first time since 1987 when the team was then the Winnipeg Jets. They were then handed Detroit in the first round which ended in the Wings favor in a decisive 6-1 shellacking in game 7 on the Yotes home ice. The Coyotes were forced to go with out Shane Doan for 4 games in that series as he went down with an upper body injury. Ilya Bryzgalov has led this team all season as he would be expected to since the team had only one 20 goal scorer in captain Shane Doan. The Coyotes are a lot like the Nashville Predators in the respect that they win games through solid defense and spaced out scoring. Keith Yandle has been an incredible bright spot on the Coyotes defense as his name is among others in the race for the Norris trophy for the league's best defenseman. This team faced injury issues late but has seen those players return in time for the playoffs. The Coyotes have a group of young players that are looking to prove they belong and now is the best time for them to do so. 

The Red Wings were given all they can handle last year by this Phoenix team and will see nothing less. If Ilya Bryzgalov is able to handle the pressure of carrying this team they will be able to sneak by this incredible playoff monster in the Detroit Red Wings. Barring no significant injuries

 Coyotes in 7