NHL Playoff Predictions

Got a little bit of extra time today, so here goes. Now on to the Western Conference. Clicking on the links will take you to random card for each player.

Sharks v. Avalanche. San Jose isn't deep. One great line of Thornton, Marleau, and Heatly. Decent supporting cast, but not anywhere near being Stanley Cup caliber talent. Colorado is young. Too young. But that could work for them. Duchense and Mueller might be out, but there will be plenty of other young players able to step up like Stastny, Stewart, and O'Reilly. Anderson had a great regular season and a good post season showing will raise his stock. Still, San Jose in 5.

Coyotes v. Red Wings. The Yotes are another young team, but with a good mix of veteran leadership and talent. Bryzgalov will have to stand on his head to keep the Yotes in a position to win each game. Doan and Wolski will have to pot more than a few against a hot Howard, and their defense will have to play pretty much perfect hockey. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Holmstrom will steam roll this team out of the playoffs in 5 games.

Canucks v. Kings. The Kings have a bit of a question in goal. Who is going to be the go-to guy: Ersberg, Quick, or Bernier? The front end of the Kings are coming along nicely. Kopitar and Simmonds are kicking arse and taking names. Doughty is keeping the back end tied down at a young age. On the other hand, Luongo is faltering of late. Daniel and Henrik Sedin are going to have to lead the charge against whichever Kings goalie is in net. The Canucks d-corps are depleted with Willie Mitchell out and Sami Salo and O'Brien a little banged up. This one could be a toss up, but for the sake of picking: Kings in 6

Hawks v. Predators. The Hawks are another team with some injuries on the back end. With Campbell out, Byfuglien has been filling in nicely in his absence. The line of Toews, Sharp, and Hossa is creating havoc in the other teams' end. Nashville should never be counted out though. Arnott and Erat are going to have to lead the charge on a young and untested Hawks goalie. Weber and Suter need to hold down the fort by not allowing the Hawks get too comfortable in the offensive zone. Pekka Rinne is another untested goalie, but the Preds at least have a capable goalie in Ellis waiting in the wings for another chance to take the No. 1 job. Hawks in 5.

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