So we have broken down and predicted the East thus far with NHL ’08. Now with the playoffs in full swing we give you the Western Conference Playoff picture.


Starting of course at the top and with the President’s Trophy recipient Detroit Redwings and their first round match up with Nashville.

The Preds were the lucky winners of the 8th seed in the West, giving them a first round nightmare with divisional foe Hockeytown. Still with a team that wasn’t sure if they were to have a home in the Music City past this year, anything past the regular season is a blessing.

Detroit steamrolled through the regular season, riding a two headed goalie monster with vets Osgood and future hall of fame member Hasek. However the playoffs have been a different beast for the Wings the past 6 seasons. Will the Predators have the formula so many have stumbled upon come postseason, or can the Wings prove this is their year.

My take has the Predators winning only a game in this series. Detroit may crap out, but it will not be in the first round this year. Role players pick up the Wings and their elder D crop has enough in the tank to get through one round easily.

NHL ’08 says pretty much the same thing. Wings in 4. The sweep was largely due to Hasek, Datsyuk and Zetterberg. As the game proved star power still rules. Arnott did all he could, netting 4 goals and 2 assists in the 4 games, but Detroit was no match for the hopefully non-nomadic Predators.


This brings us to the intriguing 2-7 tussle, San Jose and Calgary.

The Sharks were a lot of peoples pick to win the Cup this year. Deadline deals helped bolster that possibility, as they added much needed scoring from the blue line in Campbell. Nabokov has been one of the most solid net-minders this season and it has San Jose and California thinking the Cup might be staying in the Sunshine State.

Calgary is another story. They are hoping to have another magical run back to the finals as they did before the lockout. Mikka Kiprusoff is a playoff warrior, and plays nearly every game every season to boot. Jerome Iginla topped 50 goals once more, and the Flames have the key ingredients to go far: a top notch defensemen (Phaneuf) the gritty superstar captain, and all world goaltending.

I see this one being a great series with San Jose outlasting the Flames, but it goes the distance. San Jose will get pushed around in its losses, but just out talent the Flames in their wins. Nabokov shines and the series is theirs to win on home ice in game 7.

Firing up the console also proves this one is going to be a battle to the end. The Sharks get upset in 7 according to EA’s rendition of the series. Goaltending and fantastic goals lead the way in this barn burner. Phaneuf spent much of the time in the penalty box for elbowing in this series, yet somehow the Flames were able to prevail. Owen Nolan sparked a game 6 comeback, and Alex Tanguay gets the overtime winner to force game 7. Then, in the Shark Tank, an explosive Iginla goes top shelf two times and Adrian Aucoin caps a 5-2 win with the game winning goal early in the 3rd period.


The last of the Western Conference division winners is Minnesota, and they host Colorado in a best of 7 series as the Av’s managed to get back into the playoffs as the 6th seed.

The Wild are known for that defensive system and are never a fun team to go up against come April. With some potential scoring coming from the speedy play of Gaborik and Demitra the Minnesota fans are hoping this is their year not just to play spoiler, but to see what holding Lord Stanley’s prize feels like. Tough task being out in the west though and Colorado is hopeful they have one last push before the youth movement takes over.

The Av’s brought back Peter Forsberg late in the season, and that surely gives them a boost. Veteran ‘Lanche d-man Adam Foote returned in a deadline deal as well, giving them some grit at the blue line. Goaltending is an issue as Budaj and Theodore both saw action through parts of the regular season, in the playoffs it looks to be Jose’s job to lose though.

My prediction, this one will be redemption (well sort of) for Avalanche fans. They shake the ghosts of an early exit years ago from the defeat of a Wild team, winning the series in 6 games. Backstrom in net may be too much for the Wild to have to carry, even though he had a decent year.

The game has it the same way; Av’s winning 4 games to 2. Forsberg was huge as he and Sakic lead a potent power play and took their team to victory. The scores were pretty high in these games though, leaving you wondering where the defense was at times, not to mention the goaltending. Several beautiful breakaways were scored on in this series, as the stars came out to play. Mikko Koivu was an unstoppable machine it seemed, netting 5 goals and 4 assists. However his helpers on the Wild couldn’t do enough to move on.


Finally we see the ever popular 4-5 seeds bang heads as the Ducks of Anaheim meet the Dallas Stars.

The defending champion Ducks got their heart and soul back late this season, their names are better known as Niedermayer and Selanne. J.S. Giguere has taken his team to the finals two times before and is playoff tested. The Ducks have that chemistry that is just right, and now they know how to win. This is the team nobody wants to play.

Dallas is back in the playoffs just as sure as the sun came up today. The Stars acquired Brad Richards from the Lightning at the deadline and that was a much needed scoring boost. But they will need a lot more to take on these Mighty Ducks. Marty Turco will need to prove he can succeed in the playoffs and Mike Modano will have to lead his team, along with captain Morrow if they have any hope of winning this series.

Unfortunately I don’t think they have any hope of winning this series. Corey Perry is hurt, so that helps their cause. But the Ducks will just be too much for the aging Stars. I think the Ducks take this one in 6 games.

The video world is not so kind; it has the Ducks winning this series in 5. Getzlaf was an offensive juggernaut (3g 6a) and the return of Selanne was key, he added 4 goals himself. The Stars won game one, only to not win another game in the series. Goaltending at times stole the show, but Turco was no match for Giggy. Not to mention the studded back checkers of Anaheim. Pronger usually played over 30 minutes a game, and was too much to get around on a consistent basis for the Dallas offense. Combined with his partners the Stars were sent home early, leaving them wonder what else they could have done.

Well that takes care of the Western quarterfinals. So it is time to sit back and watch some hockey, and play a little too while I'm at it.

Hope to see you all as we continue to break down the playoffs using NHL ’08, be sure to chime in with your picks and rip apart how wrong I probably will be with mine.