For those who haven't noticed, the NHL season is about to begin. The real one. It's called the Stanley Cup playoffs and it's all that matters.
"Yeah, I think so," said Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby. "I don't think you play hockey to play regular seasons, you play to win the playoffs. The regular season is the process of getting here."
|
|
| 'There's a lot more parity in the league,' Anaheim's Chris Pronger says. (Getty Images) |
And that's only part of it. The Stanley Cup playoffs are a two-month grind that requires equal parts sweat, stamina and sacrifice and then some before the ultimate prize can be claimed. It's the world's most recognized sports trophy, and for now it is in the sights of the 16 contenders who made it this far and believe they have it in them.
Given the recent history of this war of attrition -- last season the West's top four seeds were eliminated by the bottom four in the first round -- and the fact that 11 teams had at least 100 points this season, who's to doubt any of them?
"I don't know if I've ever seen it this close," said Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger. "There's a lot more parity in the league."
Pronger should know. The veteran was with the Edmonton Oilers last season when they snuck into the final playoff seed and ended up in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. This season, Edmonton –- and the ultimate champion Carolina Hurricanes -- missed the playoffs, while the Ducks won their division and finished second overall in the Western Conference. Still, as far as Pronger is concerned, where teams are heading into the playoffs are irrelevant.
"You know, it's a tossup," Pronger said. "Any team can get hot, get great goaltending. And anybody can go all the way. From where we're sitting, it's a scary thought but at the same time we're potentially a team that could go all the way as well."
No doubt. The Ducks were one of the league's powerhouses this season and have not lost their status as a preseason Stanley Cup favorite as crunch time approaches. There are several others these days, including our pick, the Buffalo Sabres, but it would surprise no one if teams like Ottawa, Detroit, Nashville or any of the other Sweet 16 are left standing at the end.
"To be honest, it's hard to tell who is the favorite because every team is dangerous," Crosby said. "You can look at the standings and make your opinions, but at the end of the day, anyone who gets in has a chance."
Here's a look at how they all match up.
West
No. 1 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 8 Calgary Flames: The Red Wings won 50 games and the Western Conference title, which should make them a favorite against a Flames team that didn't reserve its playoff spot until the final weekend. But Detroit has had a habit of coming up short in recent playoffs and key players like goalie Dominik Hasek and defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider are not getting any younger. Meanwhile, Calgary has added some offensive firepower to support Jarome Iginla, but the Flames' best chances of success come when they keep games tight enough for goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to make the difference. Still, Calgary will have to find ways to get ahead because the Red Wings allow fewer shots than anyone in the league and rarely relinquish leads late. Prediction: Detroit
No. 2 Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 7 Minnesota Wild: With Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, the Ducks could have a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman on the ice at all times. That's the key factor for the Ducks, although the high-end goaltending tandem of Jean–Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov and the offense of Teemu Selanne shouldn't be overlooked. Minnesota is a bit of an upstart this season, and surprisingly for a team that allowed the fewest goals this season its defense is a bit suspect. But the Wild have a potentially explosive offense led by Marian Gaborik and a deadly power play that could play a big role against a team like the Ducks, who like to play things rough. The unknown factor for Minnesota is rookie goalie Niklas Backstrom, who was outstanding down the stretch. If the Wild win one of the first two in Anaheim, watch out. They're almost unbeatable at home. Prediction: Minnesota
No. 3 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 6 Dallas: It's going to be all about the goalies in this series as Vancouver's Roberto Luongo tries to make his playoff reputation and Dallas' Marty Turco tries to salvage his. Neither team has an intimidating offense, but the Stars have been more productive since Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow returned to the lineup, while the Canucks have the Sedin twins leading the way. Each team has players who can score from the back end. Vancouver's top three defensemen -- Sami Salo, Mattias Ohlund and Kevin Bieksa -- had 105 points combined this season, while blue liners Sergei Zubov and Phillipe Boucher ranked three and four on the Dallas scoring chart. If the regular season is any indication, this series will be tight and low-scoring, which means the goalies will make the difference. Prediction: Dallas
No. 4 Nashville Predators vs. No. 5 San Jose Sharks: Nashville has nine players with at least 15 goals and eight with at least 50 points, so the Predators' attack is balanced and dangerous. That's obvious with players like Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya and Jason Arnott in the lineup, but the Sharks won't concede any offense with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau at center and Bill Guerin and Jonathan Cheechoo on the wings. Both teams have a pair of reliable goaltenders they can go to as well. These teams met last spring and San Jose won largely because the speedy Predators couldn't slow down the big Shark players. Nashville matches up better in the size department this time, so the bigger factor will likely be which team's relatively inexperienced defense corps hold up better. Prediction: San Jose
East
No. 1 Buffalo Sabres vs. No. 8 New York Islanders: I'm still convinced the Sabres would have won it all last season had four of their top six defensemen not missed their final playoff game. The Sabres are healthy now, they have a deep and balanced offense, a quick and mobile offense and one of the league's best goalies in Ryan Miller. Most important they have speed to burn and they use it better than any team in the league. That's going to be too much for the Islanders, who made the playoffs with a brilliant finish but don't have the foot soldiers to keep pace with the Sabres. Star goalie Rick DiPietro has dropped hints he might return from a concussion, but chances are the Islanders will still have to rely on Wade Dubielewicz to carry the load. He did yeoman's work during New York's final push, but he is still essentially a minor-leaguer. Prediction: Buffalo.
No. 2 New Jersey Devils vs. No. 7 Tampa Bay Lightning: Someone must have forgotten to send the Devils the memo about how different life is supposed to be in the new NHL. New Jersey still plays the same kind of suffocating, defense-first hockey it did before the lockout. And it obviously works for them, in no small part because of goaltender Martin Brodeur. He has been the constant through New Jersey's dynastic decade and heading into Round 1, he is the Devils' biggest advantage over the Lightning. Tampa Bay's goalie concerns have been well-documented through the season, and Johan Holmqvist and Marc Denis aren't providing much solace heading into the postseason. The Lightning are an aggressive up-tempo team that has marvelous offensive talents in Vinnie Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, but they'll be hard-pressed to find the room they need, particularly if their netminders put the Lightning in holes. Prediction: New Jersey
No. 3 Atlanta Thrashers vs. No. 6 New York Rangers: Atlanta GM Don Waddell rolled the dice at the deadline and has come out a winner so far because his team won its division and will make its first playoff appearance. Now comes the hard part. The Thrashers have some of the NHL's best offensive players in Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk, a very good young goalie and a core group of veterans who have been through this before. Still, the key might be coach Bob Hartley, who won a Cup in Colorado and will have to push all the right buttons again against a Rangers team that could be one of the sleepers of these playoffs. New York had an uneven season, but the Rangers caught fire over the final two months and showed several flashes of brilliance. They have some pretty good offense of their own with Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan and Michael Nylander, but their winning ways lately have been the result of tight defense and great work from goalie Henrik Lundqvist. That's the formula they'll need to succeed. Prediction: New York
No. 4 Ottawa Senators vs. No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins: They have already started the mind games by insisting the real pressure in on the other guys, but none of that will matter when these two explosive teams face off this week. What's really sad is that one of them will be gone after the first round because the Senators and Penguins are among the most exciting outfits the league has to offer. Each has elite stars and plays games with the intention of winning rather than not losing. Although the Crosby-led Penguins are young enough that many of them might not be able to grow playoff beards, experience hasn't really been much of a boon to the Senators over the years. Pittsburgh held the edge over Ottawa in meetings over the last month and if the Penguins can steal one of the first two games on the road, they could do some serious damage to the Senators' psyche. Prediction: Pittsburgh
