2010 NHL Playoff Predictions

Western Conference-

1. San Jose Sharks
8. Colorado Avalanche

The San Jose Sharks have a huge monkey on their backs after last years first round loss to the 8 seed Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks have not been a team that shows up in the playoffs in years past and has never won a Stanley Cup. Its seems like every year we have this same discussion, will the Sharks show up in the playoffs and win games as they do all regular season long. Well the facts are the facts, the Sharks had the most points in the Western Conference, and have a team full of wily veterans such as Big Joe Thornton, Seattle Thunderbirds product Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle, and Rob Blake to go along with a stud of a goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. The people picking against the Sharks and saying that they didn't improve forget about the acquisition of Dany Heatley, who played every single game of the regular season and recorded exactly a point per game with 82 points. The Sharks are a great team, and they have the makeup to make a deep run for the Cup. For San Jose, it just comes down to big players being big when it matters, if Heatley can make a difference in the playoffs they will be tough to beat.

What an exciting season for the young Colorado Avalanche. Rookies Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly making huge impacts in the league their first year. Goalie Craig Anderson wanted a chance to start, rather than backup, so he chose to go to Colorado, and what a great choice it was. Anderson stormed out of the gates to lead the Avalanche to an amazing start, considering that they were last in the Western Conference last year. Anderson was just average down the stretch though as the Avalanche limped into the playoffs barely holding off the Calgary Flames. Lots of young guys for the Avalanche, with a few veterans like captain Adam Foote and playoff veteran Darcy Tucker. If Anderson can play like he did to get the Avs off to such a hot start then they have a chance with all the young guys.

PREDICTION- Seems like a lot of people are picking against the best team in the Western Conference according to points. Not me. Dont think that the Sharks will forget what an embarrassment it was last year to go out to the 8 seed in the first round, I dont expect it to happen again. The addition of Dany Heatley will help. The Colorado Avalanche of 2010 are not the Anaheim Ducks of 2009. That Ducks team had a lot of injuries during the season and got into the playoffs finally healthy with a team full of veterans. Avalanche are just happy to have made the playoffs but are still a few years away from contending. They are young and energetic and will be a handfull for the Sharks to start the series, but as the series wears on, the more experienced better team will start to control the series. Everybody is cheering for the Avs to do it again to the Sharks, but I think everybody will be disappointed. Ill take the Sharks in this one, it won't be as close as everybody is thinking. Sharks 4-1.

2. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Nashville Predators

The Chicago Blackhawks are chalked full of talent, offensively, defensively, and in between the pipes? Oops, nevermind the in between the pipes part as this team reminds me a lot of the Capitals out East. It looks like the the Blackhawks will go with young Finnish Goaltender Antti Niemi to make their run to the finals. He replaced Cristobal Huet as the number one guy in net midway through the season. But does it really matter? The Blackhawks offense is so good, that all Niemi needs to do is be decent for this round at least. Blackhawks have offensive players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and Marian Hossa(WHL Product) to go along with good role players like Kris Versteeg(Another WHL Product), and Andrew Ladd. Ohh and by the way, does anybody know who is second behind Kane in points? Defenseman Duncan Kieth. Yep, that's right, the Canadian born D-man used his bomb from the point on the power play to tally the second most points on the roster with 69 points, including 14 goals. If Niemi plays decent, it'll be tough to stop the balanced scoring attack that the Blackhawks can bring to the table. Could make a deep run this year.

The Nashville Predators always seem to be in this exact same spot. Nobody has heard of any of their players, but somehow they seem to do just enough to get into the playoffs. That is a testament to their coaching staff and the philosophy lead by Barry Trotz. But this year their goal is to get out of the first round, but it will be a tough task facing the Blackhawks. It all starts with Pekka Rinne who will get the call over Dan Ellis. So it will be Finnish goalie vs Finnish goalie in this one, and Pekka Rinne will have to absolutely stand on his head for the Preds to win this one. But Rinne has shown this year that he has the ability to do just that. The Predators offense is also a well balanced attack, but they just don't score a lot. They have veteran leadership from 34-year old Jason Arnott, and other vets like Steve Sullivan. Its going to take a monumental task for the Preds to get by the Hawks, but they just may have what it takes if Rinne plays out of his mind.

PREDICTION- The Preds deserve a lot of credit for getting this far, but I just dont see an upset here. The Fans in Chicago will be rocking as the United Center crowd will know that the Hawks have a chance to win this year. The Preds are a nice story getting this far without tons of talent, but the Blackhawks will just be too much for them. I'll give the Predators one game at home in Nashville, but the Blackhawks will be motivated to close it out quick and get some rest as the next round will likely be tougher. Blackhawks take this one 4-1.

3. Vancouver Canucks
6. Los Angeles Kings

The Vancouver Canucks have been a steady team all year long. Winning the division again, and being tough to play against every night. Led by captain, and Gold Medal winning goalie, Roberto Luongo the Canucks cruise into the playoffs comfortably. General Motors Place is one of the toughest building in the league to play in. The Canucks also have Art Ross winner(most points in the league) Henrik Sedin to go along with his brother Daniel and other scorers like Alexandre Burrows and Ryan Kesler. Make no mistake about it, this team can score goals, and that has been a problem in the past. The Canucks scored the second most goals in the league this year, only finishing behind the Washington Capitals. But as for most teams, it will come down to their goalie, Roberto Luongo. He has struggled since the Olympic break but come playoff time he will be the stud that he always has been. The Canucks will again contend this year for the Cup that has forever eluded them.

For the Los Angeles Kings its been a long time coming, but they are finally back in the playoffs after a 7 year absence. The problem for the Kings has always seemed to be goaltending, but it looks like they have finally found the answer to that equation with the arrival of American goalie, Jonathan Quick. Well at least that is what they thought for most of the season, but recently Quick has struggled, and hasn't won a game in his last eight starts to end the regular season. How much does that matter come playoff time, we will see. The Kings can help Quick out by getting some offensive pressure and scoring which they can do with guys like Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov, Michal Handzus, and mostly Anze Kopitar who recorded 81 points in 82 games played. The Kings are anchored on the back end by emerging star, and Gold Medalist, Drew Doughty to go along with American Defenseman Jack Johnson. Maybe the biggest difference from last years squad is Ryan Smyth, who made a deep run in the playoffs with the 8 seeded Edmonton Oilers a few years back. Smyth is a guy who is gritty and knows how to win in the playoffs, he will be huge for the Kings young guys to follow after as it will be most of their first time in the playoffs. Kings will need to score goals, and I think they will be able to do that and keep this series interesting.

PREDICTION- The Los Angeles Kings are new to this whole playoff thing and will need to get their feet wet early in this series to feel comfortable. This L.A. team is too inexperienced for me to pick them here. Last season, the Canucks were again the 3 seed and took on the up and coming St. Louis Blues. Everybody was saying the the Blues had a shot, just as they are now with the Kings, but the Canucks swept them out of the playoffs. While I don't foresee that result against the Kings, I do think the Canucks will again move on the the second round behind the goaltending of Luongo and steady scoring form the guys up front. I'll take the Canucks in a pretty close series, but they will close in out at the Staples Center in L.A. Canucks take the series 4-2.

4. Phoenix Coyotes
5. Detroit Redwings

This is probably the best story of the season in the NHL, the Phoenix Coyotes shocked everybody by getting to the playoffs and what do they get? A date with two time defending Western Conference Champions the Detroit Redwings. The Coyotes thought for a few days that they were moving to Hamilton Ontario last summer when they battled a bankruptcy problem. The Yotes have not been a part of the playoffs in 7 years and have never won a playoff series since the move from Winnipeg. Seems like tough odds to overcome, especially when you have to face the Redwings, but the Yotes are not scared of them. The Coyotes were led all year long by goalie Ilya Bryzgalov who had the season of his life recording 42 wins with a 2.29 GAA and a .920 SV%. He has been amazing this year, and will have to do that same plus maybe more against the Redwings to advance to the next round. The Yotes can score some goals too, thanks largely to a trade deadline move that was under the radar. The Yotes picked up Lee Stempniak from the Mapleleafs and he has arguably been the best trade deadline pickup in the whole league recording 18 points, 14 of which were goals in just 18 games with the Yotes. If he can continue this scoring streak and get help from guys like Wojtek Wolski who was another trade deadline pickup, Matthew Lombardi, and Radim Vrbata they could get out of the first round. Shane Doan is the only player with the Yotes that played for the organization when they were in Winnipeg, and he is ready and willing to do anything to get a series win for the city of Phoenix.

What do you say about the Detroit Redwings? Who was everybody kidding when they thought the Wings wouldn't get to the playoffs when they were hovering around the 9 seed until the Olympic break. Ohh yah the Wings streaked to the playoffs with a 16-3-2 run after the Olympics to get into the playoffs as a 5 seed. They know what it takes to win games in the playoffs as they won the last two Western Conference Champions. There is a difference though, this year the Redwings have turned to rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard as he took over the job from aging goalie Chris Osgood. If the Wings get good enough goaltending from the rookie then they will always be tough to beat, but it remains to be seen how the rookie will handle the pressure. The Wings have battled injuries all year long, but are now healthy with Tomas Holmstrom and Johan "The Mule" Franzen back in the lineup. Anchored on the back end by perennial Norris Trophy canidate Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski the Redwings look like they will be tough to beat again. For me, it all depends on how rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard will handle the pressure of the playoffs. but the Wings will be in the running for the Cup for as long as I live.

PREDICTION- Everybody in the hockey community is picking the Redwings in this one, I've even heard words and terms like "obviously" and "Lets get serious." Well the Yotes are serious this year, it was no fluke that they finished fourth and at one point late in the season was sitting atop the Western Conference. Are they young, well some of them are but Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski are experienced veterans that will look to lead their squad to the second round and beyond. The Wings are always here, and while I dont think they will underestimate the Coyotes, I do think they are getting old and might be plagued by a rookie goalie in this years playoffs. As good as the Redwings are, and as experienced as they are I am going to pick against the "obvious favorite" here. The Coyotes are ready to get their first series win in the playoffs since the move from Winnipeg and veterans like Doan and Jovanovski will make it happen. Phoenix will have a long awaited "white out" this year for home games, and while they get accused for not having a good fan base, the fans will come out for the playoffs as they have done down the stretch. Jobing.com Arena will be rocking with excitement as the NHL playoffs will be in that building for the first time ever, following the move from their old arena a few years ago. I'm picking the home underdog Coyotes in this one, and not just becasue they are my favorite team. Yotes take it in 7 games.


Well there you have it guys, I hope you all enjoy, and I hope somebody is actually reading this stuff. To recap, in the Western Conference I have:
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Phoenix Coyotes