Gretzky Conference Quarterfinals (Best of 7)
1. Toronto Maple Leafs vs 8. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Atlanta Thrashers vs 7. Carolina Hurricanes
- Atlanta in 6. Canes put up a fight as last years Cup run is still fresh in their memory. But Atlanta scored the 2nd most goals in the conference and I think their offense will be too much for the Canes, with only 1 defenseman above a 72OV and a young goalie, to handle.
3. Buffalo Sabres vs 6. Florida Panthers
- Buffalo in 6. Sabres scored the most goals in the conference and have a deep team with a great goalie. The Panthers have always been talented but they're cold (2-5-3 in last 10) and on the year actually allowed more goals than they scored. Don't think they have it in them to pull the upset off.
4. Washington Capitals vs 5. Pittsburgh Penguins
- Washington in 7. Hard to see either of these teams losing in the 1st round. The Pens have a lot of firepower but the Caps are solid all around after picking up some nice veteran pieces over the course of the year. I'll give the edge to the Caps because Brodeur is a lot better than Toskala right now and the Caps are a much more experienced team.
Howe Conference Quarterfinals (Best of 7)
1. Minnesota Wild vs 8. Edmonton Oilers
- Edmonton in 7. This might not be the most talented version of the Wild from the past few years, but they've still been a top 2 team in the conference from start to finish. Meanwhile the Oilers seem like an extremely changed team. In past years they've always had a ton of stars but not a lot of depth. Now they feature great depth but no skater rated higher than 77OV. There's no point in doing these unless I'm going to pick an upset somewhere so I'll pick it here. Oilers play great, led by deadline pickups Straka and Shanahan, and sneak by the Wild.
2. San Jose Sharks vs 7. Nashville Predators
- San Jose in 4. The Sharks are just too good for the Preds right now. They've scored 91 more goals than their opponents this season which is pretty ridiculous. They've got very good top line talent and a good mix of vets and younger guys. Nashville's top 4-5 players have been as good as any teams' but beyond those guys I don't think they have enough depth to pull off the upset.
3. Chicago Blackhawks vs 6. Detroit Red Wings
- Chicago in 6. Not sure about this series at all. The Hawks had a very good season and most would say have a more talented team than the Wings. Lecavalier is the best player on either team and has been good for the Hawks since they traded for him. They're pretty deep and have a decent goalie. I was tempted to pick the Wings because they've been a good playoff team lately. But I just don't think they're deep enough to make another run this year, and one of the guys that carried them at this point last season was Jokinen and he's moved on.
4. St.Louis Blues vs 5. Anaheim Ducks
- Anaheim in 5. Another close series but I'll go with the Ducks here. They look to be deeper and have better top line players. Lidstrom is awesome, Nabakov is one of the best goalies, and if my memory is correct Heatley was amazing for the Canes last playoffs before getting hurt? The Blues have had a very good season and I think they'll get better next year. But I think the Ducks are a little better right now.
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