Western Conference Predictions: Avalanche vs. Wild: Ahh,the I Got You Babe lovefest rolls on in Denver.Aside from not putting a chicken in every pot,Patrick Roy and his charges have certainly delivered.Its time to see what happens if they get bloodied a bit. I love Minnesotas defense corps.Gritty,playmaking ability and a group thats grown more confident the last 6 weeks.Unfortunately,they play in front of Ilya Bryzgalov,whos about as consistent as a coin flip--although hes played much better of late. The Avs backend is full of question marks--but,so what?The cubs up front have bought into Roys concept of backchecking and filling holes.The Avs may counterattack better than any team in the NHL,which is a good thing--recently the Avs have shown a tendency to give up the odd man rush.If that trend continues,the Wild have enough punch to make them pay for it.The addition of Moulson has looked very good,indeed,for the Wild. I have every reason to pick the Avs. Wild in 6. Kings vs. Sharks: What NHL fan isnt admirous of San Joses forwards?Thornton,Marleau,Couture,Burns,Pavelski.....its mind boggling. The Kings arent exactly starved when it comes to talent up front.Kopitar has been a beast lately and I love the way Gaboriks game has picked up.The Kings forwards also have an admirable habit of hitting anything wearing an opposing sweater. The defensive corps are fairly evenly matched--although something tells me that Slava Voynov is ready to step forward. So,that leaves us with goaltending.Quick against the Niemi/Stalock tandem.What do you think? Me too. Kings in 6. Blues vs. Blackhawks: Has there been a recent NHL playoff matchup wherein both teams so badly limped to the finish line? The natural tendency here is to write off the Blues,especially.Theres a lot of ammunition for that argument,as the Blues were atrocious the last 2 weeks of the regular season.A lot of that was due to injuries,yeah--but more troubling to Blues fans is the play of Ryan Miller.Frankly,which Miller shows up...Headcase or All World?Coach Ken Hitchcock cant afford to wait for Miller to play himself out of his doldrums should he start the series poorly. On the other side,Corey Crawford hasnt exactly been stellar,either.We all know about Chicagos star-studded lineup.Like last year,however,it may be up to the 3rd and 4th line guys to tip the scales. I think they will. Hawks in 6. Ducks vs. Stars: The Stars sure didnt play like a team chasing the final wild-card spot coming down the stretch.Still,they got in.I adore Tyler Seguin...but his supporting cast is just not talented or deep enough right now. The Ducks? Well,they have enough to beat the Stars.Im not enamored of any aspect of their game--but I dont hate anything about them,either.The Ducks are just sorta....there.Theyve got stars,theyve got grit...and they have major holes. Ducks in 5. --mark.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 01:24:55 +0000