NHL Western Conference Playoff Preview

Exactly 1,230 regular season games have been played. We're down to the best eight teams in each conference. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday night with four series lid-lifters.

The Western Conference is home to the league's best team (San Jose), the defending champion (Detroit), and the two most intriguing Cinderella stories in the league (St. Louis and Columbus). Can Cinderella put off the stroke of midnight, or will an established power advance their way to the Finals?


The Ducks appear to be peaking at the right time, having played quite well to get in the playoffs to begin with. However, they're still consistently inconsistent, especially in their own end.

Anaheim leaders: Ryan Getzlaf, F (25-66-91); Corey Perry, F (32-40-72); Scott Niedermayer, D (14-45-59); Jonas Hiller, G (23-15-1, 2.39, .919)

San Jose leaders: Joe Thornton, F (25-61-86); Patrick Marleau, F (38-33-71); Devin Setoguchi, F (31-34-65); Evgeni Nabokov, G (41-12-8, 2.44, .910)

How Anaheim wins: The Ducks need to win the goaltending battle. Head coach Randy Carlyle is non-committal about a starter for Game One. The defense in front of the net hasn't been all that good, especially when you consider that they still have Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Perhaps a returning Francois Beuchemin helps. A huge key to the series will be faceoffs, because the Ducks can't afford to lose the puck possession battle. San Jose is among the best in the league, while Anaheim is in the bottom half.

How San Jose wins: The Sharks were the best team in the league virtually all season. They deserve that honor, but here is the proving ground. To be successful, San Jose has to take care of Nabokov, who is very talented but has looked off at times. The Sharks need to take advantage of Anaheim's defensive issues by constantly putting pressure on Niedermayer and Pronger and trying to wear them down.


While Detroit is the defending Stanley Cup champion, they've shown enough vulnerability this season that they might actually be flying under the radar. Don't sleep on these Wings, though.

Columbus leaders: Rick Nash, F (40-39-79); Kristian Huselius, F (21-35-56); R.J. Umberger, F (26-20-46); Steve Mason, G (33-20-7, 2.20, .916)

Detroit leaders: Pavel Datsyuk, F (32-65-97); Henrik Zetterberg, F (31-42-73); Marian Hossa, F (40-31-71); Chris Osgood, G (26-9-8, 3.09, .887)

How Columbus wins: The Blue Jackets need to find some room for their star players. The Wings will try to play the matchup game with Nash, especially in Detroit, but it doesn't mean Ken Hitchcock won't find a way. Columbus also needs to continue to play strong defense and get great work from Mason. They don't have enough depth to run-and-gun with the Wings, but Nash did manage to have some great moments against Detroit this season.

How Detroit wins: Scrap the regular season and remember the playoff run, for one. The Wings were shockingly leaky this season, allowing 244 goals (second-most to Calgary among playoff teams). They are capable of playing shutdown hockey (just ask Colorado, Dallas, and Pittsburgh about last spring). It won't matter how good they are in the offensive zone if they can't clean this up when it matters most.

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs (6) St. Louis Blues

Vancouver had a great run to earn the third seed, but what they did actually pales in comparison to St. Louis, who was last place in the Western Conference as late as the first part of February.

St. Louis leaders: Brad Boyes, F (33-39-72); David Backes, F (31-23-54); David Perron, F (15-35-50); Chris Mason, G (27-21-7, 2.41, .916)

Vancouver leaders: Daniel Sedin, F (31-51-82); Henrik Sedin, F (22-60-82); Ryan Kesler, F (26-33-59); Roberto Luongo, G (33-13-7, 2.34, .920)

How St. Louis wins: They have to find a way to keep doing what they've been doing. The Blues have been basically playing playoff games since the end of February. A huge key has been Mason, who has six shutouts on the season and was very sharp in the Blues' three-game win streak at the end of the season that propelled them to sixth place. Veteran Keith Tkachuk will be called on to help lead this group of young forwards into their first NHL playoff experience.

How Vancouver wins: The Canucks have shown punch in all four lines, played some great defense, and have Luongo at his best right now. Vancouver needs to excel on special teams in the playoffs, where they've been average all year. Despite their youth, St. Louis' power play is potent, and the Canucks can't give away any momentum when they're a man short. Unlike recent Vancouver teams, this one is good enough to not need superhuman work by Luongo to win, and they need to keep it that way.

(4) Chicago Blackhawks vs (5) Calgary Flames

Chicago is all gaga over this playoff team, and they face a Calgary team beset by injuries at a really bad time. Don't make a mistake here, though. The Flames are definitely dangerous.

Calgary leaders: Jarome Iginla, F (35-54-89); Mike Cammalleri, F (39-43-82); Daymond Langkow, F (21-28-49); Miikka Kiprusoff, G (45-24-5, 2.84, .903)

Chicago leaders: Martin Havlat, F (29-48-77); Patrick Kane, F (25-45-70); Jonathan Toews, F (34-35-69); Nikolai Khabibulin, G (25-8-7, 2.33, .919)

How Calgary wins: Injuries are not an excuse, but Calgary has to get healthy to have a real shot. It sounds as if the bodies will be available for Calgary, but how effective will they be? Kiprusoff has been up and down all year, and needs to raise his level of play. You know what you'll get out of Iginla and Langkow, but is Cammalleri ready for his first foray into postseason hockey since the 2005 AHL playoffs?

How Chicago wins: Speaking of inexperience, let's welcome the youthful Blackhawks to the playoffs. Among the Hawks' top forward line, the only playoff experience belongs to Havlat from his days in Ottawa. Chicago needs to continue a recent trend, which has seen them playing better in their zone. Khabibulin backstopped the Lightning to a Stanley Cup before the lockout, so it's not like he can't do this. They also need a healthy Patrick Sharp, who scored 26 goals in 61 games.