NHL Playoffs Set (WEST)

Okay, so you saw the East, now it's time to take a look at the craziness out West, and we might as well start off with the number one seed, Detroit Red Wings VS the Calgary Flames. Hasek VS Kiprusoff in the first round, are you kidding me? How great is that to kick things off, and if one goalie gets particularly hot, I wouldn't be surprised to see a huge upset here. In fact, let's roll with it. Calgary wins in 7. Oh man, it's gonna be nuts. Iginla is hot, is going to stay hot, Mikka will keep his pads together, yeah, Detroit in 7. I mean Calgary, oh...I have no idea.

Fine. Calgary. Let's do it.

Ducks Wild is one of the easier ones. I've been a fan of the Ducks all season, and it's one of my personal beliefs they got a bit bored halfway through. Well, bored no more once Stanley comes a knocking. Giggy has some off-ice issues, but it's not a problem. He's a professional, the team is very professional and very experienced, and I think Ducks advance in 5 or 6 over a very good Minnesota team it's own right (lowest amount of goals let up this year), just not good enough.

Vancouver Dallas is another tough one. Two teams built around quality goalies in Luongo and Turco respectively, both have solid teams and I can see this getting a bit ugly. In the end, Vancouver--led by the two Sedin's--will prevail in 6. Dallas is another of those funny teams with such good defense, however, that if things break the right way (but then again, you can say that about every team, what I love about hockey playoffs...) they can easily win this out too. You know what? Defense wins in the NHL playoffs, and I'll switch this one as well. Dallas in 7.

Now, perhaps the series I am most looking forward to, San Jose Sharks VS Nashville Predators. When this series was announced, you could hear the wind and the showdown music, you know what I'm talking about. This is a repeat from last year, which San Jose won, and I think they win again over one of the much more improved teams in the league. Nashville ran out and acquired Forsberg just for this occasion, but I still like the Sharks more. Cheechoo, Michalek, and Thorton, oh my my my. Sharks have a superior power play unit, and we will all see it in action in the upcoming weeks. I like the Sharks in 6, maybe 7.

So there you have it. One league is all favorites, the other league is pretty much all upsets. As always, the reality will be somewhere in between (always seems what happens to me, but bet your dollar I'm keeping track.) Will the Devils win? Will the Mighty Ducks, my runner up, run up? Will Sharks/Predators and Penguins/Senators prove to be the most exciting? Will Sean Avery really be the most overrated player in the league?

Well, tune in. Or at least keep track of it. These are gonna be good games. On this, I have a very good feeling.