Western Conference Playoff Preview

Today and tomorrow I'll be taking a look at each of the playoff match-ups in the NHL, offering some analysis and predictions. First up, the Western Conference.

1. Chicago Blackhawks vs. 8 Minnesota Wild  
     
Season series: 2-0-1 Hawks
On paper, this appears to be the most lopsided of any first round series. While the Blackhawks were first in the West for goals scored, the Wild were 12th. Chicago is a team of great offensive depth, with nine players picking up 20 or more points, including team leader Patrick Kane (55pts), and Minnesota (led by Zach Parise's 38pts) just can't match that level of offensive production. The Wild were slightly better defensively (14th overall in goals against), but still don't come close to the Hawks, who led the league with only 102 goals against and should win the Jennings trophy. In goal, Minnesota's Nicklas Backstrom stood on his head this year, keeping the Wild in many close games. However, Chicago gets the edge here also, as Corey Crawford and Ray Emery tied for 3rd in the NHL for goals against average (1.94) and combined for 36 wins and 6 shutouts. On special teams, the Hawks had a brilliant penalty kill, finishing with an 87.2% efficiency, while the Wild were only 80.7%. The one area where Minnesota may hope to take advantage is the power play, as Chicago was a mediocre 16.7% on the pp, good enough for 19th overall in the NHL, while the Wild operated at 17.9%. The Hawks would do well to stay out of the box, as they were the most productive five on five team in the league.

Key Players: 
Chicago: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford
Minnesota: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter, Nicklas Backstrom

Prediction: 4-0 Hawks. I'm always hesitant to predict a sweep, but Chicago looks to dominate Minnesota in almost every category. Unless the Hawks top guns suddenly fall silent, or Nicklas Backstrom can steal a few games, this is going to be a very short series.


2. Anaheim Ducks vs 7. Detroit Red Wings 

Season series: 2-1-0 Wings
The Ducks are led up front by captain Ryan Getzlaf, who had a great comeback year netting 15 goals and 47 points. He's backed up by Corey Perry (36pts), Bobby Ryan (29pts) and Teemu Selanne (11 goals). For the Wings it was Pavel Datsyuk (49pts) and captain Henrik Zetterberg (48pts) providing the scoring as usual, though Detroit can't match the offensive depth of Anaheim and finished in the bottom half of the league for goals scored. The Ducks defensive corps is solid but unspectacular, led by top pairing Francois Beauchemin and Sheldon Souray. However they have good overall team defense and only three of the Duck's regulars finished in the minus category. The Wings group of d-men missed Nicklas Lidstrom this season, yet as a whole are very mobile and can quickly move the puck up ice. The Duck split the goaltending duties this season, and though Jonas Hiller is the incumbent starter in Anaheim, backup VIktor Fasth played much better in similar minutes. Should Hiller falter at any point, the Ducks won't hesitate to put in Fasth. Jimmy Howard has been the man all year in Detroit, and may earn a Vezina nomination after picking up 21 wins and five shutouts. The Ducks power play was deadly (21.5%), finishing 4th overall, while the Wings struggled a bit on the pp finishing 15th overall (18.4%). However both penalty kill units were only average; the Wings finished 11th and the Ducks 12th.

Key Players: 
Anaheim: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Sheldon Souray, Jonas Hiller
Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Jimmy Howard

Prediction: 4-3 Wings. This is going to be a tougher series than the seeding suggests. While Anaheim may have the advantage on paper, the Wings are a veteran team who knows what it takes to win and have been absolutely on fire lately. In the end, it may come down to goaltending, where the Wings have the edge.


3. Vancouver Canucks vs 6. San Jose Sharks 
       
Season series 3-0-0 Sharks
This one is actually closer than the season series indicates, as two of the Sharks' three wins were only by one goal, and the other (a 4-1 decision) was way back in the first week of the season. Up front, the Sharks offence is strong and skilled but only finished 23rd overall for goals scored with 124 after a blazing hot start to the season. They're led, as always, by captain Joe Thonrton (40pts), Logan Couture (21 goals) and Patrick Marleau (31pts). In Vancouver, it was more of the same, as the Sedin twins Henrik (45pts) and Daniel (40pts) once again finished the year one-two in team scoring. However, secondary scoring wasn't as consistent as it has been in past years, and someone outside the top line is going to have to step up. Team defense was a strength for both clubs, as the Sharks finished 4th in the West (116 goals against) and the Canucks finished 8th (121 goals against, though they were at 114 before a blowout game last night when they rested many of their veterans).  Five Canucks had a plus minus in the double digits, while the Sharks were led by Couture who finished at only +7.  In goal, Sharks starter Antti Niemi had a brilliant season, finishing top ten in all major goaltending categories. The Canucks, as is well known, still have a bit of a goaltending problem. Newly appointed starter Cory Schneider was even better than Niemi this season, but may be nursing some type of injury that will prevent him from starting game one. If that's the case, former starter Roberto Luongo will get the cage, and he's been inconsistent this year while posting mediocre stats. The Sharks (pp 20.1% pk 85.0%) get the edge of special teams over Vancouver (pp 15.8% pk 84%), though the Canuck's power play has improved lately with the return of Ryan Kesler to the lineup. Both teams were pretty much even in terms of five on five production.

Key Players:
Vancouver: Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Alex Edler, Cory Schneider
San Jose: Joe Thronton, Logan Couture, Dan Boyle, Antti Niemi

Prediction: 4-3 Canucks. This is going to be a long, hard-fought series between two rivals that last met just two years ago in the Western Conference final. There's not much separating them on paper, but the Sharks excellent home record cannot be ignored. However if Schneider can get into the series and play to his abilities, I think that will give the Canucks the edge.

4. St. Louis Blues vs 5. Los Angeles Kings 
      
Season series: 3-0-0 Kings
The Blues lack a true star on offense, though they are very deep and get contributions from throughout their lineup. Chris Stewart (36pts) David Backes (28pts) and Patrik Berglund (17goals) were the most dangerous of a balanced attacking group. The Kings struggled to score last year, but have turned it around this season, finishing 9th in the league for goals scored (133). Anze Kopitar (42pts) had another great season and he's backed up by Justin Williams (33pts) and Jeff Carter (26 goals). They Kings were equally as good defensively this season, also finishing 9th in the league in goals against. However the Blues have the edge here, as they only allowed 115 goals (2nd best in the West) thanks to a strong and disciplined defensive system employed by coach Ken Hitchcock. The Blues played three goalies this year with varying levels of success, though Brian Elliott seems the most likely to start game one. Elliott had a mediocre save percentage however (.907), and his very good goals against average (2.28) may be more indicative of the defense in front of him than the actual quality of his play. For the Kings, it'll be last year's Conn Smythe trophy winner Jon Quick getting the start again, though he's not continued his amazing play from last spring this season. Backup Jonathan Bernier had a much better year and may get some minutes in this series should Quick fall apart.  The special teams battle is pretty even here, the Kings get the edge on the pp (19.9% to 19.5%), but the Blues are better on the pk (84.7% to 83.2%). Five on five however, Los Angeles has a distinct advantage, and they will want to try and stay out of the box in order to utilize it.

Key Players: 
St. Louis: Chris Stewart, David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Brian Elliot
Los Angeles: Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Drew Doughty, Jon Quick

Prediction: 4-2 Kings. The Blues play a frustrating, suffocating style of hockey that can be hard to break through. However, as good as the Blues have been in all aspects of their game, the Kings have been their equal. Also, the Kings boast a more dynamic offense that is capable of exploiting the Blues goaltending. The Kings should take this series, but as they themselves proved last year, anybody is capable of going on a run and I wouldn't count the Blues completely out just yet.


That's all for today everybody, thanks for reading. Stay tuned tomorrow, because I'll have more previews and analysis for all the Eastern conference match-ups. Please comment with your predictions, I'd love to hear them, and don't forget to share on the social media platfomr of your choice if you like the content here at WAAP. It's easy to do, just click one of the buttons below. No daily gif today, as I've gone a bit long, but I'll be back with more tomorrow!