Western Conference Playoff Preview
By RYAN STETSON
The Western Conference may not have the young stars of the East, but it features better teams and the chance to watch games that last until 3 a.m EST or later.
Higher seed with worst opening round match-up: Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes completed their best season in franchise history, shattering team records for wins and points en route to the fourth best record in the NHL.
]Their reward?
The Coyotes play a Detroit Red Wings team that closed the season on a 17-3-2 run. After suffering from injuries and poor goaltending, Detroit has rebounded. Rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard has emerged as a Calder Candidate and the Wings are finally healthy.
Playoff match with most lopsided season series: Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
They only played four times this season, but the Vancouver Canucks won three of those games. The Kings, however, dominated the Canucks in their most recent match-up, winning 8-3.
These former Smythe Division rivals will meet in the postseason for the first time since 1993, the same year the Kings won the Western Conference.
Highest scoring series: San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche rank sixth in the NHL in goals scored, averaging 2.91 goals per game. Colorado also allowed an average of 3.67 goals in its last 18 games, going over the total 14 times.
San Jose is averaging 3.13 goals per game, fourth best in the NHL. The Sharks have scored exactly four goals in five of their last 10 contests.
Best sleeper pick to win the West: Phoenix Coyotes
They may be the higher seed with the toughest opening round match-up, but the Phoenix Coyotes have been a model of consistency.
The Coyotes, available to win the Stanley Cup at 20/1, did not have a losing streak of more than three games this season. They finished third in the Western Conference in points, and they win games by outworking opponents, playing as a team and relying heavily on goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
Best player to pick for your playoff hockey pool: Henrik Sedin
Henrik Sedin won the Art Ross Trophy, leading the NHL with 112 points. The next closest player in the West was Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars with 91 points.
Sedin averaged over an assist per game and was a main reason the Vancouver Canucks led the Western Conference in scoring.
The Canucks have a favorable first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Kings that should see a fair amount of goals scored. Los Angeles has allowed at least three goals in eight of its last 12 games.
Goalie that could steal a series: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
If Nashville has any chance of defeating the Chicago Blackhawks, they will likely have to lean heavily on sophomore goaltender Pekka Rinne.
Rinne’s overall numbers aren’t spectacular (32-16-5, 2.53 goals-against average, .911 save percentage), but he has played considerably better in the second half of the season.
Rinne finished tied for third in the NHL with seven shutouts, with four of those shutouts coming in his last 14 games. He has allowed more than three goals only once since the Olympic break.
NHL Playoff Betting Preview - Western Conference
Doug Upstone
The best part of the NHL season has arrived, the Stanley Cup chase. Eight teams from each conference all believing they are the team of destiny. The opening round is often treacherous territory as 12 lower seeds have won the last four years and three other went to a game seven, as the higher seed used its home ice edge to conquer opponent. Goaltending is such a huge part of the Stanley Cup dynamic and five of the seven regular starting netminders in the Western Conference have no previous postseason experience, which will just add to the craziness. All lines courtesy of BetUS.com.
1. San Jose vs (8) Colorado
The West has five legitimate teams capable skill-wise of making the Stanley Cup Finals and the top one at least from talent standpoint is San Jose. The Sharks have five 20-goal scorers, but are more thought of as lion from the Wizard of Oz, lacking courage at crunch time. Among the reasons is San Joses inability to outwork the opposition in April and May (let alone June) as past playoffs have shown and though Evgeni Nabokov is among the Top 10 goalies in the game, he is 32-31 in the postseason and did nothing to enhance is status with disappointing Olympic performance.
Youth was served in Colorado this season as remade roster was coached by first year coach Joe Sacco. The grind of a long season appeared to wear down the young Avs players, losing 10 of final 13 contests. Their top point producers were mostly first year players like Matt Duchene. Goalie Craig Anderson was 10-4 SU in October, but he too saw his play slip, after facing the most shots of any netminder in the NHL.
San Jose is the third choice to be Stanley Cup champions at +390 and have to take advantage of Colorados penalty-killing that has surrendered 15 goals in previous 14 games. San Jose is 5-1 on home ice against the Avalanche and 8-4 in the last three years. If the Sharks are truly hungry as they claim, they dominate Avs at home and at worst split in the Rockies.
Pick- San Jose (-400) in five over Colorado (+330)
1. Chicago vs (7) Nashville
The Blackhawks are actually the top betting choice to be in Cup Finals; however they will have to navigate a potentially treacherous opponent in Nashville. This will be the last series to commence, starting on Friday and the Predators have blue-line talent like Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. They also have netminder who can turn into stone wall in Pekka Rinne, whose had personal win streaks of four or more games three times to go along with seven shutouts. Nashville is offensively challenged but coach Barry Trotz rings out every bit of talent out of this frugal franchise.
Chicago has splendid offensive players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith and is stellar as possessing the puck to keep the pressure on opposing defenses. The Blackhawks will look to keep this advantage and force Nashville mistakes, which could prove fatal with the Preds 28th in penalty kills. Chicagos question mark is between the pipes with Finnish rookie Antti Niemi. The 26-year old has been the nearly impregnable, handing out seven zeroes in only 38 starts and is riding six-game winning streak. How long can it last?
Chicago won four of six, but these Central Division rivals couldnt be any less familiar with one another, having not met in 2010. These teams only averaged 4.5 goals a game in their meetings, thus the Under and Chicago looks like the best bet.
Pick- Chicago (-410) in five over Nashville (+340)
1. Vancouver vs (6) Los Angeles
Unlike the 4 vs.5 matchup, Vancouver and Los Angeles will play in the same time zone for the duration of their series, playing every other day. The Canucks organization (to sound Canadien, pronounce it organ-EYE-zation) thinks of itself more than just a fringe player out West. They see themselves as real contenders with NHL's points leader Henrik Sedin leading a deep, balanced offense that can apply continual pressure. In net, Robert Luongo is regarded as one of the best keepers in the game, but can melt down like an ice cream cone on a warm summers day, leaving a mess. The Canucks were 30-11 on home ice, but face an under the radar Kings club that could be troublesome.
Though Los Angeles is a sixth seed compared Vancouver at No. 3, they only finished two points behind the Canucks in final standings and reached the 100-point total for the first time in 19 long years. The Kings have quality youngsters like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty and have no real expectations, thus can perform pressure-free compared to Vancouver. The Kings stay in the post-season will correspond with the play of goalie Jonathan Quick. The 24-year old was having brilliant campaign, but lost his final eight starts.
L.A. was 24-17 SU on the road, but lost both contests at Vancouver scoring a total of two goals. They will need Quick to be extra quick and score early to make Canucks breathe with greater uncertainty. This could go the distance with upset potential.
Pick- Vancouver (-240) in seven over Los Angeles (+200)
1. Phoenix vs (5) Detroit
Without a doubt the most compelling first round matchup of all. Phoenix was the most engaging story in hockey all year. A franchise owned by the league trying to find an owner to keep it in the desert, bringing in a coach just days before the start of the regular season, yet miraculously the Coyotes ended up with the 50 wins (fourth best) and are in the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Coach Dave Babcock is a back of the net choice for coach of the year and netminder Ilya Bryzgalov is a legitimate candidate for the Hart (best player) and Vezina (top goalie) trophies this year. Phoenix is the only higher seed not to be favored in a series and realistically for good reason.
It was not that long along Detroit was fighting just to earn the final spot in the West to make the postseason. However, the Red Wings got healthier week by week after the Olympic break and are on serious roll at 17-3-2. They Red Wings have the players known for high-level performances this time of year. Detroit will look to play keep away with the puck to slow down defensive-minded Phoenix and dont have to fear the Yotes prowess in shootouts (14 of the Coyotes wins came by this method) since regular overtime will decide winners.
These teams split four conflicts and if Phoenix wants to go beyond Cinderella fairy-tale dressed up as dogs, no better team to prove it against. Red Wings rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard has NO experience this time of the year; however Bryzgalov has just 16 playoff games under his sweater. Coyotes have to stay out of the penalty box and play their game to continue dream season.
Pick- Detroit (-185) in six over Phoenix (+165)