2014 Playoff Preview 1st Round: Western Conference

(1) Nashville Predators vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

Season Series: Los Angeles Kings 2-1

Offense:

Aaron Wilson is a patient GM, and after early exits the last three years after winning the cup in 2009, it still hasn’t tempted him to make drastic moves. That has paid off, with team veterans Patrice Bergeron and Jason Pominville having huge years up front, while getting plenty of offense from the other lines including offseason signing Clarke MacArthur. One thing that may pose a problem like it has in the past is that the forward group doesn’t have the size and physicality that you need in the playoffs. Other than Bergeron, the center core is all below 6’0 and could be in trouble against bigger opponents.

After having an excellent year paired with Sidney Crosby, Patrik Elias returned to LA and continued to be one of the most dominant scorers in the MRFHL. One thing to be feared about the Kings is that they can spread out the scoring with a 40 goal scorer on both the first and second lines. Though if the Predators can shut down either of those lines, it will go a long way as the Kings fail to get much scoring from anywhere else.  What may end up being the difference is that the Kings have guys on the bottom lines that can make life a living hell, and can make the big hit to turn the tide of the game.

Advantage: Slight edge to Los Angeles

Defence and Goaltending:

One thing reigning GM of the Year Brian Vilaranda did was shore up the defense by signing Douglas Murray and Michal Rozsival. Add in that  the team decided to keep Brent Burns at D instead of moving up front, and you have a very steady D. Don’t expect this group to jump in to the rush as some of the more dynamic groups in the league , but the fact is that they get the job done even though the leading goal scorer was Andrew MacDonald with 6, which is a big step down from Burns 14 from last year. This year saw a definite improvement in Kari Lehtonen, which should breathe some confidence in to the team as he was excellent in the playoffs last year after a mediocre season.

After years of Niklas Backstrom backstopping (ha) the Nashville Predators net for years, the reigns were finally handed over to rookie Sergei Bobrovsky and he did not disappoint. Bobrovsky put together a season that should get him the Calder and may even earn him a Vezina. As for the D, it is solid as ever with Mike Green providing the offense and Brooks Orpik being a defensive stalwart on the top pairing, while the rest of the core gets the job done.

Advantage: Nashville

Verdict: Los Angeles in 7

 If there was one team that the Predators didn’t want in the 8^th seed, it was probably Los Angeles (Chicago would probably be a close 2^nd). The Kings are better than their record indicates, and the fact that they’ve been to (and lost) the last two finals shouldn’t be overlooked at the hungry there is for a championship there.

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Winnipeg Jets

Season Series: San Jose Sharks 3-0

Offense:

The loss of back to back Art Ross winner Andy McDonald to retirement, there was a worry to get scoring in San Jose. On paper, the Sharks look like a one line team up front. But the fact is this team has found a way to work together and get contributions from every line.  There have been calls to get Marleau and Gaborik one separate lines to help spread out the scoring, but so far it has worked. What they lack in skill, the bottom lines make up for in hard work. David Moss, Josh Bailey and Troy Brouwer may not be the sexiest 2^nd line in the MRFHL, but it is a hard working line that can be a living hell to play against, and it seems like a system has been bought in to under coach Todd Richards in San Jose.

The Jets went for the express rebuild this offseason, and the fact that they are in a playoff spot suggests it has worked. He picked up David Backes in the off-season, and while he hasn’t been as big a help offensively as they may have hoped, he has contributed a lot in other areas. The scoring was addressed when the team picked up Henrik Zetterberg, who has caught fire since joining the Jets, playing with top team scorer Derek Stepan and Backes. They do have other weapons that just haven’t lived up to the contract, mainly Ales Hemsky who has floundered on the 3^rd line all year. There are some imposing forces on the bottom lines, but like the season, scoring may be a cause for concern if the top line is heavily guarded.

Advantage: Winnipeg

Defence and Goaltending:

In season additions Stephane Robidas and Dustin Byfuglien make up the top pairing, and both have added an extra boost to the backend that includes a very young pairing of Justin Schultz and Dougie Hamilton. Hjalmarsson and Hamhuis is an awesome 2^nd pairing, that may need to log more minutes if the young guys start taking too many mistakes. The big question is in net. Jonathan Quick, the reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe winner was expected to bring in stability. That has not happened, as he continues to have a rough year, and it should come as no shock when Jason LaBarbera gets game 1. The veteran backup has been excellent this season, and is a big reason why they Jets are in a playoff spot to begin with.

The defense in San Jose has one mindset, and that is very defensive heavy. Even though Chris Phillips and Mark Giordano had success on the scoreboard this year, it is definitely not the strength of the core. Joni Pitkanen and Jan Hejda had their struggles this year on the 2^nd pairing, but they can hold down the fort and eat a lot of minutes. In net, Jaroslav Halak was a huge add, providing excellent goaltending and giving the team a chance to win every night and they are hoping he can keep up to the pressures of the playoff grind.

Advantage: San Jose 

Verdict: San Jose in 6

The biggest difference maker may be the fact that the Sharks have managed to click together this year with a lack of talent, while the talent in Winnipeg hasn’t fully been able to pull it all together.

(3) Dallas Stars vs. (6) Calgary Flames

Season Series: Calgary Flames 2-1

Offense:

It’s finally here! The playoffs are in Dallas, and it’s being led by a group of youngsters (and Steve Sullivan). The offense all year has been led by the likes of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jeff Skinner and Tyler Seguin, but that comes with a lot of risk with 0 playoff games among them. Joffrey Lupul was brought in at the deadline and the results have been less than desired playing on the top line, and they hope he gets going. It’s really hard to judge how well this group will hold up in the playoffs, considering that even some of their grinders are rookies are rookies as well. The team will really have to rely on Hanzus and Sullivan in crucial parts of the game.

The Flames this season made the unpopular move of dealing away Thomas Vanek. With Vanek gone, only Matt Duchene remains as a pure offensive threat up front. Thornton, van Riemsdyk and Eriksson can provide some, but none of them can really replace what they lost in Vanek. The Flames have a certain amount of interesting depth on their top two lines, but after that it is an odd mix of players that don’t really do anything exceedingly well. The true key to this series will be Joe Thornton, as the big dominant center will need to outwork the skilled young guys on Dallas.

Advantage: Dallas

Defence and Goaltending:

The top two pairings have their flaws in Calgary, but they have the potential to be something feared. John Carlson is shaping in to one of the best young D in the league, while Bogosian may prove to be a solid pickup. The vet Tom Poti patrols the 3^rd pairing, and while he hasn’t logged big minutes, he has been effective in the minutes he has played. And while the plan is to have youngster Ryan Ellis playing with him, don’t be surprised to see Nate Guenin slot in, as him and Poti have been a very solid bottom pairing for most of the year.  In net, I can’t say I expected I saw Devan Dubnyk having as much as success as he has seen in Calgary. The 27 year old has been excellent since joining Calgary, winning 16 games and sporting a very solid 2.39 GAA.

Defense and goaltending is a completely different story, with a part of veterans. Toni Lydman, Ryan Whitney and Ed Jovanovski did a lot of the heavy lifting during the season, and they’ll have to do that much more in the playoffs.  There is a serious need for some puck movers in Dallas, as offense from the backend is lacking. The team MVP this season may be Tim Thomas, as the Stars finally got some much needed goaltending that they’ve been lacking for years.

Advantage: Calgary

Verdict: Dallas in 7

It really seemed like fate that these two would meet in the 1^st round. This is going to be a tightly contested series, and I just see Dallas edging this one out barely against a tough Flames crew.

(4) St. Louis Blues vs. (5) Vancouver Canucks

Season Series: St. Louis Blues 2-1

Offense:

You can look at forwards 3 to 12 all you want, you really want see anything. The Blues are probably the most talented deprived roster in the entire MRFHL. Yet with that said, they somehow have home ice advantage. This can probably be credited…..well not probably, a 100 percent of the credit goes to the unlikely chemistry between Art Ross winner Brad Richards, and Gilbert Brule. The pairing has provided close to 50 percent of the offense just between the two of them.  This team has plenty of grinders, and that should be no problem for the Blues in this series.

While the Blues are devoid of talent, the Canucks may just have too much to really get them enough ice time. With all the talent in the world, the Canucks just couldn’t really put it all together until the end of the year. Stamkos, Parise and Malkin is scary on paper, but just not scary enough on the ice, but they need to be in the playoffs. The 3^rd line really has it all with some offense, defense and just down right pestiness (I don’t care if that’s not a word!). But the basic math of it is, if they don’t show up to enough games like they have this year, it could mean an early exit.

Advantage: Vancouver

Defence and Goaltending:

Only 7goals from the hard shooting Shea Weber can be considered a massive disappointment, but the fact is that Weber and Seabrook were excellent defensively all season for the Canucks. It will really be no surprise when these two elite defenders match up against Richards all series and whoever wins that battle may decide the series. The second pairing of Girardi and Staal are just as capable, but they really have no one to defend against, which is disappointing that they are not more offensively capable, as they would be able to move around the puck a lot more against the Blues other lines. Cory Schneider was solid in net all year for the Canucks, but he will need to be even better going forward if the Canucks want to lift the Stanley Cup this year.

The defense is better, but that’s not really saying much. Anton Volchenkov is the only one that has consistently provided offense from the back pairing. The rest of the D have experience and are not pushovers which should not get overlooked. And the fact is, they didn’t make many mistakes this year and really sometimes that is all you can ask for from your D. Niklas Backstrom joined the Blues this offseason, and he brought with him a Conn Smythe and it appears he got a second wind in his career. Backstrom put up excellent numbers in St. Louis and you can almost credit him with the other half of the production on this team.

Advantage: Vancouver

Verdict:  Vancouver in 6

 Mike Yeo really deserves coach of the year for accomplishing so much with so little. Though the Blues have been great, it’s just hard to ignore the juggernaut that is the Vancouver Canucks. They just have the depth to just grind down the Blues, and if Richards is quiet one night, that really kills any chance for the Blues.