2009 NHL Western Conference Playoff Preview: The Newsman Cometh

Well, after pounding out our Eastern Conference predictions yesterday, Ron and I are back.

Ron: Welcome back. Before the break we promised to show you exclusive footage of the oldest woman in San Diego water skiing. Well here it is.

BT: How unbelievably unnecessary.

Anyhow, with the Eastern Conference on the record books, it's time to move on to the West, and area where Ron specializes.

Ron: Unique New York. Unique New York.

BT: Whatever. Here we—

Ron: THE ARSONIST HAS ODDLY SHAPED FEET!

BT:....go....

No. 1. San Jose Sharks vs. No. 8. Anaheim Mighty Ducks

BT: If you were to look at the San Jose Sharks, you'd have to think that they could deal fairly easy with any opposition.

They're the reigning President Trophy winners (beating the Bruins by one point), they had the most wins of any team in the NHL and the fewest losses, and they had the third-best powerplay and fifth-best penalty kill.

The roster is not only stacked with the likes of Joe Thornton and (the only other goalie to win 40 games  in the NHL this year) Evgeni Nabokov, but they've also got bounce-back stars Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau, and breakout years from Christian Ehrhoff and Joe Pavelski.

Head-to-head the Sharks have ahold of the Ducks, up 4-2.

But consider this: Although the Anaheim Ducks have lost four of those head-to-head matchups, the score is even at 12 goals a piece.

And just as the Sharks are getting healthier, so are the Ducks as Francois Beauchemin returned in Anaheim's final game of the season, simply to bolster a defense that already features Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Whitney, and James Wisniewski, each of whom (aside from Niedermayer) have averaged 20 or more minutes during their past five games.

Wisniewski and Whitney have also helped out Anaheim's power play with 12 powerplay points between the two since coming over at or near the deadline.

The Ducks are also hot, winning seven of their last eight in the month of March, and three of five during April.

If the Ducks want to compete though, it comes down to goaltending. Jonas Hiller posted an outstanding rookie season, but he was relieved in the final game by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who went 9/9 in saves. Giggy also has a history of coming up large in the playoffs, with a Stanley Cup ring and a Conn Smythe trophy to his credit.

Whoever gets the starts though, will need to keep a hefty offensive attack in check.

Then again, if Ryan Getzlaf (14 points in his last nine games), Corey Perry (13 points in his last nine games), and Bobby Ryan (11 points in his last nine games) can perform up to snuff, the Ducks will at least remain competitive.

This one should be a good one.

Ron: I like this matchup. They're both sunny so if I tire of the dreary cold of an arena, I can go outside and tan. Hockey with a tan is good hockey in my books. Given the choice though, I'll take San Jose. In no way does it mean "Saint Jose". That would just be silly.

I believe it means a dolphin's inner ear. As you can assume, it's closely related to San Diego—which has a very common definition.

Bryan says Sharks in six.

Ron says Sharks in seven.

No. 2. Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 7. Columbus Blue Jackets

BT: I don't need to say much about the Red Wings. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, Nik Lidstrom, Brain Rafalski, Johan Franzen, Jiri Hudler, and Nicklas Kronwall can all score.

They've got depth and experience all up and down their lineup, and the most important piece that they're missing—Andreas Lilja—has been replaced by rookie Jonathan Ericsson, who's averaged just under 20 minutes a game since about March 20th.

But of course, there's the goaltending. Chris Osgood, has looked disoriented all year, and Ty Conklin hasn't looked much better lately.

Chalk up a category win for Steve Mason and the Blue Jackets, as Mason could easily steal a game on his own in this series.

Despite that advantage though, the Blue Jackets will need to continue to work on their defensive play, and keep the pressure on Detroit, instead of allowing them to establish their puck-moving game.

The Blue Jackets had some strong offensive performances this season—especially from Rick Nash—but I don't think there's enough depth for them to keep up with Detroit for seven games.

Ron: There's one reason why Columbus could win: Mike Commodore.

His beard rivals that of Zeus. Something that powerful cannot simply be kept under wraps. If he chooses to unless his beard this spring, it shall be done, and no "winged wheel" shall stand in his way.

What's the meaning of this "winged wheel" anyways? Cars can't fly. It's science. I deal with facts, not a fantasy land.

Bryan says Wings in six (expect Conklin to replace Osgood a la Osgood to Hasek last year).

Ron says Blue Jackets in five.

No. 3. Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 6. St Louis Blues

BT: This could be one of the most interesting series to watch.

Prior to this season, so many people had written off the Blues. They had a lot of quality pieces coming up and developing, but the playoffs seemed to be a bit of a stretch.

Who would've guessed that the Central Division would have been one of the most competitive (after Chicago and Detroit), and that we were three points away from having a 50% chance at having the Central Division representing the West in the Stanley Cup final.

Needless to say, the Blues earned everything they got: They had the best record in the NHL over the final 10 games (8-1-1), their goalie—Chris Mason—has only lost twice since March 20th (with two shutouts in that time frame), and the offense has been rolling, scoring four or more goals ten times in the past two months.

Despite an injury to Erik Johnson (Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open with a torn ACL, why can't I play hockey with one?) and a debilitating hip injury to Paul Kariya, the Blues stayed competitive, and gave their fans what they so desperately deserved.

Now they face their ultimate test in the Vancouver Canucks.

An All Star goalie in Roberto Luongo who has allowed just one goal in his last three games, a one-two punch in Daniel and Henrik Sedin that have all three teams with enough cap space drooling for free agency, and a strong defense all play into the Canucks favor, including 13 wins over the past two months.

What might hurt them though, is the consistency from the other sources of their offense. Mats Sundin has just six multi-point games with the Canucks, and just two since February 10.

Pavol Demitra has just four points in eight games, and he's a minus-three in that span, while Alex Burrows (who is second on the Canucks in goals) has just two goals in his past seven games.

While the Canucks have the exerience, the Blues have youthful exuberance—and the best opportunity for an upset this series.

Ron: Vancouver's mascot is a whale. Which is strange because whales are large, lethargic creatures. Very slow. A very bad choice for a mascot for a sports team.

St Louis has the upper hand in many categories though. For one, their team name is the "Blues". Blues is a form of Jazz. That's a win in my books if there ever was one.

Next is the fact that they're from St Louis. Have you ever had St Louis style ribs? Delicious. They get stuck in your teeth and you get to taste them all day. This is a team I'd like to taste for the rest of the playoffs.

Hopefully they stick it to the Vancouver San Diego's.

Bryan says Blues in six.

Ron says Blues in four.

No. 4. Chicago Blackhawks vs. No. 5. Calgary Flames

Ron: I'm using simple math on this one. Chicago is the Windy City, and wind puts out fire. The Native Americans also invented fire, meaning that they own it. Our old news director was a man named Chico. I liked him

Three good reasons to choose Chicago.

BT: I'm not even sure how to feel right now.

Ron: Feel honoured my friend.

BT: Well...anyways...Chicago is the wide-eyed favorite in this series. The Flames are hurt, and hurt bad. So much so they dressed only nine forwards over the weekend.

That's not good.

Then again, Miikka Kiprusoff wasn't overly good either. Granted he netted the Flames 45 wins (that's 44 more than Curtis McElhinney), but he finished with a .903 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against.

He's also won just six times in the past sixteen games. Not good.

Olli Jokinen hasn't exactly been a world-beater either with just three points in his past 11 games, or Jarome Iginla with six points in his last 11 games.

Then when you look at the Blackhawks, they have two goalies who could control a playoff series in Nikolai Khabibulin (six goals allowed in his past six games) and Christobal Huet, and they were able to add some experience at the Trade Deadline in Sami Pahlsson.

Then you've got the defense, anchored by Brian Campbell, Duncan Keith, Cam Barker, and Brent Seabrook, and some solid depth amongst the forwards with Andrew Laad, David Bolland, and Krist Versteeg.

Oh yeah. Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews all had at least 25 goals, and two of them (Kane and Toews) had 70 points (Ok, Toews had 69...so sue me).

And Martin Havlat led this team in scoring. MARTIN HAVLAT!

Turns out he'd destroy the competition if he ever stayed healthy.

Bryan says 'Hawks in five.

Ron says 'Hawks in four.

Ron: Well loyal viewers, that's it for another installment of us. Be sure to tune back in next round with our follow-up picks, and Bryan's apology.

BT: What apology?

Ron: Oh (laughs) you'll see my friend. You'll see.

BT:...

Ron: You stay classy, hockey fans!

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer and an NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. If you want to get in contact with Bryan, you can do so through his profile, or email him at [e-mail]. You can also check out all of his previous work in his archives.

Ron Burgundy is quiet possibly the quintissential man: Good looking, well read, and friends with Merlin Olsen.