NHL Playoffs: Quarterfinal Matchups, Part 2

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 8. Nashville Predators    (DET in 5) 

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 7. Calgary Flames     (SJ in 6)

3. Minnesota Wild vs. 6. Colorado Avalanche 

4. Anaheim Ducks vs. 5.Dallas Stars

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadians vs. 8. Boston Bruins 

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 7. Ottawa Senators 

3. Washington Capitals vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers 

4. New Jersey Devils vs. 5. New York Rangers

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche

Of the 8 games that these teams played against each other, the home team won 7. The lone exception was Minnesota’s 3-2 victory in Colorado. If that doesn’t show the importance of home-ice in this match-up, I don’t know what will. This is a clear case of the up and coming team (Minnesota) against the old guard (Colorado).

Injuries aren’t really an issue for Minnesota, with their only concern really being defenseman Nick Schultz coming back from an appendectomy preformed on Monday. Colorado on the other hand has all of the bangs and bruises it can handle. They took a chance on bringing back damaged goods in Peter Forsberg and with Ryan Smyth’s concussion earlier in the year and a banged up defensive corps (John-Michael Liles (groin), Jordan Leopold (hip), and Adam Foote (hip)).

The Minnesota Wild are a team, they play hard gritty hockey and beat you with their depth instead of their star-power, not to say that Marian Gaborik can’t make the highlight reel. Colorado on the other hand is a mix of what worked in the past and what is kind of working now. Their core is aged veterans and injury prone players that will end up getting worn down by the younger Minnesota Wild.

Bottom Line: Wild in 5

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars

The defensive minded Ducks have only won one game at Dallas this year and have only won 3 of their 8 games against them. So how can one of the best defensive units in the game beat a Dallas team that has found an additional spark from newly acquired forward Brad Richards? They will have to score some goals of their own, which has proven to be anything but easy for this year’s Ducks. The rank tied for 27^th in “goals for” with 205 on the season. Dallas on the other hand is tied for 8^th in the same department with 242 goals.

Injuries seem to be a non-factor in this series as neither team has any big injuries excluding The Star’s key defenseman Sergei Zubov who is out due to a foot injury and a nagging sports hernia. Other than that neither team should be missing anyone due to injury. The question then becomes will the teams be missing anyone for non-injury related issues? It’s always a possibility with Duck’s defenseman Chris Pronger who just finished serving a suspension this past week. The Duck’s are hoping he doesn’t get his feathers too ruffled and end up watching the game from afar.

While Anaheim has a tremendous defense, Dallas just has a few too many ways to score for them to stop them every game. Anaheim does have a good recent history in the playoffs, with a Stanley Cup victory not too far from memory, but will it be enough? I don’t think so. Look for a few 1-0 and 2-1 victories by Dallas as they advance.

Bottom Line: Dallas in 6