NHL Playoffs Round 1: Colorado at Minnesota

Everyone predicts that this will be a dull series to watch.
That is, everyone who doesn't like watching a dog fight to the end is saying this will be the worst series in the opening round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the possible exception of the New Jersey-New York Rangers series in the East, this will be one of the most scrappy, and the longest series, as there is no heavy favorite to take the series. 

In all the other series present (against, with the possible exception of NJ-NYR) everyone is near unanimous in who will make it through to the second round of the playoffs. It would not be surprising to see this series make it to a double OT in Game 7 (although as a fan of the Colorado Avalanche, I would think I would suffer a heart attack should the intensity reach those levels).
When people look at the reasons why Minnesota will take the series, they say that the special teams looks MUCH better than that of the Avalanche. And while that may be, Colorado has recently been taking advantage of their power plays. Since the deadline, they have converted on the powerplay in all but a few games, and in the games where they do score a powerplay goal, the Avalanche are nearly unbeatable.

Another strong argument for choosing Minnesota in your hockey pools is that their goaltending of Backstrom and Harding are tough walls to solve. When Minnesota rides a lead into the 3rd period, don't expect to see many comebacks.

However, the Avalanche already have the perfect solution: going old school. Since bringing back Peter Forsberg, the Avalanche are 8-1 with him in the game. With three three-assist games already under his belt, its easy to see that with 'Foppa,' teams have to be very wary.

However, the Avalanche offense does not even come close to stopping with Peter the Great. Also offensive threats are Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Andrew Brunette and Ryan Smyth.
But like all infomercials say: "But wait! there's more!"
Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski are big contributors to the Avalanche offense, and will be  a major benefit to whatever team they play with in their respective careers. Tyler Arnason also adds speed and good reach and is effective on the Av's rush.
To close out the forward lines, you have the hard hitting line of Cody McLeod, Ian Laperriere and Ben Guite. McLeod and Lappy will provide a major offensive threat, while Ben Guite is a strong player that can fight his way to get pucks in the net.

The Avalanche blue line has also bolstered up and gotten on its feet, ready for the playoffs. With the additions of Ruslan Salei, and former Av Adam Foote, the goals against for the Avalanche has declined.

With a confident goaltender, Jose Theodore in net, the Avalanche are an all-around team and could a major player in the west, but they must first get past the Minnesota Wild