NHL Playoff Predictions 2012: Canucks and Top Teams on Upset Alert

No team is safe from being upset in the first round of the NHL playoffs, which is why we see far more No. 8 seeds defeat No. 1 seeds in hockey than we do in the NBA playoffs.

The intensity and pressure of the Stanley Cup playoffs cause great teams and players to crumble, and the same will hold true this season.

Let's look at three top teams on upset alert in the first round.

Vancouver Canucks

The Presidents Trophy-winning Canucks will face off against a talented Los Angeles Kings team in the first round, and if they're not careful, the Kings could upset them.

Kings star goaltender Jonathan Quick could win the Vezina Trophy this season as the league's best goaltender, and is capable of stealing a game on the road against a tough opponent.

L.A. had a lot of trouble scoring goals this season, but after acquiring talented center Jeff Carter via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline, their goal scoring has improved.

With the Kings' tremendous goaltending skill, the Canucks need to score goals early and often, because close games could go either way in this series.

With Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo's past playoff failures, he will be under immense pressure to succeed. If he doesn't play well in the first few games, the Canucks will be in major trouble.

Even if he plays well and loses to Quick early in the series, he will still be under immense pressure. Canucks fans are starving for a Stanley Cup title and will have little patience with Luongo.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference because they won the Southeast Division, but in terms of talent, they are a seventh or eighth seed.

The New Jersey Devils will dominate them in Round 1 with their disciplined defense and strong goaltending from veteran Martin Brodeur.

The Devils have the best penalty kill in hockey and were eighth in goals allowed per game, so the Panthers and their offense that ranked 26th in goals per game better improve, or this series will be over quickly.

The key for the Panthers will be goaltending, but probable starter Jose Theodore has never made a deep playoff run before. He must play well in this series for Florida to win, but against the Devils' star forwards Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, Theodore will struggle to find success.

New York Rangers

The Rangers are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but looked awful on Saturday night when they allowed three first-period goals to the Washington Capitals in a 4-1 loss.

It wasn't a good performance for Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who enters the playoffs with a ton of pressure to carry the team on a deep run.

Lundqvist is 15-20 in his playoff career and has won just four of his last 12 postseason games. If he doesn't play well, then the Rangers will be in trouble against an Ottawa Senators team with a lot of offensive talent.

The Rangers have to be physical with the young Ottawa Senators in the first round, because if the Senators win one of the first two games in New York their confidence will skyrocket and they will believe an upset is possible.

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Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.