NHL Playoff Picks 2012: Series-by-Series Preview and Analysis

Is there anything better than the NHL playoffs?

Sure, March Madness may be a bit wilder and the tension that crackles in the air during the MLB postseason is unrivaled.

But nothing can match the intensity of the NHL postseason. Players start sprouting gangly beards and play through injuries. Games seem to be played at a different speed. Hits reverberate around the stadium to the point that fans watching can almost feel their own bones crunching.

There's nothing quite like it.

With that in mind, I've gone over each playoff series and offered a full slate of first-round previews and predictions. From your team's chances to possible upsets in the making, I've got you covered.

Now, get your own beard growing. It's playoff time, baby.

Eastern Conference: (1) New York Rangers vs. (8) Ottawa Senators

The Rangers may be in for a tougher first-round clash than they'll want. They head into the playoffs on a bit of a cold stretch, having lost two straight games. On top of that, the Senators got the better of them this year, taking three of four games during the regular season.

But the Senators enter the playoffs on a swoon as well; they've lost three straight and slid into the eighth seed.

This one will be a clash of styles, with New York's excellent defense spearheaded by goalie and Vezina Trophy candidate Henrik Lundqvist facing off against Ottawa's high-scoring attack. If the games stay low-scoring, New York has the advantage. If the scores are higher, Ottawa will be tough to beat.

Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson may be the deciding factor in this one. If the Senators have difficulty cracking New York's defense, the oft-brilliant but likewise inconsistent goalie will need to shine for Ottawa to win.

This one will be competitive, but ultimately, I see the Rangers taking it in six.

Eastern Conference: (2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Washington Capitals

The deciding factor in this series can probably be summed up with one name.

Tim Thomas.

If the excellent goaltender is in top form, the Capitals are in trouble. They might be anyway, with an offense that has seen down years from its stars this season.

Still, if the Capitals can get Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green hot all at once, they'll be tough to beat. If that doesn't happen, however, the balanced Boston attack should be too much for Washington to overcome.

Look for Boston to take this one in five games.

Eastern Conference: (3) Florida Panthers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils

This one is an interesting series indeed.

The Panthers bring an excellent power play (18.5 percent efficiency) against New Jersey's incredible penalty kill, which led the league both with a 89.6 percent success rate and 15 short-handed goals.

For a Florida team that will likely have a hard time scoring in the playoffs, goalie Jose Theodore will have to be huge and steal a few games for Florida. The same can be said for the opposite goalie, Martin Brodeur, though the Devils offense has enough firepower to handle Florida.

Look for the Devils to win in six.

Eastern Conference: (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers

This one should be the premier series in the first round of this year's postseason.

This genuine rivalry between two teams that really despise one another—only magnified by a late-season brawl—also features legitimate star power in the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Claude Giroux.

Both teams have excellent offensive depth, with the Penguins possessing more star power at the top but the Flyers able to bring wave after wave of offensive pressure. Both teams have capable defenses, led by goalies in Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh and Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia, who are able to get hot and carry each team on long playoff runs.

Here's your prediction: Flip a coin, and get ready for some intense, high-level hockey. My gut tells me Flyers in seven, with the team's elite power play being the difference. But this one truly could go either way.

Western Conference: (1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

The Canucks were one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup Trophy last year. They haven't shown any signs of letdown in the journey to win it this year, finishing with the most points in the NHL.

Beating the NHL's top team will be a steep order for the Kings.

The key factor will be shutting down Vancouver's talented power play, although its been faltering as of late. The Canucks are an impressive 26-6-3 when scoring a power-play goal, and had the top-ranked power play until a 2-of-35 going in the past 10 games dropped them.

Whether or not Roberto Luongo brings his A-game will be pretty important, too.

Still, the Canucks are tough to bet against in this one. They'll win in five.

Western Conference: (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) San Jose Sharks

The Blues have beaten the Sharks in all four meetings between the two teams this year. While the playoffs are a different beast than the regular season, an inability to beat St. Louis once seems an ominous sign for San Jose.

This one is an interesting clash of styles. The young Blues play top-notch defense and have gotten excellent goaltending from Jaroslav Halak.

The experienced Sharks have three 30-goal scorers (Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau) and are deadly on the power play, given the team's excellent offensive skill.

Still, for the Sharks to win, I believe goalie Antti Niemi will have to steal a game or two. I don't believe the Sharks have the offensive depth they'll need to consistently apply pressure to the St. Louis defense.

Look for this young St. Louis squad to grind out a series win in six.

Western Conference: (3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (6) Chicago Blackhawks

Jesse Rogers of ESPN did a pretty nice job of hitting on the two biggest factors in this series, and he did so concisely in two paragraphs. I thought I'd share his words:

"

There is little doubt the Hawks will be facing a hot goaltender in Mike Smith, he’s given up a total of two goals in his last five starts including just one in the division clinching 4-1 win on Saturday night.

But assuming Jonathan Toews returns to the lineup for the series the Hawks simply have too much firepower and their defense has tightened up since the addition of Johnny Oduya. The Hawks should be able to dictate the pace more often than not and unless they get down early in multiple games they should fare well.

"

There you have it. If Smith can steal a few games—and how many series have been won because a hot goaltender did just that?—the Coyotes take this.

But if the Blackhawks can control the style of play and crack Smith, they'll be too tough for the Coyotes to overcome.

I think we'll see a little of each, with Chicago taking this one in seven.

Western Conference: (4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings

If the Flyers versus Penguins is the top first-round matchup, consider this one a very close second.

Two of the league's most talented teams will square off in this one, with the Predators sending the top defensive pair in the NHL (Shea Weber and Ryan Suter) against a Red Wings team with two immensely talented scoring lines.

The goaltending matchup is top-notch as well, with Pekka Rinne of the Predators and Jimmy Howard of the Red Wings capable of carrying their teams on deep playoff runs if they get hot. That might be a taller task for Howard, who has battled some injuries since the All-Star break.

The difference in this one will be special teams, where Nashville has the league's most efficient power play (21.6 percent) and an excellent penalty-killing unit. While Detroit kills penalties quite well, the power play has struggled and at times been non-existent for the Wings.

This will be a battle, but I think Nashville is set to win its first playoff series against Detroit. Look for it to take this matchup in seven.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are growing a playoff beard.