By Matt Valentine

Now that we’ve taken a look at the Eastern Conference playoff match ups, lets shift our focus to the Western Conference and find out which teams will be moving on to the conference semifinals and a possible shot at the Stanley Cup.

(1)Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators

This is a series that should be fairly lopsided. The Red Wings took home the Presidents Trophy leading the NHL with 115 points and 54 wins. They have two prolific goal scorers in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, as well as one of the NHL’s best defenseman Nikalas Lidstrom. The goaltending tandem of Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood also captured the Jennings Trophy, awarded to the team with the least goals against, with each goalie surrendering only 84 goals each. Hasek will get the nod for the opening round as Osgood has gone cold of late, if Hasek can stay healthy Nashville will struggle to put up goals.

Nashville is the odds on long shot to win the Stanley Cup and for good reason. Their goaltending is inexperienced, with Dan Ellis and Chris Mason as their first and second options and they don’t have that elite forward that can carry the team through a playoff series. Also, they’re playing Detroit in the first round,all bad omens if you’re a Predators fan. With that said, they do have some solid forwards and some forwards that, for some reason or another put up good numbers against Detroit. Martin Erat and Alexander Rudalov have tallied 15 points in 8 games against Detroit this year and need to elevate their game to open up space for Jason Arnott (teams leading scorer) and J.P. Dumont.

My prediction: Nashville may sneak in a win at home but Detroit is too talented and too deep. Detroit in 5.

(Red Wings Goalie Dominik Hasek)

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames

At first glance this series may seem like a lopsided affair. San Jose went on a tear going into the playoffs going 18-0-2 in their final 20 games and were by far the NHL’s hottest team. The addition of Brian Campbell at the trade deadline was exactly what the team needed and really seemed to push them to a new level. The team has perhaps the premier set up man in the NHL in Joe Thornton,who will assist gifted forwards Patrick Marleau, and Johnathan Cheechoo. Evgeni Nabakov has been a steady presence in net all year and enters the playoffs hot.

However, the Calgary Flames may be the one team that nobody wanted to face in the opening round. They have an excellent playoff performer in goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff and one of the NHL’s best overall players and leaders in Captain Jerome Iginla. Don’t forget about Dion Phaneuf, who is considered by some to be the best checker in the NHL and is capable of playing at both ends of the ice. The Flames also seem to have Nabakov’s number posting 13 goals against him in 4 games. They play an extremely physical type of hockey as opposed to the speed and skill game of the Sharks. Their problem is depth, after the top two lines there is a significant drop off in talent that could cost them when the games are close.

My prediction: The Flames will take this series to the limit and leave a banged up Sharks team to face their next post-season opponent. Sharks in 7.

(San Jose forward Joe Thornton)

(3)Minnesota Wild vs. (6)Colorado Avalanche

Minnesota is a young, talented, well coached team. They are strong defensively, and play a smart two-way game. When healthy, they have one of the leagues premier talents in Marian Gaborik who gets support from the teams leading set up man Pierre-Marc Bouchard. They also have some strong veteran talent in Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra. The goaltending of Niklas Backstrom which may seem to be the teams biggest weakness is actually a strength in this series as he has dominated the Avs this season posting a 1.98 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 5 games (4-1).

The Avalanche are an extremely talented and deep team but they are aging and have been injury plagued all season. They brought back a few pieces from the 2001 Stanley Cup team, including Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote and still have future hall of famer Joe Sakic. They also have a great young player in Paul Stastny who led the team in scoring despite missing significant time due to injury. Goaltender Jose Theodore has often been criticized for his soft play in the playoffs and will need to step his game up or risk losing his starting role. Perhaps the Avs biggest struggle will be keeping its aging vets healthy for what should be a hard fought series. If they can finally figure out Wild goalie Backstrom they have a good chance of advancing to the next round.

My prediction: This series should come down to the wire, and if Backstrom is capable of continuing his dominance against the Avs he could single handedly take his team to the next round. I am not sure he will though and a healthy Avalanche team is a dangerous one. Avalanche in 7.

(Avalanche Captain Joe Sakic)

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars

Another tough series to call here. Though they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Ducks didn’t play great hockey until the return of Teemu Selanne going 27-22-7 before Selanne and 20-5-1 after his return. Of course, the Ducks do have two of the NHL’s best defensemen in Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger and some top young talent in Ryan Getzlaf. Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been amazing in the post-season, in 46 games Giguere has posted 31 wins 14 loses and has a stellar 1.99 GAA and a .928 save percentage. As evidenced by his run in the 2003 playoffs Giguere is capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them to the Stanley Cup Finals. If their young talent and veteran players can perform like they have in post-seasons past the Ducks are a team to keep a close eye on.

The Dallas Stars made a good move acquiring former Conn Smyth trophy winner Brad Richards at the trade deadline and helped bolster their offense. Mike Modano is a good leader and great player but he is older now and may have lost a step. Marty Turco quieted his critics with a great performance in last years playoffs despite not being able to prevent his teams opening round exit. If Turco can perform exactly like he did last season the Stars will have a shot at sending the defending champs to an early exit, but he will need more offensive production from his teammates to accomplish this goal.

My prediction: Having the advantage of posting this article after game one of the series, the Ducks looked very undisciplined and were in the box far too often surrendering 3 power play goals, and all the momentum to the Stars. If the Ducks continue to play that style of hockey it could be a short series. I expect that they heard an earful from coach Randy Carlyle and will correct that mistake. I’m taking the Ducks in 6 but I’m a little nervous about it.

(Ducks goalie J.S. Giguere hoists the Stanley Cup)

Tags: 2008 Playoffs, Anaheim, Avalanche, Calgary, Colorado, Dalls, Datsyuk, Detroit, Ducks, etraining, Flames, GAA, goal, goalie, Hasek, ice hockey, Joe Sakic, Minnesota, Nashville, NHL, power play, Predators, Prediction, Red Wings, San Jose, Sharks, Stanley Cup, Stars, Thornton, Western conference, Wild, Zetterberg