Western Playoff Preview
Monday, April 09, 2012
(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs (6) Chicago Blackhawks When Phoenix lost goaltender
Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers, who were willing to pay him $51 million over nine years, the Coyotes decided to go with a cheaper option. Fortunately for them, it proved not to be a lesser option. After inking a two-year/$4 million contract with the Coyotes over the summer,
Mike Smith has earned his paycheck by carrying Phoenix to their first Pacific Division title.
Smith has been good all season, but he’s been matching up with the elites lately. He has a 1.91 GAA and .941 save percentage in 29 games since the All-Star break and he’s allowed all of two goals in his last five starts. That includes a stunning 54-save shutout on April 3rd. If hot goaltending win Cups, then the Phoenix Coyotes might surprise people.
All the same, the Chicago Blackhawks can’t be overlooked. They’re still not far removed from their 2010 Stanley Cup win and they have plenty of scoring threats to counter Smith in
Marian Hossa,
Patrick Sharp, and
Patrick Kane. Of course the man missing from that list is
Jonathan Toews, who is trying to recover from a concussion. Whether or not the Blackhawks get their captain back is one of the big X-factors going into this series.
The other is Chicago’s goaltending.
Corey Crawford has taken a step back this season with a 2.72 GAA and .903 save percentage. They do have a capable backup in
Ray Emery, but he has allowed three or more goals in four of his last six starts.
Chicago has the better regular season record despite the Western Conference seeding, so it’s hard to call them the underdogs in this series, but that’s how I see them without Toews. Since moving to Glendale, the Phoenix Coyotes have never made it past the first round, but I think this could be the year. I’m picking Phoenix to win in six games.
Phoenix Ray Whitney-
Martin Hanzal-
Radim Vrbata Lauri Korpikoski-
Antoine Vermette-
Shane Doan Raffi Torres-
Daymond Langkow-
Gilbert Brule Taylor Pyatt-
Boyd Gordon-
Mikkel Boedker Keith Yandle-
Derek Morris Michael Stone-
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Rostislav Klesla-Michal Roszival
Mike Smith Jason LaBarbera WHO’S HOT
As mentioned earlier, Smith couldn't be much hotter right now.
Ray Whitney is another Coyotes player to watch after scoring three goals and 16 points in 13 games.
WHO’S NOT
Defenseman
Keith Yandle has been limited to just a goal and an assist in his last 11 games.
NOTES
Phoenix was one of the more disciplined teams in the NHL this season with only 280 minor penalties. They racked up 757 penalty minutes as a team, which is the third lowest total in the league.
The Coyotes are relatively healthy going into the first round.
Phoenix won their season series against Chicago 3-1. The Coyotes earned a 3-0 shutout over the Blackhawks in their final season meeting on February 11th.
Chicago
Patrick Sharp-
Patrick Kane-
Andrew Shaw Viktor Stalberg-
Marcus Kruger-
Marian Hossa Bryan Bickell-
Brendan Morrison-
Michael Frolik Brandon Bollig-
Jamal Mayers-
Jimmy Hayes Duncan Keith-
Brent Seabrook Nick Leddy-
Johnny Oduya Sean O'Donnell-
Niklas Hjalmarsson Corey Crawford Ray Emery WHO’S HOT
Andrew Shaw has stepped up lately with five goals and 12 points in his last 11 contests.
Viktor Stalberg has been almost as good with six goals and five assists in his last 13 games.
WHO’S NOT Brendan Morrison has struggled since Chicago acquired him from Calgary. He has no points and a minus-four rating in 11 games with the Blackhawks and has spent several games in the press box.
NOTES
This is the first time the Chicago Blackhawks and Phoenix Coyotes have ever faced each other in the playoffs.
Jonathan Toews and
Steve Montador are both suffering from concussions.
Dave Bolland is questionable for the start of the first round with an upper body injury. The Blackhawks might also be without
Andrew Brunette, who is day-to-day with a foot problem.
Chicago finished last in the NHL in hits and ranked 26th overall with 1,019 blocked shots this season.
Click here to read Corey Abbott's Eastern Conference preview.
(1) Vancouver Canucks vs (8) Los Angeles Kings
Both these teams are nursing some significant injuries going into this series. In Vancouver, Daniel Sedin is out with a concussion something that’s obviously very hard to put a timetable on. However, the Kings might be without Jeff Carter (ankle) in addition to Simon Gagne (concussion), the latter who hasn’t played since December and doesn’t seem to be close to returning.
Which team gets their injured players back in the fold first will be a factor in the series, but you have to like the Vancouver Canucks’ chances, regardless. Even if you ignore the gap in their regular season records, Vancouver’s offensive depth is very impressive. As a team they finished first in the Western Conference with 249 goals, despite having only one 30-goal scorer and just three players that surpassed the 20-goal mark.
By contrast, the Kings have had trouble scoring goals all season. They have just five players who netted 10 or more goals and none that surpassed the 25-goal mark. Even Mike Richards has been lackluster in his first season with the Kings, scoring just 18 goals and 44 points in 74 games.
Vancouver also has one of the best goaltending tandems in the league in Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider. Luongo is expected to be the team’s starting goaltender in game one, but Schneider has outperformed him – not to mention most of the NHL – this season, so Luongo might be on something of a short leash.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings’ greatest strength has to be netminder Jonathan Quick, who should be a Vezina Trophy contender after posting a 35-21-13 record, 1.95 GAA, and .930 save percentage in the regular season. Quick held Vancouver to just seven goals in four contests this season.
If the Los Angeles Kings are to pull off an upset, it will be mainly due to Quick. However, I think the Canucks advantage both in scoring depth and star power, combined with the strength of their own goaltending, will ultimately result in them dismissing the Kings in five games.
Vancouver
Keep in mind all line combinations could be changed on a shift-by-shift basis as coaches try to adapt on the fly during this intense post-season series:
Max Lapierre-Henrik Sedin-Alex Burrows Chris Higgins-Ryan Kesler-David Booth Andrew Ebbett-Samuel Pahlsson-Jannik Hansen Manny Malhotra-Byron Bitz-Dale Weise
Alex Edler-Dan Hamhuis Chris Tanev-Kevin Bieksa Sami Salo-Aaron Rome
Roberto Luongo Cory Schneider
WHO’S HOT
As well as Henrik Sedin is playing alongside his twin brother Daniel, he seems to be just as effective on his own. Henrik has a goal and 11 points in nine contests since Daniel suffered a concussion. Alexandre Burrows is going into the playoffs riding a five-game point streak. He has four goals and six points in that span.
WHO’S NOT
David Booth has been held to just one point in his final 11 regular season contests. Ryan Kesler hasn't scored a goal since March 14 and he only has two points in his last 12 games.
NOTES
The Vancouver Canucks have won the Presidents' Trophy for the second straight season. However, the Presidents' Trophy winner has only won the Stanley Cup in one of the previous eight seasons.
Keith Ballard and, of course, Daniel Sedin are both dealing with concussions. Zack Kassian is day-to-day because of an upper body injury.
Vancouver has an NHL-best .429 winning percentage when trailing after one period.
Los Angeles
Brad Richardson-Anze Kopitar-Dustin Brown Dwight King-Mike Richards-Justin Williams Dustin Penner-Jarret Stoll-Trevor Lewis Kyle Clifford-Colin Fraser-Jordan Nolan
Rob Scuderi-Drew Doughty Willie Mitchell-Slava Voynov Alec Martinez-Matt Greene
Jonathan Quick Jonathan Bernier
WHO’S HOT
Anze Kopitar has been great all season, but he's been particularly dominant lately with a goal and 11 points in his last six games. Dustin Brown has three goals and seven points in six contests going into the playoffs.
WHO’S NOT
Can a cold streak last an entire season? Dustin Penner has gone from recording 63 points in 2009-10 to just 17 points in 65 contests this season. He's been even worse lately with just two goals and four points in his last 23 games.
NOTES
This will be the second time in three years the Kings will face the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. They lost in six games in their 2010 series.
The Kings’ big mid-season acquisition, Jeff Carter, is day-to-day with an ankle injury. On top of that, Simon Gagne does not appear to be close to returning from a concussion.
Los Angeles will be trying to win their first playoff series since 2001 when they defeated their first round opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, in six games. Back then, Ziggy Palffy, Luc Robitaille, Mathieu Schneider, and Rob Blake were among the team's biggest stars.
(2) St. Louis Blues vs (7) San Jose Sharks
The St. Louis Blues went from a team that had a lot of interesting pieces but were unable to put them all together to an elite squad when coach Ken Hitchcock took over. St. Louis has a 43-15-11 record with him as the head coach. The secret to the Blues’ success has been fairly obvious: superb defensive play and excellent goaltending.
Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak combined over the 2011-12 campaign to claim the Jennings Trophy, which is given to the goaltender(s) of the team that finishes the season with the fewest goals allowed. Both goaltenders were so good, it’s hard to say with any certainty who will be the team’s starter in the playoffs. However, Halak might have the inside track after leading the eighth seed Montreal Canadiens all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2010.
The St. Louis Blues have crushed the San Jose Sharks in their 2011-12 meetings, but they might not have as easy a time in the playoffs. The Sharks struggled in the regular season, but they were attempting to build a team for the post-season. They went out and got a great all-around defenseman over the summer in Brent Burns to take some pressure off Dan Boyle. They also have a ton of scoring depth with Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau all finishing the season with at least 30 goals. With Martin Havlat finally healthy and Joe Thornton posting another 70-plus point season, the Sharks have two pretty good scoring lines.
The question mark for San Jose is Antti Niemi. Niemi has already won the Stanley Cup with Chicago, but he wasn’t nearly as good in the Sharks’ 2011 playoff campaign. He had a 3.22 GAA and .896 save percentage in 18 postseason starts.
This series will be a big test for St. Louis as they attempt to prove they’re just as good as their regular season record suggests. The Sharks should give them plenty of trouble, but in the end, I think St. Louis will win in six games.
St. Louis
David Perron-David Backes-T.J. Oshie Alex Steen-Patrik Berglund-Andy McDonald Jamie Langenbrunner-Jason Arnott-Chris Stewart Vladimir Sobotka-Scott Nichol-Matt D'Agostini
Kent Huskins-Alex Pietrangelo Barret Jackman-Kevin Shattenkirk Kris Russell-Roman Polak
Jaroslav Halak Brian Elliott
WHO'S HOT
Alex Pietrangelo is one of the hottest blueliners in the NHL going into the playoffs with two goals and 15 points in his last 17 games. Andy McDonald has a goal and three points in four contests since returning from a shoulder injury.
WHO’S NOT
Jason Arnott has only four points in his last 15 games. David Backes is on a mild cold streak with just one goal and no assists in his last five contests.
NOTES
This is just St. Louis' second playoff appearance since the lockout. Before the lockout, the Blues made the playoffs for 25 consecutive campaigns.
The Blues have battled through a significant number of injuries this season, but they're relatively healthy going into the first round.
The Blues swept their four-game season series against the San Jose Sharks. They limited the Sharks to just three goals during the regular season.
San Jose
Patrick Marleau-Joe Thornton-Joe Pavelski Ryane Clowe-Logan Couture-Martin Havlat Daniel Winnik-Dominic Moore-Michal Handzus TJ Galiardi-Andrew Desjardins-Tommy Wingels
Dan Boyle-Marc-Edouard Vlasic Brent Burns-Douglas Murray Justin Braun-Colin White
Antti Niemi Thomas Greiss
WHO’S HOT
Joe Pavelski is riding a four-game point streak going into the first round. He has two goals and five points in that span. Logan Couture has a goal and five points in a three-game point streak.
WHO’S NOT
The Sharks have scored 17 goals over their last four contests, so they're very hot going into the playoffs. If there's an exception, it's blueliner Brent Burns, who has just one point in his last seven games.
NOTES
Along with the Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks are one of just two teams to advance to the playoffs in every season since the lockout.
Torrey Mitchell is questionable for game one due to an undisclosed injury. Mitchell missed the Sharks' season finale on Saturday.
The Sharks were second in the NHL with a 21.1% power-play success rate this season. They also won 53.3% of their faceoffs to finish second to just the Boston Bruins.
(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs (6) Chicago Blackhawks
When Phoenix lost goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers, who were willing to pay him $51 million over nine years, the Coyotes decided to go with a cheaper option. Fortunately for them, it proved not to be a lesser option. After inking a two-year/$4 million contract with the Coyotes over the summer, Mike Smith has earned his paycheck by carrying Phoenix to their first Pacific Division title.
Smith has been good all season, but he’s been matching up with the elites lately. He has a 1.91 GAA and .941 save percentage in 29 games since the All-Star break and he’s allowed all of two goals in his last five starts. That includes a stunning 54-save shutout on April 3rd. If hot goaltending win Cups, then the Phoenix Coyotes might surprise people.
All the same, the Chicago Blackhawks can’t be overlooked. They’re still not far removed from their 2010 Stanley Cup win and they have plenty of scoring threats to counter Smith in Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Patrick Kane. Of course the man missing from that list is Jonathan Toews, who is trying to recover from a concussion. Whether or not the Blackhawks get their captain back is one of the big X-factors going into this series.
The other is Chicago’s goaltending. Corey Crawford has taken a step back this season with a 2.72 GAA and .903 save percentage. They do have a capable backup in Ray Emery, but he has allowed three or more goals in four of his last six starts.
Chicago has the better regular season record despite the Western Conference seeding, so it’s hard to call them the underdogs in this series, but that’s how I see them without Toews. Since moving to Glendale, the Phoenix Coyotes have never made it past the first round, but I think this could be the year. I’m picking Phoenix to win in six games.
Phoenix
Ray Whitney-Martin Hanzal-Radim Vrbata Lauri Korpikoski-Antoine Vermette-Shane Doan Raffi Torres-Daymond Langkow-Gilbert Brule Taylor Pyatt-Boyd Gordon-Mikkel Boedker
Keith Yandle-Derek Morris Michael Stone-Oliver Ekman-Larsson Rostislav Klesla-Michal Roszival
Mike Smith Jason LaBarbera
WHO’S HOT
As mentioned earlier, Smith couldn't be much hotter right now. Ray Whitney is another Coyotes player to watch after scoring three goals and 16 points in 13 games.
WHO’S NOT
Defenseman Keith Yandle has been limited to just a goal and an assist in his last 11 games.
NOTES
Phoenix was one of the more disciplined teams in the NHL this season with only 280 minor penalties. They racked up 757 penalty minutes as a team, which is the third lowest total in the league.
The Coyotes are relatively healthy going into the first round.
Phoenix won their season series against Chicago 3-1. The Coyotes earned a 3-0 shutout over the Blackhawks in their final season meeting on February 11th.
Chicago
Patrick Sharp-Patrick Kane-Andrew Shaw Viktor Stalberg-Marcus Kruger-Marian Hossa Bryan Bickell-Brendan Morrison-Michael Frolik Brandon Bollig-Jamal Mayers-Jimmy Hayes
Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook Nick Leddy-Johnny Oduya Sean O'Donnell-Niklas Hjalmarsson
Corey Crawford Ray Emery
WHO’S HOT
Andrew Shaw has stepped up lately with five goals and 12 points in his last 11 contests. Viktor Stalberg has been almost as good with six goals and five assists in his last 13 games.
WHO’S NOT
Brendan Morrison has struggled since Chicago acquired him from Calgary. He has no points and a minus-four rating in 11 games with the Blackhawks and has spent several games in the press box.
NOTES
This is the first time the Chicago Blackhawks and Phoenix Coyotes have ever faced each other in the playoffs.
Jonathan Toews and Steve Montador are both suffering from concussions. Dave Bolland is questionable for the start of the first round with an upper body injury. The Blackhawks might also be without Andrew Brunette, who is day-to-day with a foot problem.
Chicago finished last in the NHL in hits and ranked 26th overall with 1,019 blocked shots this season.
(4) Nashville Predators vs (5) Detroit Red Wings
For Detroit and Nashville, making the playoffs has become a tradition. Detroit is playing in the post-season for the 21st straight campaign while Nashville has advanced to the first round for the sixth time in seven years. That’s where the similarities end, though. Detroit has won the Cup as recently as 2008 while the Predators won their first playoff series last year. Still, there’s plenty of reason to believe Nashville can advance to the second round for just the second time in their franchise’s history in 2012.
Nashville entered the season with a strong defense and great goaltender. They weren’t a threatening club offensively, but they did have some scoring depth. However, with Ryan Suter scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Predators decided to make a big push this season. With that in mind they acquired Hal Gill, Paul Gaustad, and Andrei Kostitsyn in trades. On top of that, Alexander Radulov finally rejoined the squad after bolting for the KHL in 2008-09. With those additions, Nashville looks like a very deep team and that will be a big strength going into this series.
By comparison, Detroit doesn’t have the same kind of depth, but they do have players who could prove to be game changers. Nicklas Lidstrom should be a big threat playing in what might be his final campaign. They also have one of the best two-way players in the game in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, who has been superb since the All-Star break with 34 points in 32 games.
The X-factor is Jimmy Howard, who has been playing recently, but missed a significant portion of the second half of the season due to groin problems. He also has been less impressive overall in the second half with a 2.42 GAA and .909 save percentage.
Howard could bounce back, but given how deep a team Nashville is, how good their defensive core is, and how dominant Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne has been, I think the Predators will beat Detroit in seven games.
Nashville
Andrei Kostitsyn-David Legwand-Alexander Radulov Sergei Kostitsyn-Mike Fisher-Martin Erat Jordin Tootoo-Paul Gaustad-Brandon Yip Gabriel Bourque-Nick Spaling-Patric Hornqvist
Ryan Suter-Shea Weber Roman Josi-Hal Gill Francis Bouillon-Kevin Klein
Pekka Rinne Anders Lindback
WHO’S HOT
Alexander Radulov has three goals and seven points in nine contests since returning to the Nashville Predators. Andrei Kostitsyn has four assists and a plus-five rating in his last five contests.
WHO’S NOT
Unlike his brother, Sergei Kostitsyn has struggled lately. Sergei is on a nine-game pointless streak going into the playoffs. Martin Erat leads the Predators in points, but he has just one goal and no assists in his last six contests.
NOTES
Although you might assume that a team with more gifted snipers like the Pittsburgh Penguins would be the league leader in power-play percentage, that honor actually belongs to the Nashville Predators. Nashville converted on 21.6% of their power-play opportunities in 2011-12.
Goaltender Anders Lindback left Saturday's game after a collision with teammate Ryan Ellis. The initial reports suggest that the injury is not serious. Brian McGrattan is also out with an upper body injury.
Nashville has won their last two regular season meetings against the Detroit Red Wings. Overall, their 2011-12 series is tied at 3-3.
Detroit
Valtteri Filppula-Henrik Zetterberg-Jiri Hudler Johan Franzen-Pavel Datsyuk-Todd Bertuzzi Drew Miller-Justin Abdelkader-Daniel Cleary Gustav Nyquist-Riley Sheahan-Tomas Holmstrom
Nicklas Lidstrom-Jonathan Ericsson Niklas Kronwall-Brad Stuart Kyle Quincey-Ian White
Jimmy Howard Ty Conklin
WHO’S HOT
Detroit has scored just 11 goals in their last six games, so they don't have much in the way of hot players right now. That being said, Pavel Datsyuk has two goals and seven in his last seven contests. Tomas Holmstrom has a goal and an assist in Detroit's last two contests.
WHO’S NOT
Todd Bertuzzi has no goals and two assists in his last six contests. Ian White got off to a great start this season, but he has just eight points and a minus-three rating in 31 games since the All-Star break. To make matters worse, White only seems to be getting colder. He has two points in his last 16 games.
NOTES
We already mentioned that the Red Wings have made the playoffs for an NHL-leading 21 consecutive season. However, it's worth adding that they have also advanced past the first round in each of their previous five campaigns.
Patrick Eaves (concussion) is sidelined indefinitely. Joey MacDonald (back) and Darren Helm (knee) are both day-to-day. On a more positive note, Daniel Cleary should be available for game one of Detroit's first round series.
This is the third time the Detroit has faced Nashville in the playoffs. Detroit won each of their previous two series in six games.
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