The Road to the Stanley Cup: a Playoff Preview

With the 2006-2007 NHL regular season coming to a close this past Easter Sunday, all eyes are pointing to the upcoming playoffs. Sixteen teams are set to battle for Lord Stanley's Cup with first round action starting Wednesday April 11, 2007. It has been a very exciting NHL season with the Buffalo Sabres narrowly clinching the Presidents Trophy, for the best regular season record, and both of last year's Stanley Cup finalists failing to secure a playoff spot. Lets examine the first round match ups.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:

Buffalo Sabres (1st seed) against New York Islanders (8th seed) - After coming off a franchise record 53 win, 113 point season the Sabres are poised for a great playoff run. With four 30 plus goal scorers, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek, offense should not be a problem for Buffalo. The Islanders have the physical advantage. Brendan Witt, Mike Sillinger and Ryan Smyth have a combined 229 penalty minutes over the regular season and could put up quite a hurdle for the Sabres. Favorite: Buffalo.

New Jersey Devils (2nd seed) against Tampa Bay Lightning (7th seed) - New Jersey comes in with Martin Brodeur in goal, who had a strong 48 win season. They also have a new coach and several of their top players, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias, freshly returning from the injured list. Tampa Bay on the other hand has the offensive power to upset the Devils in what should be a close series. Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier both had superb seasons for the Lightning with help from Dan Boyle on the blue line. Favorite: Tampa Bay.

Atlanta Thrashers (3rd seed) against New York Rangers (6th seed) - Atlanta is embracing the opportunity of their first playoff appearance for the young franchise. The series should be a tight one with the Rangers veteran players like Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan teaming up to boost their scoring. Special teams and goaltending should be critical elements in deciding a winner. Atlanta's Kari Lethonen will be tested in the net with New York's Henrik Lundvquist at the other end. Favorite: New York.

Ottawa Senators (4th seed) against Pittsburgh Penguins (5th seed) - The Penguins have a young, yet powerful set of skaters including NHL scoring record holder Sidney Crosby and rookie of the year top runner Evgeni Malkin. On the other hand Ottawa has the defensive power with Wade Redden on the blue line and Ray Emery in goal. The Penguins may have the deciding factor in this series, the passion and drive for the Cup, after a thirteen year championship drought in Pittsburgh. Favorite: Pittsburgh.

Western Confernece Quarterfinals:

Detroit Red Wings (1st seed) against Calgary Flames (8th seed) - What was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Wings, with the loss of the legendary captain Steve Yzerman, turned out to be a season to remember. After a long battle with the Nashville Predators for the top seed in the West, Detroit is stronger than ever with veterans like first year captain Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Dominik Hasek. Calgary is not looking too shabby either with Jerome Ignila, Dion Phaneuf and Miikka Kippursoff. Favorite: Detroit.

Anaheim Ducks (2nd seed) against Minnesota Wild (7th seed) - Anaheim opens the post season with the confidence in their lineup with Teemu Selanne, Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. While the battle for the net continues in Minnesota with Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez sharing the regular season duties. Both teams have excellent special teams' numbers, ranking in the top ten for both penalty killing and power play. This should provide an entertaining series with many fights and penalties across the board. Favorite: Anaheim

Vancouver Canucks (3rd seed) against Dallas Stars (6th seed) - Vancouver brings top-notch goaltending to this series with Roberto Luongo, who ended the season with a .921 save percentage. The Stars come into the playoffs on a roll, winning 14 of their last 16 games, much thanks to veteran netminder Marty Turco. Defensively the teams are matched well, which may be the determining factor in this series. If Dallas can win the first game they may have a chance to advance. Favorite: too close to call.

Nashville Predators (4th seed) against San Jose Sharks (5th seed) - This should be a fierce rematch as these two teams faced each other last year in the playoffs as well. The Predators have strong goaltending with Thomas Vokoun, as well as stars like Paul Kariya and David Legwand up front. San Jose brings its own high scorers with Joe Thorton and Jonathan Cheechoo leading the team. Special teams will be especially important as the Sharks have the physical players and the strong power play unit to overcome the Predators. Favorite: San Jose