From sixteen to eight to the final four. The NHL Playoffs rolls along with four teams looking to add another Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters of their respective arenas. In the East, two relatively new franchises that have recently battled for the Cup look to make a return trip. The West will be one by winner of what will be a bitter battle of Original Six rivals.

Eastern Conference

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #6 Carolina Hurricanes
This series is being setup as a battle of the Staal brothers. Pittsburgh’s Jordan battling Carolina’s Eric with New York’s Marc forgotten while watching in Thunder Bay. The real battle will be Eric Staal battling Sidney Crosby. Staal is often underrated as a player. He may not have the same offensive production as Sid the Kid but Staal is an over-a-point-per-game player and is a leader of this Canes franchise. Staal has the same talent and determination as Crosby, he just doesn’t have as strong a supporting cast. Now that I’ve got my small rant out of the way, I think this could come down to depth at forward. Clearly this one goes to the Penguins. They have too many dangerous guys that can step up and score a clutch goal.

If I was looking at two X-Factor players, I would look at Evgeni Malkin from Pittsburgh and Jussi Jokinen from Carolina. Jokinen has come from nowhere to be the most clutch player on the Cardiac Canes roster. With all due respect to Cam Ward, Jokinen has stepped up and scored the key goals that keeps this team alive. Malkin has been nearly invisible for the Pens. He finally seemed to get off the schnide late in the Washington series but he’s got to keep going otherwise Ward could get bored shutting down the rest of the Pens.

About Cam Ward, he’s been nothing short of a saviour for the Canes this post-season. As good as Staal and Jokinen have been, Ward has carried this team this far in the playoffs. If they want to win the series, Ward has to steal four games. He can do it, but he’s not likely to do it. He can shut down the Pens once or twice but he is going to be shelled to the point where he can’t even save his boys.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6

Western Conference

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #4 Chicago Blackhawks
This series will come down to a battle of defences. These teams are pretty even in goal with aging goaltenders that have dug deep and are playing their best hockey of the year. Both teams have offensive units that are able to pile on goals seemingly at will. They both have a fair amount of depth, though Detroit can get scoring from each of its four line while Chicago can’t rely as strongly on its lower lines. The defences will be critical because that is where Chicago gets its transition game and that is where Detroit was able shut down Anaheim’s. The Hawks rely on their offensive minded blueliners to get the puck moving up ice to create scoring chances. Through 11 games in the post-season, Detroit has done a good job of stifling long, up ice rushes by the opposition. They cut off passes and challenge forwards before they cross the line. Detroit’s only problem defensively is some trouble setting up the penalty kill which could be the one thing that could do them in.

When you look for game changing X-Factors, you run into a problem because there aren’t that many players on either team that really fly under the radar. Like in the other series, I’ll take a big name for Detroit and call Marian Hossa their X-Factor. Hossa has been unconscious this post-season but not in a good way. He has all of 7 points in 11 games and is being out performed by nearly every other player on the roster. The Wings don’t need him to step up to win but he’s got to start earning his $7 million contract in the playoffs too. Chicago’s X-Factor is rookie Kris Versteeg. Does he really need to step up? No, he’s doing a good job. But he flies so far underneath Kane, Toews, Sharp, and Havlat that you might forget how dangerous he is. He can sneak in a surprise some people by being Chicago’s biggest impact player.

As for actually predicting who will win the series, it’s hard to pick against Detroit. They know how to win, they have more depth than you can possibly imagine and they never give up. And we all know that Detroit has that extra gear that they can engage when needed to seal the deal. It is the intangibles that really give Detroit an edge over the young Blackhawks.
Prediction: Detroit in 6