The Price is Right: Ted's Hockey Playoff Preview

Who knew? The hockey season is over and we are in the playoffs. Fortunately, my brother-in-law Ted did his usual preview so the rest of us would be informed.....Thank you Ted!

I am not sure many of you are aware of this, but the NHL did come back last season and continued on into this season. In fact, the playoffs start tonight. I know that may come as a shock to most people (Hockey? What is this "hockey" that you speak of?), because our little sport that could has been banished to the nether regions of basic cable (Versus) and an occasional game or two on a network that doesn't even have to pay for the right to broadcast the games (NBC). Which is a shame because this season has been one of the best in a while - and that's with scoring being down compared to last year. Only one playoff team in the Western Conference finished below 100 points (Calgary - 96), and up until the last week of the season, 4 teams were battling it out for the last playoff spot in the East (won on the last day in overtime by the NY Islanders).

All of the hype going into these playoffs center around Pittsburgh phenom Sydney Crosby and rightfully so. ESPN columnist John Buccigross wrote last week that Sydney Crosby is better at what he does than LeBron James is at what he does. And yet, few people outside of Pittsburgh even know who he is (My NHL!). For years, the NHL has labeled as many young stars the "next Wayne Gretzky" as the NBA has "the next Michael Jordan," and with similar results. But they may be on to something here. Crosby won the scoring title this year, helped keep the franchise from moving to Kansas City and could very well be the league MVP. Oh, and he turns 20 in August. If you have never seen him play, do yourself a favor and find Versus on your cable system (somewhere around the home shopping channels and the 24-hour religious sermon channels), and watch this kid. He's usually paired with this year's Rookie of the Year shoo-in Evgni Malkin - we may be seeing the second coming of Gretzky and Messier.

Anyway, onto the first-round predictions. I will start in the East because that is where all the hype is, even though my forte is in the West.

(1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (8) New York Islanders
The Sabres started the year hot and never looked back. Plus they have Chris Drury, and you can't win a Cup without him - just ask Colorado. The Islanders are going in with a third string goalie between the pipes, and they have the look of a team that is just happy to be here. Sabres in 4

(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Tampa Bay Lightning
Two words: Martin Brodeur. Still strong, still a factor, still the only reason this team wins as many games as they do. Remember when the Lightning won the Cup three years ago? Neither does anyone else. Devils in 5

(3) Atlanta Thrashers vs. (6) New York Rangers
This is the series ripe for a first-round upset. The Thrashers are this year's surprise, and the last two Cup winners came from the Southeast Division. I think that streak ends here. Things turned around for the Rangers when they got Sean Avery (the most hated player in hockey) from the LA Kings in the middle of the season. They have a Cup veteran in Brendan Shanahan and their goalie Henrik Lundgvist has been impressive down the stretch. Rangers in 6

(4) Ottawa Senators vs. (5) Pittsburgh Penguins
This is the marquee match-up of the first round. It marks the playoff debut of the Penguins' young guns. And the Sens are trying to erase 345 years of high playoff expectations resulting in shattered dreams and dashed hopes. I think Ottawa gets it done only because of their playoff experience versus the Pens lack thereof - but it won't be easy. Senators in 7
Here's my theory on the Western Conference: because there is so much depth from top to almost the bottom (do they still play professional hockey in Chicago?), they tend to beat up on each other throughout the playoffs which is why there has been a bit of a drought in Cup-winning teams from the West lately. But the playoffs are all about surviving the grind. Especially the travel and the back-to-back nights. Amazing stat I read the other day: the last game the Devils played out of the Eastern Time Zone - December! Remarkable. Meanwhile, the Pacific Division stretches across three time zones.

On to the picks

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Calgary Flames
This is a trap series for the Red Wings. They have had a nasty habit the last few seasons of getting beat in the first round. Meanwhile, if Mikka Kiprusoff can get hot, this could be another upset. I don't think so. The Flames backed into the playoffs, stumbled mightily down the stretch and can't win on the road. Red Wings in 5

(2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (7) Minnesota Wild
The Ducks started the year on a torrid pace which they needed to win the Pacific Division (got a little tight there at the end). Meanwhile, the Wild ended the season with the best record over the last 20 games in the NHL. Would you rather start strong or finish strong? The Wild have the offense with Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra, while the Ducks have the defense with Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer. What wins championships? Ducks in 7

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Dallas Stars
Win it comes to the playoffs, usually the team with the hottest goalie wins it all or at least goes deep. No one has been better this season in goal than Vancouver's Roberto Luongo. No longer banished to the playoff-avoiding region of south Florida, Luongo has flourished and seems to enjoy the pressure and wants to be the guy the team depends on to win games. Meanwhile, the Stars goalie Marty Turco has only on playoff series win in 5 chances. And besides, me picking the Stars to win anything is like Dils cheering for T.O. - ain't gonna happen. Canucks in 6

(4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) San Jose Sharks
My Boys!!! When the Sharks traded for Joe Thornton in the middle of last season, it was a shot across the bow to the other teams in the West that the Sharks were no longer this nice little team that may surprise you, but a legitimate contender. When they landed Bill Guerin and Craig Rivet at the trade deadline, that was the message to the team that the time is now. Nashville has Peter Forsberg who you can never count out in the playoffs, but the Preds are a little banged up and stumbled a bit down the stretch playing against teams fighting for position in the playoffs. Sharks in 6

Not sure yet on an overall winner, but keep an eye on the Senators and Devils in the East and the Ducks and Sharks in the West.

This is gonna be fun.