Friday, April 21, 2006
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 OTTAWA (52-21-3-6) vs. No. 8 TAMPA BAY (43-33-2-4).
2005-06 series record: Ottawa 4-0.
Playoff History: First meeting.
OTTAWA: Clinched top seed in East with 5-1 victory in New York over Rangers on final night of regular season. Went 2-4-2 to finish, yet managed to beat Carolina by one point for conference's best mark. Dominik Hasek had a setback last week in his recovery from a groin injury sustained during the Olympics. That leaves goaltending duties to rookie Ray Emery, who won 23 games in place of Hasek.
TAMPA BAY: The defending champs traded the Presidents' Trophy it won two years ago en route to the Stanley Cup title for a razor-thin margin over Atlanta that barely got them in the tournament this time. Tampa is still paced on offense by Martin St. Louis, the most recent NHL MVP who had 31 goals and 61 points this season.
OUTLOOK: Even with untested Emery in goal, he's already dealt with the pressure of replacing Hasek. The rest should be easy. Senators in 5.
No. 2 CAROLINA (52-22-6-2) vs. No. 7 MONTREAL (42-31-6-3).
2005-06 series record: Carolina 4-0.
Playoff History: Montreal 5-1. Last meeting: Carolina 4-2 in 2002 second round.
CAROLINA: Hurricanes, under U.S. Olympic coach Peter Laviolette are back in playoffs for first time since stunning run to Stanley Cup finals in 2002. It will take a solid effort by goalie Martin Gerber, who has just two games of NHL playoff experience. Late season addition of forward Mark Recchi would be great boost to offense. He has 40 goals and 97 points in 110 postseason games.
MONTREAL: Rookie forward Tomas Plekanec did the most offensive damage vs. Carolina in the regular season, but it only took two goals to accomplish that.
OUTLOOK: Hurricanes get second wind against choice opponent. Carolina in 5.
No. 3 NEW JERSEY (46-27-5-4) vs. No. 6 NEW YORK RANGERS (44-26-8-4).
2005-06 series record: Tied 4-4, with overtime loss for each team.
Playoff History: Rangers 3-0. Last meeting: Rangers 4-1 in 1997 East finals.
NEW JERSEY: The only intradivisional matchup in the first round. Martin Brodeur has played 144 postseason games, by far the most of any East goalie. The Devils enter postseason on NHL's longest winning streak to end regular season -- 11 straight. Center Scott Gomez has flourished since GM Lou Lamoriello took over behind the bench following Larry Robinson's resignation as coach. He busted out with 33 goals and 84 points and was bested only by Brian Gionta in both places.
NEW YORK: For the Rangers to have a chance to win the series, Jaromir Jagr will need to shake defensive shadow that Jan Pandolfo will cast on him, and Henrik Lundqvist will have to match Brodeur and look like he's the two-time Vezina Trophy winner despite recent hip injury. Jagr, who finished second in goals and points race (54, 123), had three goals and four assists in eight game with Devils.
OUTLOOK: New Jersey keeps winning, ousts rival Rangers for first time. Devils in 6.
No. 4 BUFFALO (52-24-1-5) vs. No. 5 PHILADELPHIA (45-26-5-6).
2005-06 series record: Buffalo 3-1.
Playoff History: Philadelphia 5-2. Last meeting: Buffalo 4-2 in 2001 first round.
BUFFALO: The Sabres finished on a five-game winning streak after a late slump. Martin Biron and regular Sabres starter Ryan Miller are one of four goaltender tandems with 20 victories each. Whoever gets the postseason nod should be sharp.
PHILADELPHIA: Robert Esche was tabbed as the goaltending starter by coach Ken Hitchcock, despite Esche's prediction a few weeks earlier that Antero Niittymaki would be in the net during the postseason. Of most concern to the Flyers is the health of top center Peter Forsberg, who has been slowed lately by a groin injury. Philadelphia was 35-16-9 with him and 10-10-2 without.
OUTLOOK: Esche shows why he was on U.S. Olympic team by outdueling Miller, who was kept home. Flyers in 7.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 DETROIT (58-16-5-3) vs. No. 8 EDMONTON (41-28-4-9).
2005-06 series record: Edmonton 2-1-1.
Playoff History: Edmonton 2-0. Last meeting: Edmonton 4-1 in 1988 West finals.
DETROIT: Posted 124 points to claim NHL's best record for third time in four seasons but Red Wings haven't advanced past second round since winning the Cup in 2002. Manny Legace carries a 2.19 goals-against average into the series. He has just five games experience in the playoffs. Quite a difference from captain Steve Yzerman, who has 70 goals and 111 assists in 192 career playoff games.
EDMONTON: Back in playoffs after sitting out two of the previous three seasons. Oilers haven't reached second round since 1998. Armed with veteran presence of Michael Peca up front and Chris Pronger on defense.
OUTLOOK: Yzerman left his last playoff appearance with a serious eye injury. This time he sees more success. Red Wings in 6.
No. 2 DALLAS (53-23-5-1) vs. No. 7 COLORADO (43-30-3-6).
2005-06 series record: Dallas 3-1.
Playoff History: Colorado 2-1. Last meeting: Colorado 4-1 in 2004 first round.
DALLAS: Paced by rejuvenated offensive forces Mike Modano (70 points) and Jason Arnott (32 goals), along with stellar goaltending from Marty Turco, the Stars pose the biggest threat to Detroit in the West. Turco won 41 games and stopped nearly 90 percent of the shots he faced with a 2.55 GAA.
COLORADO: Jose Theodore gets another chance in the playoffs to show he can play as he did back in 2002 when he was the NHL MVP and the league's top goalie while with Montreal. Theodore struggled down the stretch after he recovered from a midseason injury following his trade to the Avalanche. He went 1-3-1 in the last five games as Colorado hung on to clinch one of the final playoff spots.
OUTLOOK: The Stars shine while the Avalanche crash down. Stars in 5.
No. 3 CALGARY (46-25-4-7) vs. No. 6 ANAHEIM (43-27-5-7).
2005-06 series record: Tied 2-2. Playoff History: First meeting.
CALGARY: No longer the upstarts that made surprising trip to 2004 finals. The Flames won the Northwest Division with 103 points, third most in the West. A strong defense that was anchored two years ago by top flight goalie Miikka Kiprusoff is now even better with rookie defenseman Dion Phaneuf. The 21-year-old blueliner had 20 goals, 49 points and a plus-5 rating and was in the lineup for all 82 games. Only forwards Jarome Iginla (35 goals, 67 points) and Daymond Langkow (25, 59) outdid him offensively in Calgary.
ANAHEIM: Jean-Sebastien Giguere will also be looking to repeat an unexpected run to the finals. He makes up the other half of the goalie matchup between the past two Western Conference champions. Both fell short of the title as Anaheim was beaten in seven games during the 2003 series, and Calgary lost in seven to Tampa Bay. The Ducks missed the playoffs two years ago but can thank top linemates Teemu Selanne and Andy MacDonald for supplying the offensive punch.
OUTLOOK: The Ducks are ready to make a splash. It starts with a win over the conference champs. Mighty Ducks in 6.
No. 4 NASHVILLE (49-25-5-3) vs. No. 5 SAN JOSE (44-27-4-7).
2005-06 series record: Tied 2-2, with San Jose winning twice in overtime.
Playoff History: First meeting.
NASHVILLE: Paul Kariya gave the Predators an identity while also making them a threat. Kariya bounced back from his miserable one season stay in Colorado when he had 11 goals and 25 assists to post 31 and a team-high 54 in his debut campaign in Tennessee. He also did the most damage against the Sharks by scoring four goals and five points in the four head-to-head meetings. Kariya and Mike Sillinger, who had a club-best 32 goals, will probably have to pick their offensive games up even more to offset the loss of top goalie Tomas Vokoun. He is sidelined indefinitely due to a blood-clotting problem. That puts the pressure on Chris Mason, who had 12 regular-season wins with a 2.54 GAA in 23 games.
SAN JOSE: The dynamic duo of scoring champion Joe Thornton (125 points) and Jonathan Cheechoo (56 goals) will look to feast on Mason. Cheechoo and Thornton clicked right away upon Thornton's early season arrival from Boston. The former Bruins captain assisted on 38 of his new linemate's goals. The Sharks went 36-15-7 after Thornton was acquired on Nov. 30, and Cheechoo has 49 goals since. Thornton has a six-game point streak against the Predators -- five goals and five assists.
OUTLOOK: Predators have some experience, just not enough to knock off the Sharks. San Jose in 6.
Associated Press
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