For those of us who live in winter climates, there are few things sweeter than sitting in shorts on the back deck, sun beating down, ice cold brewsky in hand while listening to, or watching, the NHL playoffs.
Shorts are still on the horizon for me, but the postseason is here at least. Let’s get into the picks for the first round of the Western Conference.
All odds are from Pinnaclesports.com.
Duck vs. Shark (+252, -272)
Many are calling for the Quackers to upend the Sharks after winning 11 of their last 15 games. But let’s not forget they needed every one of those wins to squeak into the playoffs and now they face a San Jose squad that happens to be pretty good.
The fact is, I can’t find an area that Anaheim is better than San Jose. Special teams and goaltending are where I see the biggest gaps too, which isn’t exactly a recipe for playoff success. San Jose ranks second on the PP and Anaheim ranks 21st on the PK.
Evgeni Nabokov has been hands-down better than either of the Ducks’ netminders this season.
The Ducks get frustrated as this series goes on and San Jose beats them up on the power play. East Coasters will be reminded of just how good Joe Thornton is.
Series prediction: San Jose 4-1
St. Louis vs. Vancouver (+190, -210)
The Canucks have become the Toronto Maple Leafs of the West. Nobody celebrates mediocrity anywhere in sports quite like those two groups of fans and I can only imagine how many folks are rolling down Granville Street in “Northwest Champs 2009” t-shirts these days.
Vancouver has maybe the best goalie in the league in Roberto Luongo, which overshadows the defensive weaknesses. The Sedin twins wouldn’t be my first choice for playoff heroes, but hey, grit and leadership aren’t for everyone.
When this series is over you’ll hear a lot of hockey fans saying things like, “I had no idea the Blues were that good.”
Series prediction: St. Louis 4-2
Bumble bees vs. Red Wings (+417, -457)
This series is going to get greasy. Columbus will not go quietly against a division rival in its first playoff series in franchise history.
The atmosphere at Nationwide Arena is going to be bananas and believe me, Detroit will be happy to split its first two games there. By now, I’m sure you know about rookie sensation Steve Mason who led the league with 11 shutouts this year.
That said, these are still the defending champs we’re talking about here and they’re still the most star-studded team in the league. Niklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa might ring some bells.
The Wings vowed to clamp down on defense before the playoffs began so the under should hold some value for them early on even though goaltending has been the Achilles Heel all year.
Series prediction: Red Wings 4-3
Flames vs. B-hawks (+140, -150)
Cowtown went 0-4 against Chicago this year and that probably has more to do with this line than it should. The Flames seem to save their best hockey for the playoffs, especially at home and I think the chalk is a little high here.
The injury to defenseman Robyn Regehr hurts and top blueliner Dion Phaneuf is banged up. Regehr might be back for the first round but we’ll have to wait and see.
Chicago ranks in the top five in the league in scoring, goals allowed and finished No. 2 in puckline money with $2,359 for Blackhawks supporters risking $100 per game.
Experience is where Chicago lags. Twenty-year-old captain Jonathan Toews and a pile of his teammates are tasting the postseason for the first time.
This one could go either way and I’m going to go with the value and a hunch more than the numbers.
Series prediction: Flames 4-2