NHL: Wings, Sharks favored in the West

The Detroit Red Wings are favored to prevail in the West but they’ve been hampered by playoff disappointments over the past few seasons.
The Red Wings are listed at 3:2 odds to win the Western Conference as the NHL Playoffs get set to start on Wednesday while the defending champion Anaheim Ducks are listed at 7:2 odds.

Here’s a quick peek at the opening round matchups in the West with the odds to win the West in parenthesis.

Nashville Predators (20:1) vs. Detroit Red Wings (3:2)

The Nashville Predators are still searching for the first playoff series win in franchise history and with a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings, Predators’ backers may be in tough shape. They can take optimism in the fact that these teams went 3-3-2 against each other this season, with the Red Wings outscoring the Predators just 20-19 in those games.

The Red Wings won the President’s Trophy for having the most points in the regular season for the sixth time since the 1994-95 campaign. They finished the season with 54 wins and 115 points, compared to Nashville’s 41 wins and 91 points, and ice a lineup loaded with talent. Along with scoring the third most goals in the league at 257, the Wings gave up just 184 goals, the fewest in the league.

Detroit has consistently been at the top of the NHL regular season standings over the past 10 years but they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 2002 and haven’t been to the final since.

Prediction: Detroit in six

Calgary Flames (15:1) vs. San Jose Sharks (11:5)

In one of the best series of the opening round, the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks meet in what should be a grueling, physical series.

Calgary waited until the last minute to clinch their playoff berth but now that they’re in the show, they should be considered a good bargain at 15:1. The Flames went all the way to the finals as the sixth seed three seasons ago and they still possess all the ingredients needed for a Stanley Cup run.

Jarome Iginla was third in the league with 98 points and 50 goals and he can dominate a series. Mikka Kiprusoff is still regarded as one of the best goaltenders in the game and the Flames have a rugged group on the blue line led by youngster Dion Phaneuf.

San Jose enters the series having dropped three of four games to Calgary in the regular season and they’ve never been to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unless Joe Thornton steps up and proves he can perform well in the playoffs, the Sharks could disappoint fans again this season.

Prediction: Calgary in seven

Minnesota Wild (7:1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (10:1)

The Colorado Avalanche return to the postseason, after missing the playoffs last year for the first time since the 1993-94 season. The Avs lost five of the eight games they played against the Minnesota Wild this season but many of those were played without scoring leader, Paul Statsny, and Captain, Joe Sakic.

Both players are healthy and the Avs enter the playoffs with a hot goaltender in Jose Theodore. Colorado defeated Minnesota 4-3 in overtime to end the regular season on Sunday and now the two division rivals get set for a seven-game playoff series.

The Wild are in the playoffs for just the third time in their history and they’ll need goaltender Niklas Backstrom to shut down a Colorado roster that features a number of sharpshooters and known playoff performers.

Marion Gaborik led Minnesota in scoring with a career-high 83 points. The Wild need the speedy Slovak and fellow countryman Pavol Demitra to lead the charge if they expect to advance to the second round.

Prediction: Colorado in six

Dallas Stars (10:1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (7:2)

These two teams would make for a heck of a Stanley Cup Final, and the fact they are meeting in the first round of the playoffs shows just how tight the race was in the Western Conference.

Easily the most anticipated matchup of the first round, this is a heavyweight bout that could cost the winner a chance at the Stanley Cup if it turns into the slugfest that most pundits expect.

The Stars geared up for the playoffs, acquiring former playoff MVP, Brad Richards, from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a blockbuster deadline deal. Richards had five points in his debut with the Stars but has just six points in the 11 games since. He is, however, a proven big-game player and that is why Dallas traded for the Prince Edward Island native.

Anaheim has been to the Western Conference Finals in three of the last four seasons and has advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in two of those seasons, winning the Cup last year. The Ducks rough and tough approach to the game brought back memories of old-time hockey. As teams in the West attempted to match toughness, fighting in the league went up this season.

The Stars can’t match the Ducks’ physical play and if Anaheim can dispatch Dallas quickly, they could be the West’s best bet.

Prediction: Anaheim in six