2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Western Conference

The Western Conference Quarter Finals have come and gone from the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs and it hasn't been as exciting as the Eastern Conference. This is due to the fact that the Eastern Conference wasn't it was all cracked up to be. Most people will agree that the winner of the Stanley Cup will come out of the West or will be the Penguins from the East. In this article I would like to focus on the Western Conference Semi's and the powerhouse that is the Detroit Red Wings ( The Greatest American Sports Franchise of all Time......... besides the Pats. )


Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks

The Detroit Red Wings are every thing that the Sharks hate. They were praying that the Phoenix Coyotes would prevail in their series against Detroit. Unfortunately for the Sharks, it didn't happen. For the past 19 seasons , the Detroit Red Wings have been the gold standard for playoff hockey. They are the team no one wants to face in any round of the playoffs. They don't make any mistakes , they make you beat them. And for most teams over the past two decades, they haven't been able to do that.


Keys to the Series:

Detroit Red Wings:

The biggest key for the Red Wings in their upcoming series against the Sharks will be the goal tending from the rookie phenom Jimmy Howard. He was a little shaky in the previous series against the Coyotes but when he was on it was like watching Patrick Roy from the past. He finished the series with a .919 Sv% and a 2.59 GAA which isn't too bad and isn't too good. He is going to have to step it up against and offensively driven team like the San Jose Sharks. Another key for the Wings in this series will be their defense and how they can shut down the stars of the Sharks. With the front runner for the Selke in Pavel Datsyuk on the roster that shouldn't be much of an issue.

San Jose Sharks:

The keys for the Sharks to this series are simple. They need to get the puck on net and challenge the youngster Jimmy Howard. During the Regular season the Sharks were destroyed by the Wings losing the series 0-3-1 to Detroit being outscored 11-6 in those games. Another issue for the Sharks is the goal tending. Any one who watched the NHL during the regular season can see how good Evgeni Nabokov can be. But in the past , he hasn't showed up in the playoffs and the Sharks have faltered down the stretch.

I can tell you one thing, the pressure is surely on the Sharks to come out of this series victorious. But giving the Wings history , I don't see this series going past 6 games.

Prediction: Wings in 6 ( Bring it home Pavel! )

P.S : I'm a Wings Fan......... if you couldn't already tell.


Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks


Keys to the Series:

Vancouver Canucks:

The key for the Canucks to win this series is their ability to shut down the youngsters from the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane , John Toews , Patrick Sharp, and a couple other players for the hawks roster have the ability to take over a series and put it far out of reach. Another key for the Canucks is to crowd the crease and get a lot of bodies in front of Antti Niemi and get a lot of garbage goals. Niemi was very solid in the first round of this years playoffs but for the Canucks to win this series they are going to need to find Niemi's flaws and exploit them. The goaltending for the Canucks is another key for them to win this series. Roberto Luongo is with the best in the league for the past couple of years when it comes to stats but when the playoffs have rolled around he hasn't been his all. If the Canucks are going to get by this series, he is going to have to bring his A game.

Chicago Blackhawks:

The entire series for this young Hawk team will be determined by the play of Playoff new comer Antti Niemi. He was with the best in the league during the first round of playoffs when it came to stats, but this time along he will be facing a team that is much more offensively oriented in the Vancouver Canucks. If he plays well , the Hawks have a very good chance of coming out of this series.


Prediction: This will be one of the best series , I think , this playoffs. Its a rematch of last years Semi's but I have the Hawks in 7. Too much offense from the Hawks.

Check back later for Coverage on the Western Conference Finals.




Photo Credit: NHL.com