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Home | Sports | Minnesota Wild

First-round series-by-series glance

Last update: April 8, 2008 - 11:55 PM

First-round series-by-series glance

Here's NHL writer Michael Russo's take on the playoffs, from the first round until the Stanley Cup Finals:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Detroit (54-21-7, 115 points) vs. No. 8 Nashville (41-32-9, 91 points)

Season series: Red Wings, 5-3; Predators, 3-3-2

At a glance: After the Predators won five of their past six to make the playoffs, their reward is playing the class of the NHL, the Red Wings, who are in the playoffs for the 17th consecutive year. The Wings have a 1-2 forward punch of Pavel Datsyuk (97 points) and Henrik Zetterberg (92), and a five-time Norris Trophy winner in Nicklas Lidstrom (70). Only way Nashville makes this a series is if goalie Dan Ellis again displays his late-season stinginess.

Fast facts: Red Wings: Eleven players with at least 35 points; Predators: One of three teams (Atlanta and Columbus) never to win a playoff round.

Russo's pick: Red Wings in 6

No. 2 San Jose (49-23-10, 108 points) vs. No. 7 Calgary (42-30-10, 94 points)

Season series: Sharks, 1-1-2; Flames, 3-1

At a glance: The Sharks finished the season on an 18-2-2 run and were a league-best 27-10-4 on the road. Joe Thornton earned points on 44.4 percent of San Jose's goals, tops in the Western Conference, and Evgeni Nabokov led the NHL with 46 victories. But the Flames proved they could beat San Jose, and they're led by Mr. Clutch, 50-goal scorer Jarome Iginla.

Fast facts: Sharks: They've been to the playoffs in nine of 10 seasons but past the second round only once; Flames: This is only the second playoff appearance for coach Mike Keenan since he led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994.

Russo's pick: Sharks in 6

No. 3 Wild (44-28-10, 98 points) vs. No. 6 Colorado (44-31-7, 95 points)

Season series: Wild, 5-2-1; Avalanche, 3-5

At a glance: With the Wild already shorthanded because of the loss of defenseman Kurtis Foster, Nick Schultz's loss following an appendectomy is devastating for a team that has to contend with Joe Sakic (11th all-time with 178 playoff points) and Peter Forsberg (sixth all-time at 1.15 playoff points per game), not to mention a plethora of other top forwards. Marian Gaborik is a top playoff performer and will have to shine to make this a series.

Fast facts: Wild: 36-4-5 when it scores first; Avalanche: 30-4-3 when it scores first.

Russo's pick: Avalanche in 6

No. 4 Anaheim (47-27-8, 102 points) vs. Dallas (45-30-7, 97 points)

Season series: Ducks, 3-5; Stars, 5-2-1

At a glance: The defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks have Chris Pronger back from suspension and a heating-up Teemu Selanne. They went 32-12-4 since the return of Scott Niedermayer on Dec. 16 and 19-4-1 in their past 24 at home. The Stars have three players who scored 25 or more goals (Brenden Morrow, Niklas Hagman and Mike Ribeiro) and made big news with the Brad Richards acquisition, but they won only four of their final 14 games.

Fast facts: Ducks: Second-most home points (60) in the West and held visitors to league-low 88 goals; Stars: Third-most road points (49) in the West and scored the second-most goals (118).

Russo's pick: Ducks in 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Montreal (47-25-10, 104 points) vs. No. 8 Boston (41-29-12, 94 points)

Season series: Canadiens, 8-0; Bruins, 0-7-1

At a glance: Even though Montreal is missing captain Saku Koivu, this series won't be close. Look for Alex Kovalev, Montreal's first 35-goal scorer since 1995-96, to star. He highlighted an impressive comeback season by leading the NHL with 47 power-play points. The Habs led the league with 90 power-play goals. The Bruins led the league with 360 man-games lost to injury but could be getting a boost with Patrice Bergeron (concussion) cleared to practice.

Fast facts: Canadiens: In this season's series, they 've led 345 minutes, 41 seconds out of a possible 485 minutes of hockey; Bruins: They have lost 11 in a row to the Canadiens.

Russo's pick: Canadiens in 4

No. 2 Pittsburgh (47-27-8, 102 points) vs. No. 7 Ottawa (43-31-8, 94 points)

Season series: Penguins, 1-3; Senators, 3-0-1

At a glance: This should be a high-scoring affair as both teams are stacked with talent. Penguins center Evgeni Malkin was the NHL's leading scorer since Jan. 1 with 65 points in 44 games. Sidney Crosby was the NHL's leading scorer until he injured an ankle Jan. 18. The Senators, last year's Eastern Conference champions, limped to the finish line and even looked as if they could drop from the top eight in the East at one point. And things won't improve with captain Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher out "weeks."

Fast facts: Penguins: Captured their first division title since 1997-98; Senators: The line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Alfredsson was the NHL's highest-scoring line the past three regular seasons.

Russo's pick: Penguins in 6

No. 3 Washington (43-31-8, 94 points) vs. No. 6 Philadelphia (42-29-11, 95 points)

Season series: Capitals, 2-2; Flyers, 2-1-1

At a glance: The red-hot Caps won their past seven and 14 of their final 18 to win the Southeast. The Caps had the NHL's top goal scorer (Alex Ovechkin, 65), overall scorer (Ovechkin, 112 points), top goal-scoring defenseman (Mike Green, 18) and second-leading scoring rookie (Nicklas Backstrom, 69). Since coach Bruce Boudreau took over Nov. 22, Ovechkin scored 51 goals in 61 games. The Flyers had a 39-point improvement over last season.

Fast facts: Capitals: When the Caps visited Philly on Nov. 23, they had the worst record (6-14-1) in the NHL; Flyers: As usual, Philly was the most penalized team in the East.

Russo's pick: Capitals in 5

No. 4 New Jersey (46-29-7, 99 points) vs. No. 5 N.Y. Rangers (42-27-13, 97 points)

Season series: Devils, 1-4-3; Rangers, 7-0-1

At a glance: The Rangers dominated the season series yet couldn't secure home-ice advantage. Chris Drury, who did everything he could to eliminate the Rangers while playing for Buffalo last season, is one of the most clutch playoff performers. He has four career overtime game-winners. Brendan Shanahan (650) and Jaromir Jagr (646) rank first and second among active players in goals. Each of the Rangers' top four scorers -- Scott Gomez, Jagr, Drury and Shanahan -- have won a Stanley Cup. The Devils will be led by Martin Brodeur, who started 70 or more games for the 10th consecutive season, and Patrik Elias, who paces the Devils with 35 goals and 104 points in the postseason.

Fast facts: Devils: One year after leading the Devils with 31 goals, former Shattuck- St. Mary's athlete Zach Parise led Jersey with 32; Rangers: Gomez and Shanahan were both Devils first-round draft picks.

Russo's pick: Rangers in 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

San Jose over Colorado in 6 games

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

April 18: at New Jersey, 6:30 pm

April 20: at N.Y. Rangers, TBA (VERSUS)

April 22: at New Jersey, TBA

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