Stanley Cup Preview - Round 1

The most difficult tournament in sports begins on Wednesday night with the quest for the Stanley Cup. For some teams like the Predators and Capitals it's been do or die playoff mode for a month now.

Here's my take on the spring classic.

Western Conference

Red Wings (1) vs Predators (8)

Wings coach Mike Babcock wants a little respect for his President's Trophy winning team. He's not going to get much from Jordin Tootoo and the Preds but I'll give him his due. Most points, fewest goals against, total domination at home, best defenseman by a mile, 2 of the most skilled players in the league, gritty forwards, etc. etc. etc. If the Wings can't advance past round 1 then it's a major disappointment but it wouldn't be the first time.

The Preds have won their Stanley Cup by just getting into the playoffs after a roster gut, bad injuries and franchise uncertainty.

Pick: Wings in 5

Sharks (2) vs Flames (7)

This is a meat grinder series. Expect a real battle. Both teams have some fierce competitors from GM down to the 4th liners. The Sharks have more talent and home ice advantage.

Pick: Sharks in 6

Wild (3) vs Avalanche (6)

The Wild are extremely fast and work very hard. They also have a good goalie. The Avs brought back Forsberg and Foote from the 95-96 Cup winning team. All that tells me is they brought back some really old guys.

** update - Nick Shultz has an appendectomy. This will have an impact on the series given that the Wild have already lost defenseman Kurtis Foster. Still, I like the Wild.

Pick: Wild in 5

Ducks (4) vs Stars (5)

The defending champs are playing really well and go into this series with home ice advantage. The Stars made a big splash getting Brad Richards to add some scoring for the playoffs but have played very poorly down the stretch. Let's just see how Richards feels once Pronger lays him on his butt a few times. Turco can't keep this close depsite all his efforts.

Pick: Ducks in 4

Eastern Conference

Canadiens (1) vs Bruins (8)

I can't stomach the fact Montreal has beat Boston 8 games in a row. As a Bruins fan I'm looking for a positive out of that and it goes like this..Can a team win 12 in a row or 12 out of 19 vs one team in one season? I'm hoping the Canadiens overlook the B's early in the series then fold under the pressure of the Montreal media and the Ghost of Rocket Richard.

Watch the Bruins rise with an emotional lift from the return of Patrice Bergeron from a broken neck and keep an eye on rookie Milan Lucic.

Pick: Bruins in 6

Penguins (2) vs Senators (7)

Syd the Kid and company vs the flailing Senators and mouth spraying coach Bryan Murray. I'm not confident in the Sens D to shutdown Crosby, Malkin, Sykora, Hossa, etc. Former Brandon Wheat King star Wade Redden is about to play his final 4 games as a Senator. Try to enjoy them all Reds.

Pick: Penguins in 4

Capitals (3) vs Flyers (7)

Ovechkin leads the hottest team in the NHL right now. The Caps have that "feel good" story but they are about to find out how difficult it is to play in Philly in the playoffs. I have to admit I haven't seen the Flyers play all year and I'm leary of picking them given how hot the Caps are and the wonky knee of Danny Briere but I think the Flyers can pull off this upset.

Pick: Flyers in 7

Devils (4) vs Rangers (5)

Classic series or boring rematch? Parise lead the Devils in scoring with only 65 points. Broduer is a gamer but so are Shanahan, Jagr, Gomez, Drury. I think the time is right for Henrik Lundqvist and the blue shirts.

Pick: Rangers in 6

There you have it. I wouldn't bank on any of it.