At long last the regular season has come to a finish and the first round playoff matches are finalized. As anticipated, the Western Conference went down to the very last game and beheld one of the most cut-throat races we’ve seen in a while. Sadly, the Calgary Flames fell short of a playoff spot, but with a 94 pt. season, things weren’t a complete failure. They would have made it in the Eastern Conference… In hindsight, a Flames elimination allows me to make completely unbiased predictions.

Here they are, use these in any betting lines you can, they’re good as gold.

Western Conference

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks
The past two years in a row the Hawks have handed the Canucks devastating defeats, crushing the spirits of both the team and fans. As entertaining as it is to behold Patrick Kane embarrassing the over-rated Luongo, the Hawks team is much different then the one we’ve seen the past 2 years. A depleted roster and an abysmal finish to the regular season (barely squeaking 8th spot), I’m going to give the defensively replenished President’s trophy Canucks the strong advantage here.

Canucks in 5 

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings
The Sharks had an incredible finish to the regular season, really finding their stride both offensively and defensively after the all-star break. They moved from the Western deadlock to surpass the Red Wings, while the Kings constantly bounced around the cut. The Sharks have a nice balance of experience and youth and are poised to make a decent run this year, Niemi was a great addition too. The Kings will be good soon enough, but they are still very inexperienced.

Sharks in 5

(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes
 After watching today’s game against Chicago, the Red Wings look very scary. The play of their somewhat aging stars hasn’t missed a beat and fast and youthful checking lines provide a balanced attack. The Coyotes have balanced lines, but definitely lack the star power that Detroit has always boasted. The one advantage that Phoenix has is goaltending, a hot Bryzgalov could make life very difficult in motor city.

Wings in 7

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators
The Ducks made a serious push at the end of the season, moving from 8th to 4th, effectively gaining home-ice advantage for their first round. This push, however, wasn’t so much the team as it was Corey Perry himself, putting on a spectacular finish to claim the Rocket Richard trophy. I’d look for the defensive abilities of Nashville to play some serious shutdown on the Ducks’ first line and frustrate the lethal powerplay as well. Nashville is geared up for playoff hockey and I’m expecting big performances from Fisher, Weber, and Rinne.

Preds in 6

Eastern Conference

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers
The Capitals have had some serious struggles this year, but really managed to pull it together for the latter half of the season. Despite their late successes, they have serious deficiencies on both defense and goaltending. Both positions rely on young, inexperienced stars, who will inevitably be put to the test in the post-season. The Rangers, on the other hand, have won some serious big games in a pinch and shown a lot of character. They suffered a crucial loss of Callahan, but still possess a nice balance of experience and youth on both forward and defense. King Henrik has always been one of the best, could it be his year to shine?

Rangers in 7

(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres
Let’s be honest, the Sabres really limped across the finish line this year and had they been in the West, they’d be battling for lowest spot with the Oilers and Avalanche. Something about their squad, they just can’t seem to get it together, especially in the playoffs. The Flyers, on the other hand, are undoubtedly the powerhouse of the East, coming off a great regular season to compliment their Stanley Cup Final appearance last year. Depth on the front end has never been an issue in the city of brotherly love, and a sub-par season by Miller doesn’t exactly shame their goaltending woes.

Flyers in 4

(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens
As much as I want the Habs to win and relive the glories of last year’s amazing run, the Bruins are simply to strong. They’ve made some miraculous deadline moves to really gear their squad up for a cup run. Their isn’t a noticeable hole in their roster, possessing remarkable depth on the front and back ends and the shoe-in Vezina winner between the pipes.

Bruins in 5

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning
This match-up is a serious toss-up, as a resident of the West Coast the only exposure to these teams is through the highlight reels. Personally, I don’t think either of these teams is going anywhere close to the final. The Penguins lack their heart and soul and captain, who I highly doubt will be making a return as well as 2009’s Conn Smythe winner. They’ve managed to get by in the regular season and even finish strong, but I just can’t see it holding up in the playoffs. As for the Bolts, they’ve been one of the most streaky teams in the league and will need Lecavalier and Gagner to step up their play so they don’t have to rely solely on the deadly duo of St. Louis and Stamkos.

Bolts in 6