The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Western Conference Quarterfinals

I already told you in the first installment that I think the San Jose Sharks will come out holding the Stanley Cup at the end of the playoffs. But I think to West has some potential for upsets, more so than the East does. Who knows for sure though, that's why they play the games on the ice and not on paper.

Western Conference

1. Vancouver Canucks v 8. Chicago Blackhawks: The Canucks finished as the best team in hockey winning the Presidents' Trophy. They also had to be happy see the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks on the final day of the season only to have the Stars take that joy away by failing to beat the Wild. No doubt the Canucks are better than the Blackhawks but they put some fear into you. The Sedins and the Canucks have seemingly come closer and closer to a Stanley Cup Final and if Roberto Luongo plays like he's capable of it. Ryan Kesler has elevated his game this season and the Canucks go into the playoffs relatively healthy which is always good news.

The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup winners and almost missed the playoffs so they have to be feeling pretty lucky. They come into the playoffs missing two key players in Dave Bolland (concussion, no return date) and Troy Brouwer (right shoulder, day-to-day). They have experience with the exception of their starting goalie, Corey Crawford. Crawford played a lot more than anticipated this year, seeing action in 57 games and could be burnt out come playoffs not to mention he's never faced this kind of pressure. Ultimately the effort the Hawks put in to make the playoffs might cost them as they could be gassed.

Canucks over Blackhawks in 6.

2. San Jose Sharks v 7. Los Angeles Kings: The Sharks come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in this thing. The Sharks have a focus that shows they're finally ready to get over the hump and have gone 27-6-4 in their last 37 games. The Sharks seems to be able to get scoring out anybody they throw out there, whether it be Thornton, Pavelski, Couture or even Kyle Wellwood. Their goalie Antti Niemi knows all about the playoffs as won the Stanley Cup last year in his first NHL playoffs ever.

The Los Angeles Kings limped into the playoffs, literally. Two of their top forward got hurt at the end of March, Justin Williams (dislocated shoulder) and Anze Kopitar (torn ankle ligaments). Williams actually could be back for the start of this series if cleared by doctors but Kopitar is lost for the season. A lot of pressure now falls on the Kings defense and goalie Jonathan Quick to keep these games low scoring if they're going to upset the Sharks. Good luck.

Sharks over Kings in 5.

3. Detroit Red Wings v 6. Phoenix Coyotes: The Red Wings have made the playoffs 20 seasons in a row now and have a rematch of last year's Quarterfinal matchup that went 7 games could easily do the same this year. The Red Wings found out that Henrik Zetterberg is out for Game 1 and probably Game 2 of this series but the worse news is he could be out for the series. The Wings need to pick up their play defensively as a team as they've been below average for their standards. They'll also need guys like Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary to pick up the slack while Zetterberg is out. Jimmy Howard at one point in this series is going to have to steal a game or two to show he's ready for a long playoff run.

The Coyotes are without doubt channeling the feelings of last year's playoff exit from the hands of the Red Wings and looking for redemption. The Coyotes are healthy with no injuries or guys banged up which is good news for them. When things went right for the Coyotes in last year's matchup, they were money on the power play. They'll need to be that way again and they'll need Ilya Bryzgalov to get hot and steal this series, something the Red Wings run into every 3 years or so in the Quarterfinals.

Red Wings over Coyotes in 7.

4. Anaheim Ducks v 5. Nashville Predators: The Ducks have been playing some of the hottest hockey outside of the San Jose Sharks as they went from 11th in the West all the way up to 4th. Forward Corey Perry led the NHL in goals scoring 50 and he'll have to continue to do so if the Ducks hope to make a run. Not sure who will get the start in net for the Ducks but they have serious depth with the likes of Jonas Hiller, Dan Ellis and Ray Emery on their roster. The Ducks are lucky to have Lubomir Visnovsky as he wasn't seriously injured on a scary play last week.

The Predators are a scary matchup for anyone because of how well they play defensively and the great goaltending they get from Pekka Rinne. The bad news for Nashville is three of their forwards sat out games down the stretch due to injuries but only two of them, Martin Erat and Steve Sullivan are expected to be back for the start of this series. The defense will need to be tight and provide some scoring if they plan on advancing.

Preds over Ducks in 6.