Flight for the Cup in the West

East has been picked, and now it's time to look at the crystal ball for the West. Again, I'll be brief, since I have some suspicion that I have to return for some corrections later. Enjoy!

First round in the West. Canucks will take down the Kings, but it will take six games. They have too much firepower for LA and the goalies match evenly. Blues will carry on with their respectable regular season and shut down the Sharks in five. San Jose's inconsistency and exhaustion from the fight for the last playoff spots pave the way. Blackhawks will overpower the Coyotes in five games. These teams are quite similar, but Chicago is a bit better pretty much everywhere. Mike Smith is the best goaltender in this match up but it will not carry the team. Nashville Predators have the perfect opportunity to avenge all the losses in the hands of Detroit Red Wings. And that they will do, beating the banged up and tired Wings in straight four. Pekka Rinne will shut the door and let the four lines grind away the victories.

Second round in the West. Canucks will see their second Presidents' Trophy season end in vain too, this time in the hands of St. Louis Blues. The tight defensive system of the Blues combined with some below the expectations play by the Canucks will result in a Blues victory in six games. Predators will outlast the Blackhawks in seven games. Preds win the defensive games, Hawks will take a few guns blazing. In the end it all comes down to massive difference in goal and Rinne will carry the team to West finals.

Third round in the West. Nashville Predators has ended up with a dream team for their style of play this season. They will fight against somewhat similar style of the Blues and will emerge victorious in six games. They go for the ultimate finals in search for the Stanley Cup but also with a lot on line in regards of keeping their lineup together for the following seasons.

Playoff race - Mar 22 - Raging Buffalo

There was only a few exciting games last night in regards of making the playoffs this season. Biggest impact was another solid win by Buffalo Sabres, this time over weak Montreal Canadiens. Another shutout for Ryan Miller and the team climbed to a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Washington Capitals have a game in hand, but haven't been playing with much consistency or confidence lately. Buffalo has earned points in eight of last ten and with six victories and is on a trajectory to overtake the Capitals before the end of the regular season. Winnipeg Jets seem like one loss away from falling out, and the battle for the final playoff berth looks to be between Sabres and Capitals.

In the West the battle was between sure playoff contenders Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks. These two have a histrory of not liking each others and of epic playoff matchups. Last night's biggest impact may have been another nasty incident, a vicious elbow to the head of Vancouver's star winger Daniel Sedin. It was served and delivered by Chicago's star defenseman Duncan Keith. It'll be a suspension for sure, but with Keith's status, we're only talking about 2-3 games. Shane Doan from Phoenix got three games for similar, but a bit less obvious elbow on Tuesday night. For a lesser player than Keith, this could easily be judged extremely deliberate and punished to the maximum. Another reality check here for Brendan Shanahan.

The real question is how will Sedin take this, and if he's going down with a concussion, how long will it take to recover. Haven't seen much justice in the past when comparing the suspension and the time lost by the victim.

Playoff race - Mar 5 - Postseason previews and Western bubble

Last night there were a couple of early previews of potential big matchups in the postseason. League's top team, New York Rangers, took a tasty victory against last season's Cup champions and always dangerous Boston Bruins. This tight game could have gone either way, but Rangers seem to have the upper hand while heading to the playoffs.

Perennial Western powerhouse Detroit took a stingy defeat at home against 2010 champions Chicago Blackhawks. Another one goal game, but at the same time a strong message saying that the Hawks may have put their struggles behind them and are again a force to be reckoned with. When they get healthy Jonathan Toews back to the lineup, even more so. How will the Wings' aging core survive the last stretch of regular season and playoffs, remains to be seen

Western conference playoff bubble seems to come down to San Jose's recent slump. If they can't snap out of it, there's a few teams willing to take the last spot. Los Angeles Kings seem like the strongest candidate for now, having discovered some scoring touch lately. Also Colorado Avalanche is playing well with their young corps leading the way. Calgary took another costly defeat last night in the hands of Dallas stars, but managed to salvage one point for overtime. Their recent play is not on the level to overtake the others in this race. Anaheim was super strong during February, but their chances are extremely slim after couple of losses in the last weeks. Only a miraculous win streak could postpone the Ducks' offseason golf plans.