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 - Apr 8 - Final shuffle

Okay, it's over. The regular season 2011-2012 and this series of daily updates. The last night of play was action packed. Some teams played at ease, just for fun, when they either were locked for a certain spot in the playoffs or heading for summer vacations.

A lot of moves within the playoff setup still happened last night. Ottawa Senators had another loss to end the regular season in a rough fashion. That took them down all the way to the eighth spot and booked a date in the first round with conference best New York Rangers. While Washington Capitals ended their regular season with a high note, beating the same Rangers, they earned a seventh spot and first round match up with defending cup champions Boston Bruins. I wouldn't be so sure that they actually gained here. Rangers seem to have lost some momentum and Bruins have gotten bigger and tougher in the light of playoffs. Either or, the pressure is on the top seeds anyway. Caps must be just thrilled to end up in the playoffs after a horrible season and loads of critique.

Rangers' loss combined with Vancouver Canucks' win over Edmonton returned the Presidents' Trophy to Vancouver for second year in a row. The last stretch by last seasons runner ups paints the picture for another lengthy run in the playoffs.

In the Western conference race there was Pacific division that provided the most excitement. In the end it was workmanlike Phoenix Coyotes that took the ultimate prize of division crown and third seed with home ice. Seeds seven and eight were divided between San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in the last game between the two. It had to be done all the way in the overtime, the Sharks taking the win and a higher seed.

Playoff race - Apr 7 - Sneaky Coyotes and unknown presidents

Okay, one round to go in regular season and then the playoff more truly switches on. Friday's round had only one game, where Phoenix Coyotes took advantage of St. Louis Blues' lack of urgency and slipped over LA and San Jose to take over the Pacific division lead and third seed in the West. They have one more game, against Minnesota Wild team playing only for their pride, to wrap the season with a fantastic result and home ice advantage. Kings and Sharks can only hope for an upset by Wild and then duel for the main prize between them. Sure looks like Coyotes are going to take it in the end though.

There's more on the line for the last round. The league's best team is not yet clear, and the Presidents' Trophy is up for grabs for Rangers and Canucks. With victories for both, the trophy ends up in New York. Important message and a piece of history to be made.

There's also still room for some shuffling of the playoff first round matchups, so teams are not yet clear who they'll meet. Not much room for tactics, when almost any game's result may change the order slightly. One thing is for sure, the sighs of relief have been exhaled already, since the playoff bound teams got settled on Thursday evening. No matter who's the foe in the first round, it's always a thrill to be playing there.

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 14 - Western lineup

Whoa, last night's round of NHL playoff bubble hockey couldn't have been more Hollywood if written as a script. Calgary Flames beat San Jose Sharks, but only in overtime. At the same time, Los Angeles Kings pulled off a encouraging victory over injury ridden Detroit Red Wings. And, just like in the movies, the three playoff hopefuls (Detroit is in already) are even on 78 points. Joining Colorado Avalanche who had a day off. So, four way tie before the last dozen games. We can rightfully call this a race!

In the East, Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida all pulled off victories last night to keep the balance between them and put the pressure on the Buffalo and Winnipeg who didn't play this round. On a side note, Lightning's superstar Steven Stamkos casually hit 50 goals with two last night. On a struggling team, he's been phenomenal and should be considered in the Hart Trophy race no matter what's the result for Tampa in the end.

On Wednesday evening, there's a clash between East and West when the Avalanche visit Sabres in Buffalo. Both teams are in desperate need for points and one could easily predict another mutually beneficial three point game there. Another team to watch is Phoenix Coyotes, trying to stay ahead of the surging four in the West while visiting Vancouver Canucks, who have been in some trouble lately.