Detroit appears to be the class of the Western Conference
How will the West be won? Well, if the postseason follows the pattern of the regular season, it'll be won by the coolest collection of 30- and 40-somethings since the Rat Pack owned Vegas. Motown's finest look strong after a 116-point season, but the other seven teams have Cup dreams as well. Here are some capsule comments on the Western Conference teams, followed by an attempt to quantify the differences between the teams based on six general categories. The teams are listed according to their Scorecard total and their playoff seed is next to the team name in parentheses.
The team with no known flaws is positioned (near the top of most offensive and defensive categories), primed and ready to prove their lapping of the competition was a precursor to playoff bliss. Experience has taught the organization at all levels that anything can happen in the postseason -- but the Red Wings have given themselves the best possible chance to win a third Stanley Cup in six years. Detroit’s base strength among many strong attributes is its skating ability, particularly in its motion offense. With Dominik Hasek in goal, the Red Wings feel that they can win games when they aren’t necessarily in top form -- an emotional upgrade from the past couple of playoff seasons. Coach Scotty Bowman is the game’s best in-game strategist ever at wearing down opponents with his four-line steamroller approach. He has depth galore -- especially on the blue line, where he can mix and match as many as 10 capable, qualified and mostly experienced rearguards to suit his whims and fulfill the ever-changing needs of springtime. If the defense is vulnerable at all, it is in its mostly passive play in and around its cage -- Chris Chelios aside. Teams that habitually drive to the net without the puck and also contest loose pucks in the low slot will give the Red Wings the best run. No team wants to take them on head-to-head in the open ice, which invites transition warfare.
Not Just Numbers: Thirty-nine percent of Detroit’s goal scoring came from three forwards -- Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and Luc Robitaille. Thirty-six percent of their production came on the power play. Meanwhile, the fourth-leading goal-scorer, Brett Hull, scored 76 percent of his goals at even strength.
Colorado Avalanche (2)
Scorecard
total: 46.5
To say that the Avs' offense has been streaky is a gross understatement -- they were shut out 11 times this season (compared to only three blankings a season ago). Their captain and catalyst, Joe Sakic, has personally endured goalless stretches of 18 and 11 games. That spotty production, coupled with injuries to offensively gifted performers like Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk, leaves the Avalanche with plenty of questions regarding their long-term playoff viability. They answer with unparalleled goaltending and a peerless defensive corps. Patrick Roy turned that meager attack -- lowest scoring of the six Division winners -- into an eighth consecutive division title. And with the physical Rob Blake, mean-spirited Adam Foote and irascible Darius Kasparaitis in front of Roy, getting pucks past him will be exceedingly difficult, and it will come only to those with a high pain threshold. All three of those legitimate stoppers play with an edge -- exacting their pound of flesh from offensive marauders at every opportunity. So, if the Avs can score even a little, a title defense isn’t far-fetched. If they should fall, though, their conqueror will have earned it and paid a physical price along the way.
Not Just Numbers: The Avalanche had the second-best road record in the Western Conference, due largely to impressive consistency from their special teams. Both the PP and PK were actually, though slightly, more effective away from the Pepsi Center. The power play was 2.5 percent more efficient, while the discrepancy on the penalty kill was less than 1 percent.
San Jose Sharks (3)
Scorecard
total: 42.5
The Sharks are a year closer to cracking the ranks of the elite in their steady progress toward the Promised Land, and they remain one of the toughest teams to play against in the league. They have a fine blend of youth and experience, skill and grit; which offers balance on the attack that spans four lines -- including the best forechecking line on the planet in Scott Thornton-Mike Ricci-Niklas Sundstrom. Still, the question remains: Who is their money-man, the guy they turn to at crunch time to deliver the necessary goal? It was supposed to be Teemu Selanne, but despite a burst of enthusiasm around the Olympics, Selanne’s presence for the entire season has netted the Sharks only a 2 percent improvement on the power play and just 20 more even-strength goals. Selanne’s modest output also came at a defensive cost -- he posted a team-worst minus-12 and was the only minus-player among the roster of regulars. However, if Selanne elevates his play -- as he did in February while competing for Team Finland -- the Sharks have the depth up front and the perfect postseason disposition. Of course, sophomore puckstopper Evgeni Nabokov has to prove his mettle, and young rearguards Brad Stuart and Scott Hannan must display the same composure they demonstrated throughout the regular season. If the back line can support the work done up front, the Sharks can contend for the Conference crown.
Not Just Numbers: Their six 20-goal scorers is the most on any one team in the NHL this season, and Nabokov’s 37 wins trailed only Dominik Hasek.
St. Louis Blues (4)
Scorecard
total: 42
Can a season of adversity make you stronger and serve you well during the NHL’s second season? Coach Joel Quenneville certainly hopes so. Center Doug Weight’s return to the lineup is certainly significant, as is the Blues’ return to form down the stretch. Still, their identity flows through defensemen Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger. They provide the defensive backbone and the offensive impetus on both the breakout at even strength and from the point on the power play. Up front, with the addition of Ray Ferraro, they now have scoring through three lines. The question: Can goaltender Brent Johnson provide upper-echelon netminding? The Blues’ handling of Johnson was outstanding: playing him, treating him, riding him and thereby proclaiming him a No. 1 NHL netminder. Don’t be surprised if Johnson responds with a career-defining postseason run. Remember his outstanding start to last year’s postseason versus Colorado after he had been sitting idle for weeks behind then-partner Roman Turek? Johnson won’t be idle this spring, as all eyes will be on him. The Blues built their roster to win in the moment, but opted to give the nod to their goalie of the future now. It could be the Blues’ time if Johnson seizes the moment.
Not Just Numbers: The Western Conference was certainly the stronger of the two this season and in reviewing the Blues’ record against their Western brethren, they ranked 10th -- lowest of any of the playoff teams.
Los Angeles Kings (7)
Scorecard
total: 41.5
Kings coach Andy Murray challenged his team at Christmas by telling them a point total they’d need in order to make the playoffs. The team responded, flirting with a possible Pacific Division title before a few devastating late-season losses -- one in particular to the eventual winners, the San Jose Sharks -- slowed them down. But before faltering a bit once the divisional title was beyond reach, the Kings were assassin-like in their meticulous precision and attention to detail. Faceoffs, power play and penalty killing -- the little things in hockey that add up to success -- were all areas dominated by the Kings. The potential problem is their reliance on their power play, which always has been a specialty of Murray’s. Man-up situations accounted for almost 34 percent of the Kings’ offensive output -- the highest of any playoff team. Power-play opportunities usually are more scarce in the playoffs, rendering the Kings vulnerable, should they hit a dry spell with the manpower advantage. To put it another way, their even-strength attack has to produce at a higher level in the postseason, particularly Bryan Smolinski, Steve Heinze and Craig Johnson. Couple a few timely goals by that trio with a reprised spring performance of a year ago by goaltender Felix Potvin and the Kings could be a factor.
Not Just Numbers: And what was the magic number Murray supplied? He called 92 as the Mendoza line for making the playoffs in the West. He was eerily accurate, as the No. 8 seeded Vancouver Canucks needed 94 points to qualify. Break out the abacus.
Vancouver Canucks (8)
Scorecard
total: 39
Talk about earning the right to appear in the playoffs. The Canucks went 8-0-1-0 in their final nine games -- this after ripping off a five wins in a six-game road trip in late March. This was their third consecutive frantic finish, having squeaked in last season after the heartbreak of a narrow miss in 2000. Captain Markus Naslund feels that the team has grown and matured because of these successive contentious stretch runs and you cannot find fault in his statement, on both a team and personal level. Naslund was monumental this season as the marksman in crucial situations -- this after sitting by idly last spring with a broken leg. And linemate Todd Bertuzzi transformed himself into the most dominant power forward in the entire league. His combination of size, brute strength and soft hands is too much for almost every defenseman in the league to handle. The pair was brilliant when it mattered most and goaltender Dan Cloutier was dazzling in his own right. After blowing a big lead and getting the hook at home in the back end of a home-and-home set with San Jose on March 10, Cloutier didn’t waver again. Instead of shrinking in the face of adversity, he steeled his resolve, embraced the challenge and grew. That also describes the spunky Canucks, who got better as the situation intensified, and is representative of their on-ice approach -- aggressive, go for broke, with the ability to outscore their mistakes of exuberance.
Not Just Numbers: Vancouver’s final push to the playoffs wasn’t just impressive in the context of this season. Their 26 wins in the second half of the season was the most in the franchise’s 32 years.
Chicago Blackhawks (5)
Scorecard
total: 36
With virtually the same lineup as the prior season, coach Brian Sutter instilled a belief and work ethic in his charges that should garner him the Jack Adams Award. Sure, Jon Klemm was a nice free agent addition to the blue line, and youngsters Mark Bell and Kyle Calder matured and started fulfilling some of their promise, but Sutter got the absolute most out of his roster. In the end, isn’t that the ultimate measure of a coach? Despite their wonderful regular-season run, though, the Blackhawks have plenty to prove in the playoffs, starting in goal with Jocelyn Thibault. His game has gaps that lead to too many weak goals and inconsistent stretches -- the most recent of which unfortunately occurred over the last six weeks of the regular season. Thibault’s late-season swoon places doubt where playoff teams can least afford it, in the crease. Backup Steve Passmore was the sharper of the two netminders over Chicago’s last 20 games -- hardly a confidence boost for a team that had little faith in their No. 2 guy early in the season. The Blackhawks did, however, add experience to their ranks with forward Steve Thomas, who returned from a broken ankle in the final week of the season. The Blackhawks also acquired a couple of crusty defensemen at the trade deadline, both of whom are miserable to play against: Lyle Odelein and Joe Reekie. Still, from the goal on out, everything would have to come together for the Blackhawks to make an impact this spring and erase the longest current drought between Cups -- 42 years.
Not Just Numbers: Of all the playoff teams, the Blackhawks are the least efficient on the penalty kill and accumulated the fewest points on the road.
Phoenix Coyotes (6)
Scorecard
total: 35.5
This is the story of the season in terms of a team that most analysts discounted at the beginning. But the total team concept espoused by coach Bobby Francis and adopted by his team is on display as Exhibit A as to what can be accomplished in this game when 20-plus like-minded players compete for one another. The Coyotes also shine as a beacon for hockey’s rightful claim as the ultimate team game. They proved that a team dependent on a few star players cannot win it all in the NHL (witness the ill-fated Roenick-Tkachuk years in the desert). Yet, a team with little star appeal and even fewer egos can exceed expectations. Sure, Sean Burke in goal makes all this feel-good coachspeak work; without his consistently high standard of play, the Coyotes are springtime spectators. And if that seems like an obvious sentiment, then you are onto what makes them successful -- they play the game without subtlety and without taking any shortcuts. They finish all their checks. Their forwards drive to the net with conviction every time -- with and without the puck. Certainly, Phoenix isn’t the most skilled team offensively, yet they are one of the finest teams in terms of generating transition chances. Their defense is mobile and exceedingly efficient at moving the puck up to the fine skaters on the front line in full flight. Nothing fancy -- just hockey as it is meant to be -- up-tempo and uncomplicated.
Not Just Numbers: They may have broken ground on the future home of the Coyotes earlier this month, but all season long they were homers -- winning twice as many games on home ice (27) as on the road (13).
Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason for CNNSI.com.
