Craving the Cup

Breaking down the best elements of the first round

Lord Stanley of Preston had no clue the fuss he would create when at a dinner on March 18, 1892 he had Lord Kilcoursie, one of his aides and a player on the Rebels hockey team, read a letter which included: "I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning club." And for equivalent of $48.67, the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup was purchased and first awarded the following year.

Just more than 111 years later, the two-month march toward the most famous silver chalice in the world begins Wednesday with four games. SI.com NHL Producer Jon A. Dolezar takes a look at some things to watch for in the opening round.

Best series

To get yourself in the mood for this one, put on an All in the Family marathon (on Betamax) and cue up your Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (on 8 track, of course), because the Flyers-Maple Leafs matchup is straight out of the 1970s. No, the players won't be forced to use wooden sticks or wear those funky-fresh Cooperalls that we all loved, but this series will produce some great old-time hockey. With beefy forwards Shayne Corson, Tie Domi, Owen Nolan, Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker for Toronto, as well as Donald Brashear, John LeClair, Keith Primeau and Jeremy Roenick for Philly, we shouldn't lack for big hits or post-whistle jousting in this series.

Best individual matchup

Likely Hart Trophy winner Peter Forsberg probably will be shadowed by pesky Wild center Wes Walz. And when I say shadowed, I mean shadowed with how Walz plays defense. Much like the Oilers used to employ Esa Tikkanen as a constant irritant against their opponent's top offensive player, Walz likely will find himself on the ice for most of Forsberg's shifts.

Best goalie matchup

Nikolai Khabibulin and Olaf Kolzig long have been great goalies on mediocre teams, but this year the rest of their teams finally caught up to them. The Bulin Wall had a worse goals-against average and save percentage than he did a year ago, but his winning percentage jumped from .439 to .563, so nobody other than his agent cares about the secondary stats. Kolzig won 30 or more games for the fifth time in six years, while posting his best GAA and save percentage in three seasons. Either of these netminders is capable of stealing several series in the playoffs and sending his team on a Carolina-like postseason run.

Best coaching matchup

In keeping with the throwback feel of their teams' series, Ken Hitchcock and Pat Quinn can coach rough-and-tumble pucks with the best of them. And considering that Hitch (.610) and Quinn (.553) both have excellent winning percentages in 1,982 combined regular-season and playoff games, there won't be anything that happens on the ice that these guys haven't seen in the past. On the other side of the coin, John Tortorella and Bruce Cassidy have both won Calder Cups in the AHL, but are NHL postseason virgins.

Most likely to sweep

The Devils couldn't be catching the Bruins at a better time. With Jeff Hackett still questionable, Boston may be forced to go with Steve Shields or Tim Thomas, which wouldn't be a good thing. Unless Martin Brodeur gets kidnapped by a mobster in the North End, lost in the Ted Williams Tunnel or badly sprains his ankle while walking through Boston Common, the Bruins might not be around after Game 4.

Most likely to go 7

Only one point separated the two teams after 82 regular-season games, so a series between the Lightning and Capitals is a good candidate to go the distance. Washington won three of the five meetings in the regular season, but outscored Tampa Bay 13-9 by winning by four and three goals in two of those games.

Most likely to be booed unmercifully

Alexei Yashin hasn't been well received in his trips back to the Corel Centre so far, but he ain't seen nothing yet. Fans in Ottawa will be in postseason form with their best Yashin taunts. If the Stars had faced the Wild in the first round, they probably would've been booed out of the Xcel Energy Center by the Minnesota fans who still haven't forgiven Norm Green for moving the team to Texas 10 years ago.

Most likely to borrow the Rally Monkey

Since it worked for their neighbors across the street, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks might want to rent the lovable primate before the Angels get too far into their bid to repeat. Jean-Sebastien Giguere told SI.com earlier this year: "I think any team could use the Angels as an example. I don't think they were recognized around the league as being a great team, but they came together as a team and ended up being the best in the league. So I think anybody can use them for motivation, especially us being so close to them."

Upset that wouldn't really be that huge of an upset

It would be too easy to pick either of the 4 vs. 5 series here, and the Capitals only finished a point behind the Lightning in the Southeast Division, so that is out, too. But a Minnesota win over Colorado isn't that far-fetched, is it? OK, so it's still pretty far-fetched -- and, in fact, I'm picking the Avs in six -- but hear me out on the reasons why the Wild are likely to hang tough in the series. Three of their five regular-season meetings went to overtime and two goals was the largest margin of victory. With the way the Wild clog up the neutral zone and forecheck with abandon, the Avs won't be able to utilize their speed as much through the neutral zone. And if you thought Mr. Circle Behind the Net (Adam Foote) had problems getting the puck out of the zone against a normal team, wait until you see the fits that Minnesota will give him.

Series most likely to break single-series goals record

The Oilers and Blackhawks combined to score 69 goals in a six-game series in 1985 -- well, the Oilers did most of the scoring with 44 goals -- but the Canucks and Blues could challenge that if their series goes to seven games. In four meetings this year, they combined for 9, 6, 8 and 10 goals, so an average of 8.25 goals per game would yield 57 in a seven-game series. Considering that Dan Cloutier and Chris Osgood are two of the more skittish goaltenders in recent memory -- especially in the postseason -- the goal judges and sports psychologists may be in for a long series, too.

Feud to watch

The Stars and Oilers have had a heated rivalry in past postseason matchups, including some back-and-forth national anthem booing before it had war-based political overtones. "It wouldn't be the playoffs without Dallas-Edmonton in the first round," Stars center Mike Modano said of the teams, which are meeting for the sixth time in seven seasons. Another sure bet to develop a feud is Tucker and whoever he lines up against most often in the Flyers-Leafs series.

Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for SI.com.

 

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