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Thursday's Playoff Previews
Paul Crane: Michael the Penguins and Capitals begin their series Thursday, and does Mario Lemieux have enough left in his tank to make a difference in this? Michael Farber : I think Lemieux is just warming up. Pittsburgh is so dangerous offensively with two great lines. Look especially for that second Pittsburgh line with Alexei Kovalev and Martin Straka . They really can get something going against all good defensive teams. Washington, make no mistake, is a very good defensive team. Washington has had a lot of trouble with the Penguins in the postseason, and I expect that to continue. Crane : Staying in the east, we've got Carolina and New Jersey, should this be much of a problem for the defending champions? Farber : The New Jersey Devils ran through Florida last year on its way to a Stanley Cup. I think the Devils have to do the same to the Hurricanes. Carolina does have some impressive pieces. Arturs Irbe can play very well in goal. In 1994, he engineered a big upset when he was in San Jose. There are also some other pieces on that team including Jeff O'Neill, a 40-plus goal scorer but if you look at it man for man, New Jersey has a much better team, a better goalie in Martin Brodeur and can roll four lines. I think New Jersey is the class of this field and should put the Hurricanes away in four or five games. Crane : Michael, moving over to the West, Vancouver will face Colorado. The Avalanche have the league's best record, but is Colorado the league's best team heading into the playoffs? Farber : Well, I've been around Colorado a lot recently and maybe I've been looking at the mole on Cindy Crawford's face, but I see some flaws in the Avalanche. They don't kill penalties very well. They are a very static penalty-killing team, surprising given that degree of talent. There's also a fall-off in the third line and a non-existent fourth line. Now in the first round against an injured Vancouver Canucks team, I don't expect it to be any trouble. But as the Avalanche progress in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it's something to keep in mind. Crane : Also in the West, we have San Jose and St. Louis. This is a rematch from last year when the Blues were eliminated as a No. 1 seed. Farber : A huge upset last year because Roman Turek wasn't very sharp in goal for the St. Louis Blues. A lot of freaky goals went past them but its affected Turek's play all year. He's about a half a goal a game worse than he was last season. Turek is the real question mark for St. Louis. If he shows some poise, I think they can get by the Sharks, but St. Louis is going to be sorely tested. Vincent Damphousse is back for San Jose and this is a gritty team, a team with experience that will push St. Louis around a little bit. Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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