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Wednesday's Playoff Previews
Paul Crane: Michael, let's look at Wednesday's playoff games. The Sabres face the Flyers and right out of the gate, this would appear to be a great goaltending matchup. Michael Farber: Well, there's such a relationship between Dominik Hasek of the Sabers and Roman Cechmanek of the Philadelphia Flyers. Cechmanek was the backup to Hasek and Nagano for the gold medal-winning Czech Republic. He plays a little bit like Hasek. Similar kind of style, although no one really can imitate the "Dominator." And for a goalie, whom former Flyer head coach Craig Ramsey didn't even want on the team at the start of the year, Cechmanek has been the big surprise this season between the pipes in the NHL. Crane : With two great goaltenders, who is one player we should look for to be an offensive key? Farber : Well, Philadelphia needs some more production out of John LeClair. He's coming back from a back injury. He began very slowly in his return and turned it up at the very end of the season. He has not been a great playoff performer. LeClair needs to produce offensively for the Flyers to win this series. Crane : We move to the Western Conference, where the Kings face the Red Wings. Michael, could this be a last hurrah for the Red Wings? Farber : The Detroit Red Wings are an older club, but by no means is this their final shot at it. That's a good nucleus and it's a very deep team. No team since the 1994 Rangers has won a Stanley Cup with a shortened bench. Now the Detroit Red Wings roll four lines. They're good on the blue line. The question is, is Chris Osgood going to be up for it in the playoffs? That's always the question in Detroit. Crane : What would it take do you think for the Kings to pull the upset and win this series? Farber : Felix Potvin has to play like he's played since coming to Los Angeles. The Kings are an underrated club. Everyone knows they can score but they also play well defensively as a group. An explosive team with good team defense could push Detroit in this series. Crane : Another series in the West pits the Oilers against the Stars, and it would appear at first glance that the series would favor Dallas. But, Michael, sometimes looks can be deceiving. Farber : Dallas should be the favorite, but I like the Edmonton Oilers to win this series. Foot speed will be a factor. The physical play of the Edmonton Oilers should be a factor. The one question really for Edmonton is in goal. Tommy Salo has had a wonderful regular season, but a red flag should go up. He's 1-8 in the playoffs for the Edmonton Oilers. If he plays well and Ed Belfour falters even a little bit for the Dallas Stars, this could be an Oilers upset. 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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