Playoff Matchups

What Happened? Who knew that the Flyers would take off without Eric Lindros (still unsigned) and John Leclair (just recently returned from a back injury)? Full credit has to go to Coach Bill Barber and first year goalie Roman Cechmanek. As well, the Penguins didn't come around the way that most of us thought they would. They are still short a quality d-man and a top-line goaltender - it should be a short post-season for Mario and company. As for the Leafs, the players and management were dogged for most of the year by Lindros speculation. This deeply affected the psyche of the team and it showed on the ice. They improved marginally after the trade deadline, but with Curtis Joseph looking "human" it could spell a quick exit for the "Blue and White".

Our Projections

Where They Really Finished

1. Colorado Avalanche

2. St. Louis Blues

3. Dallas Stars

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. San Jose Sharks

6. Los Angeles Kings

7. Vancouver Canucks

8. Edmonton Oilers

1. Colorado Avalanche

2. Detroit Red Wings

3. Dallas Stars

4. St. Louis Blues

5. San Jose Sharks

6. Edmonton Oilers

7. Los Angeles Kings

8. Vancouver Canucks

What Happened? The simple answer would be injuries. The Blues were devastated throughout the second half with injuries to Chris Pronger (twice), Al MacInnis, Pavol Demitra (twice), Michal Handzus (now in Phoenix), and Sean Hill. It's no surprise they were passed by a red hot Detroit Red Wings team for top spot in the Central Division. The injury bug almost cost the Vancouver Canucks a post season berth as well. Markus Naslund's broken leg and Andrew Cassels' severely sprained ankle took the teams top two point scorers out of the lineup for the last month of the season. They Canucks are lucky to have stayed in 8th. The Kings' situation is just weird. After we wrote our mid-season article the team went into a tailspin. They were obviously affected by the Rob Blake situation and it started to show. They dropped into 9th in the Conference. And once Blake was traded no one expected them to be much of a playoff threat. Yet ironically, one of the reasons they made the playoffs is because of the gritty play of the guys they received in the Blake deal. Adam Deadmarsh has provided toughness and grit on the first line and Aaron Miller has been a workhorse on the blueline. And what about those Oilers? They did little at the trade deadline, but still managed to put together one of the best second halves in the NHL. They could be a team to watch.

Here's the first round matchups and our predictions of who will win and in how many.

The West	Winner
Colorado / Vancouver	Avs in 5
Detroit / Los Angeles	Wings in 6
Dallas / Edmonton	Stars in 7
St. Louis / San Jose	Blues in 7

The East	Winner
New Jersey / Carolina	Devils in 5
Ottawa / Toronto	Sens in 6
Washington / Pittsburgh	Caps in 6
Philadelphia / Buffalo	Sabres in 7