Ville Isopaa
Registered User
St Louis and Detroit are well out of reach in the battle for the Western Conference title, and Anaheim is also out of reach for Colorado. As the leaders of the North West Division, Colorado sits 3rd at the moment 4 points ahead of Calgary with 3 games to go. Here's a look at who the Avalanche could face in the first round.
Dallas Stars (currently 5th, with 96 points and 3 games to go. Regular season record 2-0, goals 6-3)
The Avalanche 2-0 record against the Stars are a bit misleading. The wins came on gameday 8 and 9, and both teams have made big changes since. Of the 6 Avalanche scorers, only Samuelsson, Axelsson and Carter are left on the team.
The Goalies: No question on who has the better goalie here. Kipper is one of the best goalies and he can carry the Stars as far as a cup if everything else works. Denis is hoping to keep the Avalanche in the games.
The Defense: The Dallas D is lead by McCabe, who can keep up with the big 3 of the Avalanche. After McCabe the Stars have decent depth and leadership, but nobody skilled enough to step up and fill a leading role if McCabe is shut down or injured. Nod goes to the Avalanche.
The Forwards: The deadline addition of Martin St.Louis gives Dallas a deadly top line to match the top line of the Avalanche. Looking at the secondary scoring, Colorado have more skill and depth up front. The nod goes again to the Avalanche.
Bottom line: Kipper is the key to the series. If he is able to shut down the Avalanche offense, then Dallas will be the favourite. If he fails to perform, the nod goes to Colorado, even if it will be a tight series.
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San Jose Sharks: (currently 6th, with 92 points and 3 games to go. Regular season record 1-1, goals 6-6)
The Goalies: Huet and Denis are goalies in similar situations. Neither one has ever been able to leadthe team anywhere, but both have potential to be top 10 goalies in the league. If one can lift his game, that might be the deciding factor for the series.
The Defense: The top pair of Niedermeyer-Jovanovski can compete with the Avalanche top defensemen, and Kim Johnsson adds good support to the two. However the depth of the Avalanche is clearly better than the Sharks, who might have problems if one of the top four defensemen would be injured.
The Forwards: Again the teams are very compareable having superstars with game breaking potential and good defensive forwards and overall depth.
Bottom line: With goalies and forwards being even on paper, the deciding factor could be the defense. However, that is also a close matchup. Prediction: 7-game series, with Crosby scoring the winning goal in triple overtime.
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Calgary Flames:(currently 7th, with 89 points and 3 games to go. Regular season record 2-6-0, goals 21-35)
As with the regular season record against the Stars, the Avalanche 2-6-0 record against the Flames is a bit misleading. The games were all played in the first 42 gamedays, and both teams have made big changes since. Gone from the Flames are players like Gerber and Boyle while LeClair and Phillips have been added Meanwhile the Avalanche have added guys like Kozlov and Allison with no major losses.
The Goalies: With the trade of Gerber to the Flames, the Avalanche might have lost the games needed to reach 100 points. Gerber has since moved on and now the Flames have a goalie tandem that has yet to be tested in the playoffs. LaBarbera has been a big suprise this season leading the flames to the playoffs for the first time as far as anyone alive today can remember. He needs to keep up his play in the playoffs to give the Flames the chances they need to beat the Avalanche.
The Defense: With the loss of Boyle, Calgary lost their PPQB and haven't been able to replace him. They sport a good crop of defensemen, but have no real leaders and lack offensive punch. There is nobody who can compete with the Avalanche top trio.
The Forwards: Both teams have top end skill and depth in the forward lines. The Avalanche might have a little bit more top end skill, but overall the forwards look fairly even on paper.
Bottom line: If LaBarbera can keep the Flames in the games, then it's a wide open series. If the goaltending fails for the Flames, then look for a short series.
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So, is there a preference in who to face? Well, not really. All three are tight matchups, and should provide series up to 6 or 7 games. It will be intresting to see how things work out in the final 3 games.
Dallas Stars (currently 5th, with 96 points and 3 games to go. Regular season record 2-0, goals 6-3)
The Avalanche 2-0 record against the Stars are a bit misleading. The wins came on gameday 8 and 9, and both teams have made big changes since. Of the 6 Avalanche scorers, only Samuelsson, Axelsson and Carter are left on the team.
The Goalies: No question on who has the better goalie here. Kipper is one of the best goalies and he can carry the Stars as far as a cup if everything else works. Denis is hoping to keep the Avalanche in the games.
The Defense: The Dallas D is lead by McCabe, who can keep up with the big 3 of the Avalanche. After McCabe the Stars have decent depth and leadership, but nobody skilled enough to step up and fill a leading role if McCabe is shut down or injured. Nod goes to the Avalanche.
The Forwards: The deadline addition of Martin St.Louis gives Dallas a deadly top line to match the top line of the Avalanche. Looking at the secondary scoring, Colorado have more skill and depth up front. The nod goes again to the Avalanche.
Bottom line: Kipper is the key to the series. If he is able to shut down the Avalanche offense, then Dallas will be the favourite. If he fails to perform, the nod goes to Colorado, even if it will be a tight series.
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San Jose Sharks: (currently 6th, with 92 points and 3 games to go. Regular season record 1-1, goals 6-6)
The Goalies: Huet and Denis are goalies in similar situations. Neither one has ever been able to leadthe team anywhere, but both have potential to be top 10 goalies in the league. If one can lift his game, that might be the deciding factor for the series.
The Defense: The top pair of Niedermeyer-Jovanovski can compete with the Avalanche top defensemen, and Kim Johnsson adds good support to the two. However the depth of the Avalanche is clearly better than the Sharks, who might have problems if one of the top four defensemen would be injured.
The Forwards: Again the teams are very compareable having superstars with game breaking potential and good defensive forwards and overall depth.
Bottom line: With goalies and forwards being even on paper, the deciding factor could be the defense. However, that is also a close matchup. Prediction: 7-game series, with Crosby scoring the winning goal in triple overtime.
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Calgary Flames:(currently 7th, with 89 points and 3 games to go. Regular season record 2-6-0, goals 21-35)
As with the regular season record against the Stars, the Avalanche 2-6-0 record against the Flames is a bit misleading. The games were all played in the first 42 gamedays, and both teams have made big changes since. Gone from the Flames are players like Gerber and Boyle while LeClair and Phillips have been added Meanwhile the Avalanche have added guys like Kozlov and Allison with no major losses.
The Goalies: With the trade of Gerber to the Flames, the Avalanche might have lost the games needed to reach 100 points. Gerber has since moved on and now the Flames have a goalie tandem that has yet to be tested in the playoffs. LaBarbera has been a big suprise this season leading the flames to the playoffs for the first time as far as anyone alive today can remember. He needs to keep up his play in the playoffs to give the Flames the chances they need to beat the Avalanche.
The Defense: With the loss of Boyle, Calgary lost their PPQB and haven't been able to replace him. They sport a good crop of defensemen, but have no real leaders and lack offensive punch. There is nobody who can compete with the Avalanche top trio.
The Forwards: Both teams have top end skill and depth in the forward lines. The Avalanche might have a little bit more top end skill, but overall the forwards look fairly even on paper.
Bottom line: If LaBarbera can keep the Flames in the games, then it's a wide open series. If the goaltending fails for the Flames, then look for a short series.
---
So, is there a preference in who to face? Well, not really. All three are tight matchups, and should provide series up to 6 or 7 games. It will be intresting to see how things work out in the final 3 games.
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