First off I also want to congratulate you for making 5th seed in a tough division.
I'm gonna play the advantage-disadvante game
i'll post some more later, but here are my initial thoughts on the matchup.
Goaltending
You have the better starter by a not too big margin. Gardiners peak was short but phenomenal while Sawchuk was consistently great for a long time. My back-up is legitimate starter so the Nordiques definetly have the advantage in this department. But back-ups play little role in the playoffs so I have to give you a small advantage here.
Advantage : Tapees by a small margin
i agree with your analysis here. gardiner's peak was certainly phenomenal, but sawchuk was consistently good throughout his career. since we have ventured into the post-season now, sawchuk's four stanley cups, and playoff stats, gives him the edge over gardiner.
here are the stats from their best playoff season...
gardiner: 6 wins, 1 loss, 2 shutouts, 1.43 gaa (29 years old)
sawchuk: 8 wins, 0 losses, 4 shutouts, 0.62 gaa (22 years old)
with regards to back-ups - both sawchuk and gardiner are warriors so, back-ups will ride the pine all series. however, they are both pretty close - connell was great, but hern won 4 stanley cups (which is great for a back-up).
advantage: st. catharines
Defense
My first pairing is better then yours in terms of defence while offensively there isn't too much difference between Orr and Coffey. Your second pairing has an advantage with Conacher who is a nodge over Sologubov. I question Svedbergs toughness and as I know he sometimes had defensive lapses. Ludwig is a big safer in this department but is practicly a non-factor no the rush. Both third pairings are solid but spectecular.
Advantage : Pretty even but it might the Nordiques.
i agree - the defence is pretty close between both teams. bobby orr is without a doubt the best of the bunch but, as i mentioned earlier, both coffey and svedberg have the ability to skate with orr (coffey may arguably be the best skater in this series). offensively, orr and coffey are close but, orr is certainly better defensively. the teepees fully expect lowe to act as defensive presence for coffey (allowing coffey to play the game according to his abilities). so, quebec has a slight edge in first pairing defense.
second pairing - i give the edge to st. catharines. svedberg (euro-coffey) is easily the third best skating defenseman in the series. i agree with your assessment that he lacks the toughness and size but, thats where "big train" conacher comes in handy. similar to lowe, conacher will compliment svedbergs play, allowing him to play the game based on his abilities. ludwig is great defensively, and, from what i've read, sologubov is a fantastic defenseman but, i still give st.catharines the edge.
third pairing - once again, at first glance, give the edge to st.catharines. mummery and corbeau provide a huge physical presence on the blueline, which will be pounding the nordiques all series.
overall advantage - even (though i'm leaning towards st.catharines - however, it's tough to argue against an orr-lead blueline)
Offense
Both teams have the best rushing defensemen ever. Both first lines basicly have 4 forwards what could be awesome to watch.In terms of forwards my first line is ther though. Moore beats Schriner , Oates and Sittler are a toss-up and not unsimilar in what they archieved. Ciccarelli should have some great chemistry with Oates and Orr and that is what makes him better than Mosienko. He also was a strong playoff performer. Quebec also has a small advantage on the second line. Primeau had a great peak , while Keon is superior defensively a was an awesome playoff performer. Offensively they are about even I guess but Keon is the better center overall. Nicholls and Naslund are even in my opinion. Naslund is a better goal scorer but lacks of Bernie's grit and playoff strenght. Recchi is a way better producer and playoff performer then his counterpart. Foligno is tougher though. Quebec's third line gives some strong playoff two-way play and can score some goals. The Tapees line is more defensively oriented. Your fourth line is nice asssembled with some early scoring star. Roberts is a absolutely deserving ATD-Player. They have a little advantage over my Jeans-Line.
Overall I'd say advantage : Quebec
more later.
dickie moore is definitely the best forward in the series. and, oates is certainly the best-playmaker. i really like that you decided to play both of them on the same line. ciccarelli provides a fantastic physical presence on that line. sweeney schriner is a very underrated player (i'll post more on schriner later), sittler is a decent firstline centre, and mosienko provides fantastic speed. looking at both teams, i agree that quebec may have the advantage - though it's certainly not by a huge margin.
where i believe st.catharines will excel is on the defensive side. keon is a fantastic two-way centre and, provides some great flexibility to the line-up. we could play keon as a second-line centre / defensive presence for naslund - or, as the centre of a very strong shutdown line (pulford - keon - draper / foligno) which, in my opinion, could easily neutralize the quebec offense. should keon be shifted to a shutdown / thirdline role, frederickson can easily move onto the secondline without the offence suffering (it may even be better offensively).
so, in regards to forwards - offensively, i give a slight edge to quebec but, defensively, i believe st.catharines has the edge.
another aspect - coaching.
in my opinion, definite advantage for st.catharines here. jacques demers is a good coach but, arbour is arguably one of the top-three (if not top-two) coachs of all-time.
series advantage - st.catharines (though it is very close).
) or conacher (2 
...it's too bad one of us will be sent packing this round.
