Eastern Conference Predictions 2by Bo Siemsen

Colorado Avalanche vs. St.Louis Blues

1ST ROUND :
(Avalanche)
Despite a few minor injuries to players like Sakic and Hejduk the Colorado Avalanche had a fairly easy series against the Los Angeles Kings ... 5 games and they could start preparing for a 2nd round matchup against the Blues. Nikolai Khabibulin had a near-perfect series with a 1.29 GAA and .952 savepercentage. Defenceman Brian Leetch was their leading scorer with 2 goals and 5 points total.

(Blues)
The Blues waslked all over the former champions and last years finalists the Dallas Stars. Center Doug Weight lead the scoring with 8 points (all assists) and Ulf Dahlen scored 4 goals in the 4 games the series lasted. Goalie Patrick Roy was superb allowing 6 goals in 4 games stopping 93.5% of all shots.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
The main strength from the Colorado Avalanche is an extremely high skill level. Especially when you look at their blue-line where you have the likes of Sergei Gonchar and Brian Leetch pinching in. When you have support like that for lines centered by Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg you know the goals are gonna come. Overall the Avalanche is quicker than the Blues. They are more vulnerable to injuries though.

The Blues have top skill players too like Peter Bondra, Jaromir Jagr and Doug Weight. And players like Dan McGillis (5 pts), Aaron Miller (2+1) has done a decent job supporting the forwards. Overall the Blues are bigger tougher, better defensively and more experienced than the Colorado Avalanche. Their depth is also a bit better with guys like Konowalchuk, Walker and Hlavac on the 3rd line.

KEY TO THE SERIES
The goaltending in this series will be something to watch. Khabibulin and Roy were the two best goalies in the first round. Both goalies are capable of stealing one or more games ... that could very well be the #1 key to this series. In the regular season Patrick Roy and the Blues really had the Avs' number. In 4 games the Avalanche scored just 3 goals ... Blues won all 4 outscoring the Avs 14-3. But that was the regular season - this is the playoffs.

It is essential for the Avalanche to stay healthy on their top lines since they dont really have a quality call-up from the 3rd/4th line to replace the top guys. The Blues are less vulnerable.

One huge advantage for the Avs is that the GM has done it before, he has in the past found a way to win series against the likes of the Sharks, Stars, Blues ... while the St.Louis Blues GM has yet to make it past the Conference finals and play for the Stanley Cup.

PREDICTION
A tough call. On paper the Blues has a few advantages. Better depth - more experience - Patrick Roy. But history cannot be denied ... I think the Blues and the Avalanche has met 3 or 4 times in the last 5 playoffs. And they've won them all. Thats extremely significant. But still ... I tip my hat for the St.Louis Blues in a long series Blues in 7

Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks

1ST ROUND :
(Wings)
The Detroit Red Wings had a lot of trouble getting past the Vancouver Canucks. Their big-name players Fedorov, Shanahan, Guerin, Jovanovski all had a point-per-game or better ... while captain Michael Peca recorded goals in the last 5 games leading his team. Jeff O'Neill also had 6 points - while defencemen Sean O'Donnel (1+4) and Scott Stevens (1+3) pitched in decently. Disappoint effort from Brian Rolston with 1 point and a -3 rating. Tommy Salo was unspectacular ... and hurt in the last game.

(Sharks)
The Sharks needed just 5 games to get rid of the Edmonton Oilers. You could even say that they only needed one line to get the job done. Lidstrom (0+11) Naslund (3+6) Kapanen (5+4) Yashin (4+3) McLaren (2+3) - these 5 players finished the series at +8 or +9. The rest of the team ... while getting a few points were much worse in +/-. 8 of the remaining 13 players were in the minus ... while the 5 remaining were even or +1. Goaltending appeared to be optional for Kolzig ... he carries a savepercentage of 86.5 into the 2nd round - with a 2.74 GAA.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
The Wings come into the series with a big and tough veteran team. They are by far the most physical team in the playoffs - and they are solid defensively also. That also means a lack of discipline which could be their downfall. In the first round the Wings special teams allowed 5 goals while scoring only 3. With Peca out the depth support is limited ... there's Valeri Bure on the 3rd line - but he's not been a factor yet.

The San Jose Sharks is the most skilled team in the league. They are fast and disciplined - and despite Kolzig's stats.they are not that bad defensively - not quite as good as the Wings ... but good enough. The Sharks will try to beat the Wings with their skill outscoring them - no matter how many goals Kolzig allows. Even with 14 goals against in the first round they dominated and scored 22 themselves. It's not traditional playoff hockey, but it works.

KEY TO THE SERIES
With Michael Peca out Brian Rolston will be moved to center and take on a bigger role. Clearly the Wings has to find a way to stop the Sharks' top line ... they had 14 goals and 27 assists in the first round. If the Sharks can get the other 3 lines to roll and add a few more goals the Wings will be in a lot of trouble. One thing that could swing the series to Detroit is goaltending ... IF Tommy Salo can play his best even after the injury in game 7 vs. the Canucks and Kolzig continue to struggle then maybe the Wings have a chance.

PREDICTION
The Sharks can't be stopped. They will brutally outscore the Red Wings.. Sharks in 5