Kyle's Round 1 Campbell Playoff Battle Breakdown

VS.
EDM vs. NAS (Momentum won't be enough for Edmonton)
The 1st seed in the Campbell Predators take on the 8th seed in the Campbell Oilers. The Predators have been dominate in the Campbell Conference this year finishing 12 points over the 2nd place sharks while the Oilers had to make a late run and barely squeaked into the Playoffs. The Oilers have an offensive advantage with the unstoppable combination of Allison & Kariya while the Predators are better in the defensive and goaltending department with a well rounded tandem of Salo & Vokoun in net and Star defensman Pronger. The Oilers late additions included goaltender Brian Boucher & Winger Tony Amonte, Boucher won't be available to play the first 3 games of the playoffs so Edmonton will have to rely that Conklin's late seasons performance wasn't a fluke. The Oilers went 8-1-1 in their last 10 to make a mad dash to get into the playoffs but the Momentum is expected to fade.


VS.
DET vs SJ (Changes a cure or a cancer in San Jose)
The 2nd Seed Sharks take on the 7th Seed RedWings in the Campbell Quarter finals. Although the Sharks finished with 7 more points then the Red Wings this year they were no problem for Detroit during the regular season. The Sharks were 0-3-0 against the Wings being out scored 13-3. The Sharks made a lot of moves winding down to the end of the season acquiring Chris Philips, Robert Svelha, Kozlov, Kloucek, Shivdiki, Welch, Deadmarsh and others making more moves nearing the end of the season then any other playoff bound team. The Red Wings will be facing a new version of the Sharks, Are they better then the Sharks that the Wings so easily defeated in the Regular Season or have all these moves made them a playoff powerhouse? It's hard to say but as it stands San Jose is the favourite to take this series.


VS.
CHI vs STL (Blues a Slight Favourite)
The 3rd seeded Black Hawks take on the 6th seeded Blues in what promises to be a tight series. The Blues added Vaananen which should greatly improve their defense while the BlackHawks lineup stayed intact. Dan Cloutier will be unavailable to start the 1st 2 games of the series and Backup Leighton is not 100% either and is a questionable start, So will the Blues have to rely on rookie Pelletier to get them through the first 2 playoff games? Chicago is led by Sykora (92 pts) and Gomez (75 pts) and defensman Jonsson. The biggest hole for the Hawks may be their lack of depth on defense and the possibility of relying on a rookie goaltender with no NHL experience to pull them through the 1st 2 crucial games. The Blues have all the factors working for them roster wise with the best goalie in the league (Brodeur) and a star-studded offensive line-up thats expected to walk through the weak defense of the Black Hawks. Even though the Blues finished with a worse record then Chicago they are the favourite to win this series.


VS.
COL vs CGY (Flames too Hot for Avalanche)

The 4th Seeded Avalanche Take on the 5th Seeded Flames. The Flames finished the season on Fire going 9-1-0 in their last 10 launching them into the 5th seed. At the deadline the Flames added offensive defensman Hainsey from the Islanders, Bad-Boy defensman Brad Ference from the Hurricanes and Isbister, Belak and De Vries from the Avs, The Avs in return acquired Lindros from Calgary as well as Lintner. The Avalanche went 1-2-1 vs the Flames this year. Peter Forsberg will have to carry his team if the Avalanche are going to put a stop to the Flames Momentum. Kiprusoff will be expected to put up better numbers in the playoffs for Calgary while the Koivu-Kovalchuk-Naslund line is expected to be too much for the Avalanche's defense.