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Written by Jeff Hatline
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Wednesday, 11 April 2007 |
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No.
1 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 8 Calgary Flames The Red Wings are favored to
win the Stanley cup every season for a good reason. They are stacked with
players that have been here before and know how to win. Dominik Hasek, Nicklas
Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider are the keys to the Wings veteran
leadership. But to win this series and ultimately the Stanley Cup, they'll need
offensive production from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Trade deadline
additions of Kyle Calder and Todd Bertuzzi will be leaned on to provide the
muscle to keep the aggressive Flames on the ropes. Calgary has also added help
to make a playoff push. The Flames picked up Alex Tanguay and Craig Conroy to
help star Jarome Iginla, but once again, the Flames' success all hinges on
goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who has burned the Red Wings before. Once again, the
key matchup in the series is between the goalies and if Hasek can be the
Dominator that he was in 2002, the Red Wings will see the second round once
again. Prediction: Detroit in six.
No.4 Nashville Predators vs. No.
5 San Jose Sharks: This series will be the best matchup in the Western
Conference. Nashville can score and the Predators were only a few wins away from
being the #1 seed. The addition of Peter Forsberg, along with JP Dumont and
Jason Arnott, will add depth to the bench and additional help for Paul Kariya
and David Legwand. This year, the Predators will rely on a healthy Tomas Vokoun
in net, which will greatly improve their chances against the same team that
knocked them out of the playoffs last year. The addition of Bill Guerin will
provide experience and leadership to the Sharks roster that that centers around
Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau as well as winger Jonathan Cheechoo. Even
though Nashville has gotten bigger they still won't be able to match up to the
stronger Sharks for the second year in a row. Prediction: San Jose in
Seven
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