Western Conference..., Round 2 | Kev316's Blog

03:39 PM ET 04.28 |

Went two for four in the West this year..., didn't figure on SJS not showing up and Chicago..., I gave them way too little credit this year. The way they handled the Flames over the 6 game series was impressive and, I give them credit for it. Now, on to round two..., Detroit vs Anaheim and Vancouver taking on the Blackhawks.

2) Detroit Red Wings vs 8) Anaheim Ducks

The way the Ducks took it to the Sharks in that series would make them a dangerous team to play in this round and they are. Detroit swept the upstart Blue Jackets in a series I thought was going to be really good. But this series could be the best..., both have studs on defense and Anaheim has a great corps up front too..., Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan are future all stars and Detroit has plenty of those now. But this is going to come down to, again, goaltending and if Osgood is as good as he was in the first round, Detroit takes the series. But watching Hiller over the last few games has me a little worried but, not that much. After all, he did beat out the Presidents trophy winning Sharks and that, no matter how poorly SJS played, is a big deal and gives them momentum going into Detroit this week.

Detroit in 6

3) Vancouver Canucks vs 4) Chicago Blackhawks

I was a little surprised that VCR swept the Blues but looking back at that series, I can see why it happened. St. Louis is decent young team but they have goaltending issues that Kane and Co. made them pay for. Chicago doesn't have that problem with Nik and Cristobal between the pipes and their defense is one of the most underrated in the league. Luongo is one of the best goalies right now and if he can get on a roll and the Sedins and Co. can put a few behind Nik, it'll be their series to lose. My money, if I had any, would be on Chicago in this series..., they beat out a team that a lot of fans had plugged into the West finals. Chicago needs to steal a game in VCR in order to get a lot of momentum going into the latter stages of this series..., this will be a dogfight on ice and one I am looking forward too.

Chicago in 7