It's the time of year that every hockey fan loves as after 82 hard-hitting NHL regular-season games, the NHL schedule has wound down and 16 teams will now vie for one of the richest prizes in sports: The Stanley Cup. After a memorable season, it has all boiled down to these two months where some familiar teams get back into the playoff mix while some others end postseason droughts.
NHL Playoffs 2014 schedule, times dates and channels for all of the Stanley Cup Playoff games
It is sure to be an exciting two months of hockey as head-rattling hits, game-changing goals and heart-stopping saves are sure to all be a part of each best-of-seven series as each team comes into the postseason with one goal in mind, hoisting the Stanley Cup.
In the Western Conference's Central Division bracket, the Colorado Avalanche enter the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10 but will be challenged by a Minnesota Wild team that's on the rise and makes its second consecutive playoff appearance while the St. Louis Blues look to bounce back from limping through the end of the regular-season and will have to bypass the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs format explained
Western Conference Round 1 Central Divison Bracket:
Colorado Avalanche (52-22-8, 111 points, No. 1 in the Central) vs. Minnesota Wild (43-27-10, 96 points, No. 1 wild-card):
The Avalanche stormed out to an early barrage this season under first-year coach and Jack Adams candidate Patrick Roy and will be looking to make a deep run after missing the playoffs the last three years while the Wild have made the playoffs for the second straight year after being eliminated by the eventual champion Blackhawks in the 2013 playoffs in five games during the quarterfinals.
Colorado owned the season series with a 4-0-1 mark, but two of the games went to a shootout. The Avalanche will be without top-scorer Matt Duchene (23-47--73) for at least two games and possibly more, and will look to rely on rookie Nathan MacKinnon, who is a candidate for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie. MacKinnon had two game-winning goals against the Wild this season. MacKinnon appeared in all 82 games for the Avalanche this season, and notched 63 points off of 24 goals and 39 assists.
Along with Duchene (23) and MacKinnon (18), the Avalanche packs plenty of youth with 21-year-old captain Gabriel Landeskog (26-39--65) and 23-year-old Ryan O'Reilly (28-36--64).
The Wild also boast some youthful players, but will be looking to some veterans to carry them over the playoff-inexperienced Avs. Jason Pominville led the team in goals (30) and points (60) while Zach Parise(29-27--56) continues to be a threat and Mikko Koivu will look to continue to be a role-player after assisting on a team-best 43 goals this season.
On defense, the Avalanche boast a unit that is led by Erik Johnson, who has played a lot better than last year while Ryan Suter paces the Wild's blueline.
In net, the Wild turn to Ilya Bryzgalov, who has had some tumultuous playoff series in his past but is 7-0-3 with three shutouts and a 1.78 goals-against average since joining the team in March. The Avalanche counter with Semyon Varlamov, who won an NHL-best 41 games this season.
This series could conceivably go either way especially if Duchene isn't healthy, however despite the youthful inexperience of the Avalanche, coach Roy is no stranger to winning and the team played so well this season it likely won't fall apart under the big lights of postseason hockey, especially given the postseason struggles of Bryzgalov in the past.
The Pick: The Avalanche over the Wild in 5.
St. Louis Blues (52-23-7, 111 points No. 2 in Central) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (46-21-15, 107 points No. 3 in Central)
Two Stanley Cup contenders clash in the first round as the Blues enter their second consecutive postseason looking to bounce back from the 2013 playoffs where the team blew a 2-0 first-round series lead over the Kings and lost in six games while the Blackhawks are in their sixth consecutive postseason after winning their second Stanley Cup in four seasons last spring.
The Blues took the season series 3-2, winning the first three games of the season series with two of those victories coming in shootouts while the Blackhawks took the final two meetings of the season.
Both teams have dealt with injury problems as it looked like the Blues would cruise to the division crown until injuries led to a six-game losing streak to close the season while the Blackhawks dealt with set-backs of their own and fell to third in the division.
St. Louis boasts four lines that contribute night in and night out in an offense that is led by Alexander Steen(33-29--62), T.J. Oshie (21-39--60) and David Backes (27-30--57) while Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko have had breakout years for the team, though injuries to Tarasenko and some others may factor in.
Chicago has a great top-six and while Jonathan Toews (upper-body) and Patrick Kane (lower-body) were unavailable down the stretch, the duo should be healed for the series. Kane ranked second on the team this season with 69 points while Toews ranked third with 68. Patrick Sharp led the team in goals (34) and points (78).
The Blackhawks ranked second with an average of 3.18 goals per game in the regular-season. Marian Hossa, Kris Versteeg and Brandon Saad have proved to be viable threats for Chicago and look to help the team get back to the Promised Land in 2014.
The offense may struggle on the power play as St. Louis' 85.7 percent penalty killing rate is the best among all 16 playoff teams.
The Blues boast a solid defense flanked by Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester while Kevin Shattenkirkset career-highs in assists (35) and points (45). The Blackhawks counter with a blueline that is led by Norris Trophy candidate Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
In net, St. Louis will turn to Ryan Miller, who the team acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the NHL trade deadline due to lack of goaltending success in the playoffs in the past. He went 10-8-1 this season with the Blues with a 2.47 GAA and a .903 save percentage. He'll be countered by Corey Crawford, who knows what it's like to backstop his team to a Stanley Cup and went 32-16-10 with a 2.26 GAA and a .917 save percentage this season.
This series should be hard-fought and could go either way as both teams have been solid all-season long. Still, it's hard to bet against the reigning Stanley Cup champions and one of the best top-six forward combinations in the NHL even if the Blues have home-ice advantage. This one will likely go the distance.
The Pick: The Blackhawks over the Blues in 7.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs kickoff Wednesday night as the Quest for the Cup begins with 16 teams vying to be the champion of the National Hockey League.
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