Western Conference Semi-Final: (5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (1) San Jose Sharks

(5) Red Wings:

First of all, the main reason the Red Wings are ranked fifth is because the first half of the season the current roster was not healthy and therefore, they were not able to perform to the best of their abilities. Now that the playoffs are here, they are well rested and ready to go. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are playoff monsters, scoring timely goals, stickhandling past people, backchecking better than any other forwards in the league and never afraid to battle in high-traffic zones. Some of the Red Wings secondary players such as Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom are going to be impossible to move in front of the net, making life hard for the San Jose goalie, Evengi Nabokov. How could we possibly forget about the Captain, Nick Lidstrom and his offensive abilities, as shown by his two goal perform in Game 7 against the Phoenix Coyotes. Although the Red Wings have had experienced goal tending this year is different with rookie goalie, Jimmy Howard. The dynamic rookie looked amazing in the opening round of the playoffs, posting a .919 save percentage against the Coyotes. Though Detroit fared well against Phoenix, they are playing a different hockey team in the San Jose Sharks.

(1) San Jose Sharks:

Chokers or not, they are a great hockey team. Some that stood out in their first round win was the amount of depth that they showed. Their go-to line of Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton actually failed miserably against Colorado, combining for one goal in six games, but it didn’t matter. Secondary guys like Joe Pavelski, Ryan Clowe and Devin Setoguchi delivered in a big way. Dan Boyle was his usual winning self and goalie Evgeni Nabokov was steady even though he wasn’t tested often. If the Sharks supposed stars get going, it’s scary to imagine what they can do.

Prediction:

People in this series may feel bias towards the successful history of the Red Wings in the post season, but I don’t see it going this way. It’s true that the Wings have a massive advantage in savvy and big-game performance from their stars. But I believe the Sharks can finally break through. Thornton/Marleau/Heatley merely have to be average to support the rest of the team – a group that is actually starting to look “clutch.” San Jose was really quite dominant its Western Conference quarter-final series. Also, funnily enough, as experienced as Detroit is, Howard’s inexperience may sink the Wings. He was hot/cold against Phoenix but that won’t cut it against a team that generates as many scoring chances as San Jose does. Howard must be able to perform well as if San Jose shoots a lot, he can not be a background player. He’ll have to be Detroit’s most important player and I’m just not convinced he’s ready to do that yet. Overall I think the goaltending advantages of San Jose will give them a win in the end and send Detroit home packing.

Sharks win (4-2)