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NHL playoff matchu

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By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

he air is beginning to get [ists warmer, the days

are getting longer, and the sun is actually starting to make appearances throughout the week.

All of these things add up to one thing and one thing only: the NHL

playoffs are right around the corner.

Here’s a look at how I predict the standings will stand at the end of the regular season, along with playoff matchups.

The Western Conference 1 — Vancouver Canucks

2 —St. Louis Blues

3 - Phoenix Coyotes

4 — Detroit Red Wings

5 — Nashville Predators

6 — Chicago Blackhawks 7 — San Jose Sharks

8 - Los Angeles

The Vancouver Canucks are going to finish first overall in the NHL once again, capturing their second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy to glare in front of other teams faces as they make their way into the post-season. However, that trophy won’t mean anything for the second straight year, unless they take it all the way and bring home the real prize, the Lord Stanley’s Cup.

They will be facing the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs which won’t necessarily be an easy task for the Canucks, as the Kings recently went out and acquired the under- rated sniper (who has previously had three 30-plus goal seasons) Jeff 20

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4

Carter who will hopefully take the pressure off of goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has been lights out this year in between the pipes.

The St. Louis Blues will finish second overall in the Western Conference as one of the top power- house teams in the league, which means that they’ll be meeting up with the San Jose Sharks in the first round. The Blues have been by far one of the most surprising teams in the NHL this year in terms of success—coming off a year where they finished eleventh in the standings. They have already matched their point total of 87 this season with 17 games remaining.

The Phoenix Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks will be squaring off to start the post-season. It will be an interesting matchup to see if the Blackhawks still have some gun powder left in their barrel after getting knocked out by the Canucks last season despite a compelling effort in a 3-0 series come back, only to lose in game seven of overtime. The Coyotes will surely have some bounce as well, as they too were knocked out early last spring by the Red Wings in a 4-0 series.

The Detroit Red Wings will finish second in their division, right behind the Blues, placing them fourth in the Western Conference to be matched up with the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs. It will be a real test to the Preds who made it clear last Monday that they want to win right now, after acquiring Andrei Kostitsyn, Hal Gill, and Paul Gaustad to bolster their lineup.

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The Eastern Conference 1 - New York Rangers

2 — Boston Bruins

3 — Winnipeg Jets

4 — Pittsburgh Penguins 5 — Ottawa Senators

6 — Philadelphia Flyers

7 — Florida Panthers

8 — New Jersey Devils

The Rangers will, in no- surprise, finish first overall in the Eastern Conference under the leadership of Captain Ryan Callahan, sniper Marian Hossa, and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist—who is once again having a remarkable season. They will be matched up against Patrik Elias’ New Jersey Devils, who will finish in eighth position in the East in a season which will most likely be the last for goaltender and soon-to-be-hall- of-famer Martin Brodeur.

The reigning Stanley Cup champions—the Boston Bruins— will finish second in the East by the time the regular season ends, and will try to repeat their journey to the Holy Grail starting with the Florida Panthers in the first round. The fact that the Panthers will even make the playoffs this season is a huge deal in itself, considering that they finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last year. Defensemen Brian Campbell, and forwards Stephen Weiss, Tomas Fleischmann, and Kris Versteeg have been the main reason why the Panthers have been able to turn their ship around this season.

Now, I’m going to go out ona limb and say that the Winnipeg Jets will finish third overall in the East,

just because they held the top spot in their division a couple of weeks ago and the fact that the Panthers are, as of last Thursday, only two points up on the Jets. The fans in Winnipeg have so much to cheer about... just imagine if they finish number one in their division. If my prediction does indeed come true, by the end of the 82-game schedule I will purchase a Winnipeg Jets jersey. You heard it here first. They will be facing the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.

And last but not least, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators will be facing off in the first round. Even without superstar and Captain Sidney Crosby, the Pens’ are finding ways to win, thanks to the help of Evgeni Malkin, who leads the league in scoring with a ridiculous 37 goals, 42 assists, and 79 points. The Ottawa Senators, on the other hand, will be making their first playoff appearance in two years, after finishing in 13th in the East last season. Forward Jason Spezza (28 g, 43. a, 71 p) and defensemen Erik Karlsson (15 g, 51 a, 66 p) have been by far the best players for the Senators this season. If they’re on top of their game, the Senators are on top of their game.

*All stats and references are referring to those of Thursday, March 1