Time for my Western Conference predictions!

Yesterday I wrote my Eastern Conference predictions for the first round of the playoffs, so now it's time for my Western Conference predictions.

There is only one game tonight and it is between the first seeded Anaheim Ducks and the eight seeded Dallas Stars, who are making their first playoff appearance in five years. This is one matchup that has me a bit conflicted, I have grown to love the Dallas Stars this year and I really want them to win, but I just don't think they can matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. Heading into the playoffs I had been hoping that Dallas would matchup against the St. Louis Blues, but alas, you can't always get what you want. This series more than any others feels like a David versus Goliath matchup. I don't want to discredit the Stars, they are a very talented team, but the Ducks have had excellent goaltending, strong defensive play, and they have Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf who have unreal chemistry and plenty of playoff experience. Oddly enough the only worrisome factor for me with the Anaheim Ducks is the coach behind the bench. Bruce Boudreau is an excellent coach, he's won tons of division titles, first with Washington and now with Anaheim, but his teams seem to do poorly in the playoffs. The Capitals never made it pas the second round and the Ducks were upset by the number seven Detroit Red Wings last year. Even with the "flaw" I think the Ducks experience will ultimately win out and I going with Anaheim in 5 games.

For the second straight year since signing both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Minnesota Wild have made the playoffs, this time they are facing the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche have been quite the story this year, they finished second last in the league last season, won the draft lottery, drafted Nathan Mackinnon, hired Patrick Roy as a coach, and went on to finish with the second best record in the West. Some have said they think the Avalanche have outperformed and that it will eventually catch up with them, and, while this does usually happen in sports, I don't think it will be in the first round. They might be down Matt Duchene but they have been getting outstanding goaltending from Seymon Varlamov  and contributions up and down the lineup. I think Nathan Mackinnon, last years first overall selection, will cool off during the playoffs, he is almost guaranteed to win the Calder Trophy as the leagues best rookie, but playoffs are a different beast and I don't think he will be as effective. The Wild are currently missing both of last seasons goalies, Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, and are currently playing with Ilya Bryzgalov who just hasn't performed well in the postseason, advantage Colorado. I am going to go with Colorado in 6 games.

The most anticipated matchup in the West has to be the reigning Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks versus the original Stanley Cup favourite this year, the St. Louis Blues. The only sad part about this series is that one of these two teams has to lose. The Blackhawks finished well down the stretch, especially since they were playing without captain Jonathan Toews and star Patrick Kane, both of whom are expected to be back in time for game 1 tomorrow. The Blues on the other hand finished on a six game losing streak, more or less limping into the playoffs. They are also without one of their stars TJ Oshie who was sidelined late in the season with a concussion. Their other stars are also banged up, among them David Backes, Patrik Berglund and Brendan Morrow. If the Blackhawks can get both Kane and Toews back, even if they aren't 100%, it is a huge competitive advantage for them in the series. Goaltending has also been weak for the Blues lately, can't blame Miller for everything, but he certainly hasn't stolen a game for his team in a while and, on the other side, Crawford is a tried and tested Stanley Cup winner, so again advantage Hawks. For this one, I've got to go with Chicago in 6 games.

Lastly it is the battle of California, or one of the three possible battle of California scenarios. This is one of the more interesting ones for me. The San Jose Sharks are stacked with talent and their goalie, Antti Niemi, is not only elite, he is a proven winner having won the Cup in 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks. They are an offensive threat at all times with Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. They are also a team with tons of playoff experience, just like their opponent the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings play one of the heaviest, defensive, frustrating games out there, and when Jonathan Quick is on his game, he is almost unbeatable. Add to that their offensively gifted players like Jeff Carter, Marion Gaborik and defenceman Drew Doughty, who is currently injured but is expected to return at some point during this series, and they seem like a team that has it all. This series feels like it could go either way to me, it might be one of the more interesting, close series' in the first round, or it could be a wash and one team will take the reigns and never let go. I can't decide which is more likely, but I will give the advantage to the Kings who are two years removed from their Stanley Cup victory with many returning players. I'm going to go with Los Angeles and just a random guess I'll say they do it in 5 games.

So now you've seen all my predictions, how do they compare to yours??