NHL Postseason Predictions: Western Conference

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With the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin Wednesday night, Flyers insider Tim Panaccio and Sarah Baicker provide their postseason predictions.

Here's how they see it playing out in the Western Conference (see East predictions):

Pacific Division

(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC2) Dallas Stars
Tim: The loss of Rich Peverley (heart issue) is a knockout blow to the Stars, who actually won the season series against the Ducks. Anaheim survived the hardest division in the West and Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are their aces.

Prediction: Ducks in six

Sarah: So many of these series look to be low-scoring and tight-checking, but not this one. In that way, it’ll be fun -- but likely not for the Stars who, as Tim notes, will miss Peverley. The Ducks simply have more depth.

Prediction: Ducks in five

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings
Tim: The Kings struggled all season to really get their act together. The Sharks are again out to capture that first elusive Stanley Cup they should have had a decade ago. But goaltending and defense win in the playoffs, and L.A. owned the Sharks this season.

Prediction: Kings in six

Sarah: The Sharks will be out for revenge for what happened in last year’s playoffs, when they were eliminated by these very Kings. To win this one, as I think they will, they need to be efficient on the power play and score -- they were outscored by the Kings during the season series, though that wasn’t the case on the whole. I think they can do it.

Prediction: Sharks in six

Central Division

(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild
Tim: Sorry, but this another first-round exit for the Wild, who had to fight hard just to get into the playoffs. Patrick Roy is up for Coach of the Year honors as the young Avs are going to be a feisty group. Gotta love rookie Nathan MacKinnon.

Prediction: Avs in five

Sarah: You have to hand it to Ilya Bryzgalov for helping carry the Wild to the postseason. However, as Tim notes, this just isn’t going to be their year. Of course, a lot will depends on how Bryz handles the Ducks’ firepower -- they’re a dangerous team.

Prediction: Avs in five

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks
Tim: The Hawks have played a lot of hockey, and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are banged up. St. Louis suffered blows at the end with injuries to T.J. Oshie and David Backes, but Ken Hitchcock’s group recovered. Ryan Miller has a team that can go deep.

Prediction: Blues in seven

Sarah: The Blues were my preseason prediction as Stanley Cup winner, and I’m not about to change my thinking. However, this will be a heck of a series -- and it's a perfect example of how the NHL’s new playoff format means some teams’ journeys will end way earlier that they ought to. That’ll be the case for the Blackhawks here, who had an impressive season but will see theirs end at the hands of the responsible, physical Blues.

Prediction: Blues in five

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