HockeyWestern Conference playoff previews

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Dany Heatley of the San Jose Sharks and his teammates have to prove once again that they can deliver in the playoffs.  (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Click here for Tim's Eastern Conference playoff storylines and predictions.

No. 1 Vancouver (54-19-9, 117 pts) vs. No. 8 Chicago (44-29-9, 97 pts)

Three storylines

1. We don't need to remind any nervous Canucks fans that the Blackhawks have eliminated the Vancouver in six-game series in the second round the past two springs. Until the Canucks can beat the Blackhawks, doubt will be in the air. Detroit coach Mike Babcock didn't help matters when he stated last month about Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo: "I have been with him twice [world championship and Olympics] and he has been great. In saying that, until you have won the Cup, you have not won the Cup. He can do all he wants right now, they're going to win the Presidents' Trophy, but then there is Game 1 [of the playoffs], when you are the favourite. It's different, and we will see how he handles that."

2. Can the Canucks overcome the Presidents' Trophy curse? Only seven of the 23 Presidents' Trophy winners have won also won the Stanley Cup and the last to turn the rare double were the 2007-08 Red Wings. The past two Presidents' Trophy champs, San Jose and Washington, were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

3. The Blackhawks avoided becoming the first team since the 2006-07 Carolina Hurricanes to miss the playoffs in the following season after winning Stanley Cup champion thanks to the Minnesota Wild upending the Dallas Stars in the final game of the regular season on Sunday evening. The Blackhawks also are grateful to start on the road. Of the 16 playoff teams, Chicago and the N.Y. Rangers have the highest number of home losses at 17 apiece.

Season series - Canucks 2-1-1

Oct. 20 - Blackhawks 2-1 (SO) at Chicago
Nov. 20 - Blackhawks 7-1 at Vancouver
Dec. 03 - Canucks 3-0 at Chicago
Feb. 04 - Canucks 4-3 at Vancouver

Prediction - Canucks in six.

No. 2 San Jose (48-25-9, 105 pts) vs. No. 7 Los Angeles (46-30-6, 98 pts)

Three storylines

1. Once again, the Sharks have enjoyed a solid regular season. In fact, head coach Todd McLellan has piled up 152 wins in his first three seasons in San Jose, which tied him with Mike Keenan for the most wins by an NHL coach in his first three seasons. Keenan, however, turned the trick with the Flyers in mid-1980s and prior to the shootout. The Sharks would rather have success in the playoffs. They have yet to have advance to a Stanley Cup final after finishing first or second in West the past four years.

2. Kings general manager Dean Lombardi held the same post for Sharks for seven seasons and made the playoffs five times. But his club enters the playoffs without two of their top offensive players in Anze Kopitar (broken ankle) and Justin Williams (dislocated shoulder). The good news for Los Angeles is that Williams has been cleared to practice.

3. Sharks goalie Antti Niemi, who won the Stanley Cup with Chicago a year ago, helped San Jose go from 12th in the West to second with some outstanding second-half play. He made 34 consecutive games from Jan. 15 thru April 4, going 25-4-4 with a 2.05 goals against average .929 save percentage.

Season series - San Jose 3-1-2

Nov. 15 - Sharks 6-3 at San Jose
Dec. 27 - Kings 4-0 at San Jose
Jan. 01 - Sharks 1-0 at Los Angeles
Jan. 26 - Kings 3-2 (SO) at Los Angeles
Mar. 24 - Kings 4-3 (SO) at Los Angeles
Apr. 04 - Sharks 6-1 at San Jose

Prediction - Sharks in five.

No. 3 Detroit (47-25-10, 104 pts) vs. No. 6 Phoenix (43-26-13, 99 pts)

Three storylines

1. The Coyotes and Sharks met in last year's opening round, with the Red Wings prevailing thanks to a dominate 6-1 performance in the seventh and deciding game in Phoenix.

2. Babcock doesn't expect injured star forward Henrik Zetterberg to be ready to start the series against the Coyotes. Zetterberg suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury last week. But Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall (upper-body) is expected to return to the line-up for the series opener.

3. The great equalizer in the series is Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. He went 36-10-10 this season with a 2.48 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. At the other end of the rink, Detroit's Jimmy Howard struggled late in the season to finish 37-17-5 with a 2.79 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

Season series - Series tied 2-2-0

Oct. 16 - Red Wings 2-1 (OT) at Phoenix
Oct. 28 - Coyotes 4-2 at Detroit
Nov. 08 - Red Wings 3-2 (OT) at Detroit
Mar. 05 - Coyotes 5-4 (SO) at Phoenix

Prediction - Red Wings in seven.

No. 4 Anaheim (47-30-5, 99 pts) vs. No. 5 Nashville (44-27-11, 99 pts)

Three storylines

1. Who will play goal for the Ducks? Ray Emery missed his second consecutive start over the weekend because of a lower-body injury. He was injured in the second period last Wednesday at home against San Jose. Jonas Hiller has been battling vertigo symptoms since the all-star break, but did back up Dan Ellis in the final two games for Anaheim. The Ducks recalled J.P. Levasseur from Syracuse just in case.

2. Predators coach Barry Trotz remarked that if he had a Hart Trophy vote it would go to Corey Perry, the only player in the NHL to score 50 goals this season. Trotz has to figure out a way to stop the Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan line. They scored 103 of the Ducks 239 goals this season.

3. This is not only the first time all three California-based NHL teams are in the playoffs at the same time, and it will be a special time for 21-year-old Nashville defenceman Jonathon Blum, who played junior for the Vancouver Giants. Raised in Rancho Santa Margarita, he was the first native of Southern California to be selected in the first round. 

Season series - Predators 3-1-0

Oct. 09 - Predators 4-1 at Nashville
Nov. 07 - Ducks 5-4 at Anaheim
Jan. 05 - Predators 4-1 at Anaheim
Mar. 24 - Predators 5-4 (OT) at Nashville

Prediction - Predators in seven.

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