The end is only the beginning...

There was only one game last night as every other series had ended in 6 games or less.

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, Anaheim won series 3-4: Amidst a lackluster performance by the Calgary Flames, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks won the seventh game of the series last night in a 3-0 shut-out of the Flames. Rookie goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves in his first playoff shutout in just his fourth playoff game. Miikka Kiprusoff at the other end made 29 saves on 31 shots for 2 goals, the third coming at an empty net shot from Jeff Friesen. Teemu Selanne scored first in the second period on a 30-foot wrist shot while Calgary’s Jordan Leopold was screening Miika Kiprusoff. The Ducks scored again after a Calgary turnover in their end. Ruslan Salei was fed the puck by Vitali Vishnevski who intercepted a clearing attempt. It was a nice win for Anaheim but a superbly disappointing loss for Calgary.

Now, the final four teams standing in the Western Conference are 5 San Jose, 6 Anaheim, 7 Colorado, and 8 Edmonton. I think that the fact that the bottom four seeds all beat the top four seeds shows a definite weakness in the Western Conference and the way the NHL schedules games within divisions. If you look at how the divisions are set up, you will find the following:
Central Division- Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Nashville, and Saint Louis.
Northwest Division- Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Vancouver.
Pacific Division- Anaheim, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Jose.

Sure, Detroit won the President’s Trophy, but they played a majority of their games against teams who were in the bottom of the league. St. Louis finished dead last, Chicago finished at 28, Columbus finished at 25. Not to mention, they spent most April playing games that didn’t have any meaning to them. Whereas teams like Colorado and Edmonton spent most of April fighting for their playoff lives and thus were much more prepared mentally for the playoffs than the Red Wings. I am a strong proponent of changing the way the NHL schedules teams to include more games between conferences. I think this will not only make the teams work harder for playoff positioning but personally, I would love to see the Avs play more Eastern Conference teams throughout the year. I definitely think that the Eastern Conference has more talent spread through the divisions and that makes them stronger competitors. Honestly I think they have an advantage over Western Conference teams and that a team from the Eastern Conference will win the Stanley Cup (yes I am picking them over the Avs…heinous I know).