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   VS. 

4. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS VS. 5. CALGARY FLAMES

JOSH BREWSTER

CORE MATCHUP: Samuel Pahlsson vs. Olli Jokinen. Watch out, Olli. Pahlsson is a great faceoff man and crushed Daniel Alfredsson in the ’07 Cup Final. Pahlsson is playoff-seasoned; Jokinen enters his first postseason.

Calgary will regret this season’s finish. Dropping from third to fifth cost the team home ice advantage in round one. To make matters worse, they now face Chicago, against whom the Flames were 0-3-1. The Blackhawks set a club record with 22 road wins (22-15-4), so they’re set at the Saddledome.

Nikolai Khabibulin and Mikka Kiprusoff are similarly talented, but Khabibulin posted more impressive numbers than Kipper, but Kipper won a whopping 45 games, so we’ll call that aspect even.

The Flames feature a punishing defense, led by Deon Phaneuf (11 goals) and Robyn Regehr. Adrian Aucoin (10) and Jordan Leopold (7) provide some offense with sandpaper on the blueline.

The Blackhawks defense offers a rugged yet swift crew featuring Duncan Keith (8 goals; +33), a Norris nominee in the making. Brent Seabrook (8 goals; +23) and Cam Barker have some offensive prowess, as does Brian Campbell, who would be twice as good a player if he could shoot the puck twice as often as he does. His inability to produce shots in the postseason won’t go over well in Chicago (he managed only 1 goal with San Jose last Spring).

POTENTIAL SERIES-TURNER: Playing on what was called the “non-checking line,” Dustin Byfuglien managed 15 goals on a whopping 202 shots while averaging just 14:52 TOI per game. He flanked Martin Havlat and Andrew Ladd much of this season.

Pick: Chicago in 6.

LEON RAFNER

The big news for Chicago is the expected return of Patrick Sharp to join Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the rest of the Hawks in their well deserved return to the playoffs. Add the toughness of trade deadline acquired Sammy ‘The Bull’ Pahlsson, and these swift young birds have a good chance of surpassing the fading Flames. Calgary has the experience, Captain Jarome Iginla will once again be inspiration on ice, but the questions remain. Goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff is an outstanding acrobatic goaltender, perhaps the Best in the West until this season found him faltering as the Flames lacked punch. Dion Phaneuf, undoubtably still reeling from the sting of a Sean Avery insult, has got to get it together or those young Hawks will fly right past him. Mike Cammalleri has been a good fit for this team, but former Coyote Olli Jokinen has yet to prove himself. Hawk Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has the hardware credentials to take his team all the way. Sorry great Calgary fans, give the edge to Chicago in 6.

DENNIS BERNSTEIN

Are the kids alright? They’ve better off playing the stumbling Flames in the first round. Even if the Flames were playing well, I have to support my much-maligned pre-season pick of Chicago as the Cup winners. Things got rocky for the Hawks after the All Star break but with steady Joel Quenneville behind the bench, the Hawks soared to a Cinderella 100 point season. For all their hype, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are 70 point players (Martin Havlat was the team high scorer), so a disproportionate amount of weight falls on goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin but his Stanley Cup ring shines brightly in this locker room. With a major home ice advantage and Calgary netminder Mikka Kiprusoff playing mediocre, there will be more madness on Madison come Round Two. Chicago in 5.

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