Mandatory Image Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Something people who cover/follow sports like to say is deeming a matchup before the actual one as the “real (insert matchup”. For example, a non hockey example, people referred to the Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams NFC Championship as “the real super bowl”, as people were confident whoever won that game would win the Super Bowl. They were right. This is one of those matchups, as this is “the real Western Conference Final”. 

Now hockey is unpredictable, and I’m not saying that the Golden Knights and Ducks have no chance. In 2018, the same was said about the second round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators (what a time to be alive). Winnipeg won that series, but eventually lost in five to Vegas in the actual Western Final. That being said, I am confident that the team who wins this series will represent the West, as the Avalanche and Wild are the two most dangerous teams remaining, maybe in the entire field.

The Avalanche had a cakewalk in the first round, sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in fairly convincing fashion. Even though some of the games were close, they controlled the play and were never in any real danger of losing.

Scott Wedgewood was one of the most underrated goalies all season long, putting up the quietest 31-6-6, .921 SV% and 2.02 GAA season you could have. So those who were paying close attention to the Avalanche were not surprised in the slightest that he was named the Game 1 starter for the playoffs. In four games he only allowed 5 goals, and was just as dominant as he’s been all year.

In round two he will face a much tougher task, as the Wild are one of the hottest scoring teams in the playoffs. Averaging 3.83 goals per game as a team, and three players among the top scorers of the postseason, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy with nine points each (T-2nd in the NHL), and Quinn Hughes not far behind with eight points (T-7th).

Minnesota finally won a playoff series after seven straight playoff appearances ending in a first round exit (not including the bubble, where they lost in the qualifying round). You could make the argument that it was a successful season no matter what happens from here on out, but everyone inside their building would disagree, this team has their sights set on Lord Stanley.

I am sure Colorado is happy they don’t have to play Dallas Stars for a third straight year (lost the previous two series). But by no means does that tell you the Wild are an inferior opponent, they flat out beat the Stars in their series, outscoring Dallas 19-5 at even strength.

Even though they were great at even strength, the Stars found a ton of success on the powerplay, and Minnesota can’t afford to let Avs do the same. A 60% PK is not going to cut it as the playoffs go along. Colorado’s powerplay did struggle in round one with only one goal on 11 attempts.

Despite the sweep, the story of the first round was their play in the defensive zone more than the offensive zone. Nathan MacKinnon had just four points in as many games, and Cale Makar and Martin Necas both only with two points a piece. If they are going to win this series they are going to need their offensive game to tell more of a story, as they’ll need a lot more scoring than it took to beat the Kings.

I expect those three I mentioned to play massive roles in this series. MacKinnon and Makar are inevitable, and Martin Necas has done nothing but produce at an elite level since joining the Avalanche. Two others they can hope to get a little more out of are Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri, as they only got one goal and three points between the two of them. The big dogs might cancel each other out and this series will come down to the depth scoring.

Jesper Wallstedt was almost as impressive as Wedgewood in round one, and you could argue even more so since he faced a better team. He had a .924 SV% and a 2.05 GAA. I expect both goalies numbers to take a hit, as this matchup is the opposite of the Hurricanes/Flyers series I previewed yesterday. While a 2-1 game would not surprise me, neither would a 5-4 game.

For the sake of the league I really hope this series goes the distance and delivers seven games of must watch hockey. Both teams know what is at stake, and this series could very well produce the eventual Western Conference Champion, and taking it even further, the Stanley Cup Champion.

Prediction: Avalanche in 7