Coyotes winger Mikkel Boedker is one of the poster boys for this postseason's exceptional spate of close games: he's scored two OT goals, one shy of the single year record. (Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

It’s been a remarkable first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, historic in many ways. Some of that history is worth celebrating and some is not, but the fact that we’re not even through it yet could make this year’s tournament one we’ll all remember for a long time.

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Often a scapegoat, Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo played well but was victimized by his teammates' desultory effort in the Game 1 loss to the keep-it-simple Kings. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

In the dressing room at our regular Tuesday night skate, the guys were talking about the playoffs and which teams might do what, and it seemed to me that a case could be made for each of the 16 clubs winning their opening round series. That’s how even things looked going into the tournament. Judging from the first seven games, it sure does look that even, with five of the seven being one-goal decisions, another a de facto one-goal game with an empty-netter. Four of the seven went to overtime.

It’s ridiculously early to be thinking about this but, just as a point of reference, the record for most one-goal Stanley Cup playoff games in year was set in 2007, when 51 of 81 games were decided by a single goal. That’s followed by the 48 one-goal games out of 89 games last spring, the 46 out of 86 in 2001 and the 46 out of 83 in 2006.

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If fan whipping boy Roberto Luongo plays poorly against the offensively-challenged Kings, calls for backup netminder Cory Schneider will ring from the rafters in Vancouver. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

If you’re looking for Stanley Cup predictions, you’ve come to the wrong place. As we’ve previously written, predictions are a waste of time. However, we’re willing to take some stabs at what is each playoff team about. What do they have to do to win? What must they avoid to prevent things from going south?

So here are the keys to the first round match-ups in the Western Conference.  You can find the Eastern Conference here.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (1) vs. LOS ANGELES KINGS (8)

Canucks – Who they are and how they win: They shook off a late season malaise to finish 8-1-1 in their last 10 — much of the time without Daniel Sedin – while playing dominant hockey down the stretch and capturing the Presidents’ Trophy. A superskilled team with a some bite, Vancouver has the best offense in the conference and, potentially, a strong power play. The Canucks have  refined their roster this season a bit, adding depth with a solid offensive performer in David Booth, a proven shutdown center in Sami Pahlsson, and some menace in Zack Kassian. The defense corps excels at moving the puck forward, and the only question in goal is which guy, Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider, will finish the series.

What could go wrong: If Luongo plays poorly, Schneider remains an unknown when it comes to carrying a team in the playoffs. The power play struggled in the second half and if Daniel Sedin’s concussion symptoms keep him sidelined for an extended period (he was ruled out for Game 1), that probably won’t help its improvement.  Even if Sedin returns, the Canucks, who haven’t always gotten secondary scoring,  will need it if the defensively proficient Kings can shut down their top line. And superior physicality could allow the Kings to win more battles along the boards, in the corners and in the slot. L.A.’s stiffling defense has the potential to frustrate the Canucks into taking penalties. If things go wrong and the Vancouver fan base turns on the team, that could be a significant negative. And Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick is good enough to steal this series.

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The Sharks-Kings season-ending home-and-home could have a big impact on the West's playoff field. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

A couple of weeks ago, we looked at how the Eastern and Western Conference playoff races were shaping up for the top and bottom qualifiers. Not surprisingly, the races for postseason positioning appear as though they may not be settled until Saturday, the final day of the regular schedule, setting up the possibility of some real drama before the even bigger drama of the postseason gets underway next Wednesday.

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It's possible that the Predators' impeccable Pekka Rinne may be wearing down from his heavy workload. (Scott Kane/Icon SMI)

It’s the oldest adage in the game: You win in the playoffs with great goaltending. But sometimes you win with only good or just average goaltending (as we pointed out a year ago when we looked at how the postseason clubs were fixed at the position on the eve of the annual tournament), but no one can deny how much Tim Thomas meant to the Bruins in their march to the Stanley Cup last season. His winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP marked the 15th time that a goalie has been so honored since the trophy was first presented in 1965.

Suffice to say, it’s hard to go anywhere in the spring if you have a leaky guy standing — or falling — in the crease, so with the playoffs only nine days away, here’s how the each Western Conference clubs goaltending shapes up. Click here for our Eastern breakdown.

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Chasing the Stars in the Pacific Division, Joe Pavelski and the enigmatic Sharks control their own destiny. (Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

As the days of the regular season dwindle down to a precious few, the playoff picture has begun to get clearer, but only somewhat. Much remains undecided, including the bottom qualifiers in each conference and the first round seedings.

From a strictly mathematical perspective, only the Blues and Rangers have clinched playoff spots and only the Blue Jackets have been eliminated.

Yesterday, we looked at the East and today, let’s take stock of  the Western Conference where, realistically, it appears that the Oilers, Wild and Ducks are close to joining the Blue Jackets in the Also-Ran department, too far out of contention with too few games left for us to believe they can make a serious charge to eighth place.

Beyond that, not much is certain.

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Roberto Luongo's lousy play has Canucks fans and media calling for him to take a seat on the pine. (Kathleen Hinkel/Icon SMI)

It’s a difficult task to repeat as a champion in the NHL. No Stanley Cup winner has done it since the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. But it’s also tough just to reach the Cup final in consecutive years. Only five clubs have managed that since 1988 which, if my math is correct — always a tricky proposition — means that almost 90 percent of the time, teams don’t get a return trip to the fourth round.

The way Canucks are playing right now, they look like they’ll be hanging with that 90 percent.

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Not all hockey fights are the same and this complex issue deserves more than a "yes" or "no" answer. (Terry Lee/Icon SMI)

There’s lots to chew on in the annual NHLPA/CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Players’ Poll, the results of which were made public over the weekend. Pavel Datsyuk was pretty much acclaimed as the NHL’s best player, Zdeno Chara the best defenseman, and Henrik Lundqvist the best goalie. The players say they think the Canucks are overrated, the Blues are underrated, that they’d love to play for the Blackhawks, they love playing at Montreal’s Bell Centre, and  the Penguins Dan Bylsma is the coach they’d most like to play for.

There’s lots more, of course, but let’s stop to consider the issues-oriented questions in the poll, namely those on fighting and the instigator rule. There are some serious problems here, and they start with the questions themselves.

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As Detroit's cornerstone stars age and near retirement, the emergence of young All-Star goaltender Jimmy Howard bodes well, but the Red Wings will need more players like him to continue their run of success. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

When the Red Wings take on the Canucks tonight in Vancouver, the spotlight will first shine on Gordie Howe, the greatest Red Wing of all — and, some believe, the game’s greatest player ever — who will be there to promote a local tournament that will raise funds to combat Alzheimer’s disease. Howe has some cognitive issues of his own.

And then the light will shine on this game, as Detroit tries to pull away from the Canucks and the Western Conference pack. The Red Wings are three points ahead of Vancouver atop the pile, and it’s been quite a climb since an early season slump left Detroit at 5-5-1. Since then, the Wings have gone 29-11, and any team that isn’t the late 1970′s Montreal Canadiens has to be happy with that pace.

UPDATE: Detroit defeated Vancouver 4-3 in a shootout, a game in which Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said “We got taken to school” by the Wings. “It was obvious to anybody they were playing the right way and we weren’t and that’s why they totally dominated us. We can play a lot better. Tonight the best team on the ice was Detroit. The positive is we got great goaltending and found a way to get a point.”

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Whoever MAKAVELI719696 is, he/she has created something of a YouTube sensation with the video above.
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