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 Thursday, April 12, 2001
The quest for the Cup begins
By John Davidson
Special to ABC Sports Online
Here's a series-by-series look at the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs:
Eastern Conference
New Jersey vs. Carolina
For Carolina to compete, Artus Irbe has to be the best player in the series. New Jersey has the best line in the series with Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. The Hurricanes might have the face-off game that is strong enough to give them a chance.
Ottawa vs. Toronto
It will be very passionate, a war. There is no doubt Ottawa will be cool under the pressure, will Toronto? The Maple Leafs have taken bad penalties all season. Will Ottawa be able to crack Cujo? Patrick Lalime's first postseason experience should be a good one.
Washington vs. Pittsburgh
Can the Jeff Halpern-Steve Konowalchuk-Ulf Dahlen line stop Mario and his line? If they do, who is going to stop Kovalev's line with Martin Straka and Robert Lang? Pittsburgh's biggest question coming in is its goaltending. Johan Hedberg will be the starter in Game 1.
Philadelphia vs. Buffalo
The Flyers won all four games with the Sabres this season, but throw that out the window. This should be a low-scoring series. Which offense is going to win it? Can the Flyers find enough offense without Keith Primeau? The big news in Philly is that John LeClair had a big weekend.
Western Conference
Colorado vs. Vancouver
This is what Colorado has been waiting for all season, and the Avalanche draw a team that is wounded. The Canucks top two centermen -- Markus Naslund and Andrew Cassels -- are both out right now. That really hurts.
Detroit vs. Los Angeles
The Kings' season turned around when they picked up Felix Potvin, and he has to be the best player in the series. L.A. is a very passionate team, but Detroit holds all the cards. Detroit's balanced scoring will be the difference and expect Scotty Bowman to devise a gameplan that will shut down Ziggy Palffy.
Dallas vs. Edmonton
It will be the fifth straight year for these two. Dallas is back playing great stingy defensive hockey, but Edmonton's closed the gap. This should be a long, seven-game series.
St. Louis vs. San Jose
A repeat from last year when San Jose won in seven, and should be another great series. Vincent Damphousse played Sunday and should be back in the Sharks lineup. The question going in is how the goaltending is going to be on both sides -- both the Blues' Roman Turek and the Sharks' Evgeni Nabokov are green. Has St. Louis had enough time to get Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger and Pavol Demitra healthy? Meanwhile, Teemu Selanne has been hot for San Jose.
John Davidson is ABC's studio analyst and will contribute regularly to ABC Sports Online throughout the season.
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 Joe Sakic fires the shot past Byron Dafoe nine seconds into the first period.
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Joe Sakic breaks free and puts the backhand past Brent Johnson.
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Joe Sakic shows his puck-handling skills before setting up Ray Bourque for the one-timer.
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Martin Brodeur denies Dave Scatchard of a goal on a penalty shot.
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John Madden steals the puck and fires it past Roberto Luongo for a goal.
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San Jose's goalie Evgeni Nabokov stops Trevor Linden on a breakaway in the first period.
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