who is the dark horse in nhl's east? west?

Question

out of the teams near the bottom of the playoff picture, which team do you feel has a shot at upsetting.
i think who ever gets the 6th seed in the east has a good shot.
its wide open there, tampa, NY rangers, carolina, toronto, islanders all right there.
in the west, i think colorado can catch 8th, but i dnt know about them doing to much in the playoffs
i think minnesota can be an upset winner though

Answer 1

As far as the East, I really don't see any upsets. If I was forced to pick I'd say the Rangers have some potential to do some real damage if they get rolling. Lundqvist has proven he can be a clutch goaltender in the '06 Olympics, and the Rangers have the potential to do really well under the leadership of Shanahan and Jagr... Plus if Jagr plays how he still can from time to time... He's tough to stop.

I am TERRIFIED of Minnesota in the west. They have two solid, solid goaltenders and even a third who has proven he can do pretty well. They are getting hot at exactly the right moment, and have the firepower up front to bury a few of the teams. They are definitely a team that I could see riding the 6 or 7 seed to the conference finals. They're one of the hottest teams in the league right now.

Answer 2

Something to think about in the East:

Whoever gets the last couple spots (out of the jumble of the Rangers, Islanders, Hurricanes, Canadiens, Maple Leafs) will, by definition, have to end the season on a serious roll. These rolls can carry on into the playoffs and a hot team is always dangerous. And by the way, right now I wouldn't assume Atlanta is anywhere after April 8. They are four ahead of Tampa and six ahead of Carolina, and both of those teams are playing better hockey than the Thrashers right now, Tampa has an almost all home schedule left, and the Canes have the easiest remaining schedule once they get past tonight's game with the Sharks.

In the West, since most of the playoff teams are really set (Colorado is chasing Calgary for the last spot and I think they'll get it), the only teams who can really even be considered dark horses are Dallas and the #8 seed. Detroit, Nashville, Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, and Minnesota have the conference stacked. None of them can be considered upset possibilities. Since I don't see either Dallas or Calgary/Colorado getting past round 1, there are no real dark horses out there.

Answer 3

In the East, it's more likely a team like the New York Islanders, if they can make the playoffs. With the players that the Islanders currently have, they have a chance to knock someone out that's a top seed. Tampa Bay, who could get the 6th seed, is also a likely candidate for an "upset," though they will likely play Atlanta in the first round, so it would only be an upset because it's number 6 taking out number 3, but those are 2 very identical teams that match up very well against each other.

In the West, although Colorado has a chance to get the number 8 spot, I don't think that they'll get it just because Calgary is so strong on their own ice, they can lock it up with wins there. They might be able to knock off either Nashville or Detroit in the first round because all they would have to do is win one game on the road, and they essentially have the series because they are so good at home. Also, Dallas and Minnesota are capable of knocking someone off because they play so well defensively, especially Minnesota because they seem to hang around in games that they really don't belong in, so they could take someone out like they did a few years back to get to the Conference Final. San Jose also, if they can't grab home ice in the first round which they probably won't, is a team that could go all the way out West as a lower seed. Lots of possibilities for the dark horse out West.

Really, it's all dependant on who gets into the playoffs and how much do they have left after their push to get there. Out East, there is very little room between 6th and 11th, so it is going to be a dogfight the next two and a half weeks to get into the playoffs in the bottom section there, so teams might not have much left when the playoffs get going to do anything agains the big teams like Buffalo, New Jersey and Atlanta in the first round. Out West, there is enough breathing room between some of the bottom seeds that it isn't as much a dogfight to make it as it is a dogfight for positioning there, so they will have the better opportunity for an upset. Let's just sit back, see this thing fill itself out, and enjoy the action from here til June. Buckle up, because it is going to be one hell of a ride!

Answer 4

The West would have to be Colorado. Currently 9-0-1 in their last 10. The only team with a realistic chance to get into the playoffs out of that conference (as of today, only 4 points behind Calgary, which plays Nashville tonight). Just like Edmonton last season, they were iffy during the season until they HAD to put it in gear, and surged all the way to one game from the Cup. If Colorado can keep the confidence they currently have, ride the goaltending of Budaj, and continue to get contributions from Sakic down to Guite, they'll be able to make some waves in the playoffs against either the Predators or Red Wings. (Final week of the season, the Avalanche have TWO games against Calgary. Could be the most important games of the season if it were ANY team!)

In the East, of the teams that are "on the bubble", I'm thinking the Rangers would be the one lower seeded team that people might overlook. Lundqvist is finally regaining the form he had all of last season, and for the sake of the Rangers, it couldn't have happened at a better time. Shanahan didn't skip a beat with two assists in his return, after missing more than a dozen games. Not that they'll advance very far in the playoffs, but I see them being able to pull a first round upset. Especially if they're going to go against a team like Atlanta.

Answer 5

Dark Horses are groups that have a modicum of danger at making the last 4 and via extremes of notable target-tending knock off more potent groups. So who is not a favorite however has quality target-tending. In the East I'd say Carolina. From the West Nashville.

Answer 6

San Jose has good goaltending. They made it to the second round and probably should have gone to the finals last year but they ran into the Oilers at the wrong time for them. Plus, they will be a low seeded team because they have only a few OT losses. But they have about as many wins as Anaheim. So they are a very good team.

East, I have to say the Lightning. They still have a lot of the players from the championship team. St Louis & Lecav are still there, they can carry a team pretty far if they get good goaltending. Who knows, maybe Denis will catch fire. The playoffs seem to be a good time for no-name goalies to shine (See Cam Ward). And same thing for TB with regards to the OT losses.

Answer 7

I think Tampa Bay from the East. They have 2 amazing players in Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. Before the last few games they were really starting to come into form and challenging Atlanta for the conference lead.

In the West id have to say the Minnesota Wild. Ever since Marion Gaborik has come back they have played great. They have great players in Gaborik, Demitra, Rolston. They also have 2 solid forwards in Koivu and Bouchard that are probably not mentioned as much. They have 3 solid goalies in Backstrom, Manny, and Harding.

Answer 8

Minnesota definitely has a good shot to make it deep.

The Rangers are riding high right now, Lundqvist has let up 2 or fewer goals in like 26 of the past 35 games. If they can stay healthy and NOT draw a first round series against the Devils they can def make a run.
But once you get to the Pens and Sabres especially, you're gonna have it really tough.

Answer 9

Can't really foresee upsets in the East but I guess if I had to pick, I'd say Carolina, just on the strength that they are still the champs until they lose.
In the west, Minny is heating up at just the right time and Iginla and Kipprusoff have proven they can play come play-off time.

Answer 10

I think that in the East, the team nobody saw coming until they were right in the thick of things was Pittsburgh. They started off the year kind of meh, but all of a sudden arund mid-season they became incredibly good. I'm a die-hard Sabres fan and that will never change, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Pens go all the way if my team can't get it done!