Playoffs 2000:What to watch for in the first round

What to watch for in the first round
By Barry Melrose
Special to ESPN.com

What's interesting about this season's NHL playoffs is eight teams could win the Stanley Cup -- four from each conference -- and I would not be surprised if any of them took the title. These playoffs show the parity in the NHL. People are trying to make parity look like a weakness, but I think it is a strength when there is no clear-cut favorite as the playoffs begin.

One team with a good shot is the Buffalo Sabres. Despite being the No. 8 seed in the East, the Sabres are doing things the right way. The defending Eastern Conference champions made some great trades at the deadline and have basically been playing playoff hockey for the last 10 games. That gives the Sabres great momentum entering the playoffs. Buffalo is healthy and on the top of its game. Last year, the Sabres advanced to the Cup Finals as the No. 7 seed, and they could do it again.

Here are five things to watch from each conference playoffs:

Eastern Conference
1. Net effect. There are a lot of interesting goaltending situations in the East. The Flyers are starting rookie Brian Boucher; the Florida Panthers have two quality goalies in Mike Vernon and Trevor Kidd; Pittsburgh has both Ron Tugnutt and Jean-Sebastien Aubin; and Ottawa must decide between Tom Barrasso and Patrick Lalime.


	One thing lost in Bryan Berard's tragic eye injury is that the Maple Leafs will miss his skill on the ice in the playoffs.

The goalie uncertainty makes the East an unpredictable conference to gauge. The teams without any question marks in net are New Jersey with Martin Brodeur, Toronto with Curtis Joseph, Washington with Olaf Kolzig, and Buffalo with Dominik Hasek.

2. Missing parts. It's so important for teams to have nearly everyone healthy and ready to play. Toronto is beat up on the blue line without Bryan Berard. Plus, Danny Markov didn't play at the end of the year. Ottawa has an issue with injuries. The Senators lost Shawn McEachern near the end of the season, and now Wade Redden could be out a few weeks with a broken bone in his foot.

The Devils' Scott Niedermayer will miss the first game due to his suspension, but he will be back. Then, there's the Eric Lindros situation in Philadelphia. His concussion could keep him out of the playoffs.

3. That's special. Goaltending might be the most important factor in the playoffs, but last year Buffalo, which didn't have a good power play all season, really got one going in the playoffs. The Sabres were scoring a power-play goal a game, and that performance resulted in a lot of playoff victories. The Flyers have the special-teams edge because they have had the league's best power play all season. If they keep it going, look for them to go far.

4. All teams are created equal. There is such tremendous parity among the East teams. The four lowest-seeded teams have been playing better hockey than the top four. And the Penguins and the Sabres, the No. 7 and 8 seeds, have been playing the best of all. That makes for a great, wide-open race.

5. Oh, Canada. Of all the different playoff combinations, the only two Canadian teams from the East -- Toronto and Ottawa -- will meet each other in the first round. As a Canadian, I think that makes for an interesting series.

Western Conference
1. Bottom's up? Can the four bottom teams compete with the four great top teams? Will there be an upset? As opposed to the East, I will be surprised if there is a first-round upset out West. The Blues, Stars, Avalanche and Red Wings are so much better than the bottom teams -- and they could be the top four teams in the league.

It will be interesting to see which of the four bottom teams -- the Kings, Coyotes, Oilers and Sharks -- can give the top teams a run.

2. What a pain. The four top teams have injuries to key players -- leading scorer Pavol Demitra will miss the playoffs for St. Louis; Dallas is without defenseman Sergei Zubov; Darren McCarty should play for Detroit, but he missed 17 games; and Colorado might not have Peter Forsberg for the playoffs.

How will these teams respond? I always tend to think losing a defenseman is more key, so Zubov is the biggest injury. He plays more than 30 minutes a night, runs the power play and kills penalties.

3. Being good in goal. A lot of people are picking St. Louis to win the Stanley Cup, but goalie Roman Turek has never played a playoff game. Although Turek was unbelievable in his first season as a No. 1 goalie, he hasn't faced a playoff shot yet. Goaltending would be the key to an upset in the West. If Edmonton is going to beat Dallas, it will be up to Tommy Salo to level the playing field.

Goaltending can win playoff rounds and the Stanley Cup. Which will get better and which get worse? The most stable team in terms of goaltending might be Dallas with Ed Belfour, who has played even better this season than last. Chris Osgood has at least won a Stanley Cup in Detroit. Patrick Roy hasn't had a Roy-like season, but Colorado won eight in a row to end the season.

4. Tkachuk is key. Keith Tkachuk must be healthy for Phoenix to have any kind of chance against Colorado. He will need to play the best hockey he has ever played. Tkachuk needs to shine perhaps more than any other player in the Western Conference playoffs. He is arguably one of the top five players in the world.

Other critical players include Bill Guerin in Edmonton, Vincent Damphousse in San Jose and Rob Blake in Los Angeles. Blake had a great season, but to beat Detroit, he has to become the best defenseman in hockey for a while.

5. Tons of talent. Everybody knows about the talent in St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas and Colorado. But check out the overall skill level in places like San Jose and Phoenix. The Sharks and the Coyotes are great teams; it's just that no one notices or gives them a chance to win.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL player and coach, is an analyst for ESPN and on NHL 2Night.