(1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (8) Arizona Coyotes

Two teams heading into the postseason on the back of somewhat contrasting runs, the red-hot Western Conference Champions Edmonton face off against a last-ditch Arizona outfit in a first-round match-up that looks rather lop-sided at first glance. 

Edmonton, led by captain Brad Richards and forty-goal regular season hero Jason Pominville, are firm favourites to emerge victorious in this series. Having accrued 110 points to impressively outpace the reigning Stanley Cup holders Anaheim in the Pacific Division, Kevin Dineen's men have shown that high-powered offense coupled with discipline is a recipe for success in the WCHL. Edmonton led the league in "shots for" (30.87), and finished third, behind only playoff-bound Pittsburgh and Washington, in PIM/GP (7.67). Whilst far from the finished article on special teams, Edmonton heads into the postseason with high morale (82), and with the best goal differential (+24) in the conference. With the every-present Ilya Bryzgalov between the sticks, he who bets against the Oilers here is a brave man. 

Heading into the final day of the regular season, Arizona was placed a lowly sixth in the Pacific Division, and in need of a minor miracle to secure the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Luckily for Yotes fans, the Canucks imploded at Madison Square Garden, and LA choked in Toronto, handing Alain Vigneault's team the golden ticket. Boasting a prolific and experienced top forward line of Jokinen-Gaborik-Vrbata, Arizona is a team that Edmonton underestimates at its peril. Whilst the Coyotes are certainly not dominant in any given aspect of the game, they did finish the regular season ranked sixth overall in "shots for" (29.29), and first overall in "shots against" (26.27). Facing off against a high-powered Oilers offense, it will be interesting to see if the Yotes can continue to stop shots getting to Reimer. The glaring weakness of this team, however, is a complete lack of discipline - the Coyotes ranked 27th overall in PIM/GP (13.55). Though they might get away with it against a poor Oiler's PP at times, over the course of a full series, we expect this to be Arizona's achilles heel.

THE VERDICT: This series is going to be closer than many seem to think. Arizona's top-six weapons on offense, including Radim Vrbata, Marian Gaborik and Chris Higgins, will give an ageing Edmonton defense plenty of food for thought. Ultimately, however, a well-coached blend of experience, form and discipline will win the day here. Expect Pominville to showcase his electrifying goal-scoring prowess, and Bryzgalov to outplay Reimer. EDMONTON IN SIX.

PLAYOFF POOL INDICATOR: Edmonton 12 - 1 Arizona

OILERS GM KEITH FOSTER: "Edmonton figures to win the first round in 5 games. Arizona usually takes a lot more penalties, less hits and much worse faceoff percentage. This should be a an advantage in puck possession for Edmonton."

COYOTES GM JEFF SMITH: "Didn't expect to make the playoffs so have no expectations for success, especially against the top seed, but stranger things have happened and maybe luck is on our side."