(3) St. Louis vs. (6) Chicago

On paper, this is arguably the pick of the first round matchups. Midwestern powerhouses St.Louis and Chicago are set to lock horns in a series which ought to offer passion,  tenacity and goals. Both teams ranked inside the top ten in "goals for", whilst both ranked in the bottom half of the league in "goals against". To add to an already tasty recipe for a classic series, neither team knows how to stay out of the penalty box, as both ranked in the bottom five in PIM/GP. Hold on tight folks, this one could be fun, if nothing else.

St.Louis finished third in the Western Conference thanks to a well-rounded roster that gets contribution from almost everybody. The Blues' leading goalscorer in the regular season was second-line centre Damien Brunner, an oddity that nonetheless proves that Craig Berube's team is just that ... a TEAM. If you had to point to a particular strong point, it would undoubtedly be the top pairing of Kevin Bieksa and Marc Staal on defense - they chipped in with 15 goals and 36 assists on the season, as well as showing impressive leadership. St.Louis is going to score plenty, but they're also going to leak goals thanks to sloppy discipline. We also have our concerns about the bottom six, particularly once we get down to the likes of Leo Komarov, Leo Komarov, Dominic Moore and T.J. Galiardi. Still, they're the third seed for a reason.

GM Brian Flick's Chicago Blackhawks have come from the WCHL basement only a season ago to take the sixth seed in the Western Conference, an achievement which many thought impossible given the state of flux the organisation found itself in. Despite appearing to lack in offensive talent, this gritty Hawks unit has scored plenty throughout the regular season, and will need to find a way to continue the trend if they're going to get past Backstrom in this series. Past the evergreen Brad Boyes and goal-scoring hero Troy Brouwer, its difficult to see how Chicago is going to trouble St.Louis here. An impressive group of defenseman helps this team tenfold though - Dan Boyle, Dennis Wideman, Trevor Daley and Derek Morris combine skill with tons of experience, and that will be enough to ensure that Darren Rumble & co emerge victorious by the slimmest of margins in this Midwestern battle. 

THE VERDICT: Its difficult to predict this one to be honest. We don't like either team's chances of making a deep run, but then again, one of these two will book a place in round two here, and that certainly isn't to be scoffed at. Its going to be a sloppy affair that provides fantastic entertainment to the neutral. We see Chicago edging it, but its going the distance. CHICAGO IN 7.

PLAYOFF POOL INDICATOR: St.Louis 11 - 4 Chicago

BLACKHAWKS GM BRIAN FLICK: "We maybe just a bit away from hoisting the Cup, but this team has heart. We may not be the most talented team on the ice, but we have a grit about us and most of all we have the mindset that we deserve to be here and if a few things go our way, we might just hoist that Cup in the Madhouse on Madison."