1 storyline, player to watch for each West playoff team
Teams have traveled to Edmonton and Toronto. Exhibition games are on deck. It's time to talk hockey.
We're looking at a storyline and player to watch for each Western Conference club participating in the qualifying round. We covered the Eastern Conference on Sunday.
Arizona Coyotes
This season has been about retaining Taylor Hall. The Coyotes wined and dined him and pitched him on the core of the roster, the coaching staff, the facilities at Gila River Arena, and the advantages of living and working in sunny Glendale.
Now, they need to play well enough in the postseason - and avoid turning into a full-blown off-ice soap opera - to nudge Hall toward a contract. The biggest fish in the 2020 unrestricted free-agency class has appeared in just five postseason games in 10 years, so the pressure's on in the qualifying round.
Player to watch: Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta. The Coyotes' formidable goaltending tandem - when healthy - can compete with the best in the league. Don't be surprised if head coach Rick Tocchet rotates between the two.
Calgary Flames
The Flames may be the "home" team against the Jets, but they can't afford to look past the qualifying round. If any goalie can win a series on his own, it's Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck, and Calgary's offense - 20th in goals per game, 12th-ranked power play, unspectacular underlying numbers in the regular season - doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, particularly with Johnny Gaudreau's well-chronicled playoff woes and strange training camp hovering over the team.
There are several teams involved in the resumption that changed coaches this season, and there are others that have a significant goaltending decision to make. The Flames somehow check off both boxes.
Player to watch: Erik Gustafsson. It'll be interesting to see how the absence of top-four blue-liner Travis Hamonic, who opted out of the NHL's restart, affects Gustafsson's ice time. He averaged 18 minutes a night in seven games after the trade deadline.
Chicago Blackhawks
This is a nightmare matchup for the Blackhawks, as their porous defense will try to stop Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the rest of the speedy Oilers forward group. To make matters worse, Corey Crawford didn't hit the ice until late in training camp due to a positive COVID-19 test and could be a bit shaky in Game 1.
One shining light for the Blackhawks is Patrick Kane, who was brilliant in the regular season and always brings it come playoff time. He's an X-factor for a Chicago team with a gigantic hurdle to clear in the qualifying round.
Player to watch: Kirby Dach. The third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft contributed 23 points in 64 games as a rookie and has garnered plenty of attention over the past couple of weeks for his improved skating and added confidence.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have shown some growth but still haven't quite hit their stride. This is a much deeper lineup than we've come to expect from Colorado during the Nathan MacKinnon era. Forwards Nazem Kadri, Joonas Donskoi, Vladislav Namestnikov, Valeri Nichushkin, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are all new additions this year and play important supporting roles to MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the club's other studs.
There's a distinct possibility the Avalanche go on a long run this postseason, perhaps all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. However, their best years are ahead as Samuel Girard, Conor Timmins, Bo Byram, and others continue to develop into impact NHLers.
Player to watch: Kadri. The two-way center made a habit of getting suspended in the postseason at the end of his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, so controlling his emotions in the heat of battle will be vital.
Dallas Stars
This year has been full of extremes for the Stars. They lost eight of their first nine games before going on a 14-1-1 run. In December, former bench boss Jim Montgomery quit and later entered rehab for alcohol abuse. His replacement, Rick Bowness, has done a swell job, though the awkward interim tag remains.
The season was paused at the right time for Dallas. Their points percentage placed the Stars fourth in the Western Conference and allowed them to avoid a play-in series. The defense is incredible, but the team struggles mightily to score goals. You should expect the unexpected with this wild card of a group.
Player to watch: Jamie Benn. He's not the goal-scoring power forward he once was but still has the ability to dominate in small samples. Benn in beast mode is something to behold and perhaps the high stakes bring that version of him to the fore.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers will go as far as McDavid and Draisaitl take them. Management has improved the roster - especially the back end - over the past few years, but this team won't advance past the round of 16 without a strong superstar influence.
This will be only the second time both McDavid and Draisaitl experience playoff hockey, so you can bet they'll be very motivated. There's an argument to be made that McDavid is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the five-month layoff after he spent virtually the entire 2019 offseason rehabbing his knee.
Player to watch: Andreas Athanasiou. The trade-deadline pickup hasn't found a comfortable fit in Edmonton. He has the tools - mainly that blazing speed - to be a game-breaker, and now it's a matter of finding the right linemates.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild are in transition under new management and - on paper - new head coach Dean Evason doesn't have enough high-end talent up front to take on the Western Conference.
However, Minnesota could conceivably beat the Vancouver Canucks in a best-of-five qualifying-round matchup. For that to happen, though, breakout winger Kevin Fiala must pick up where he left off in the regular season - 26 points in 18 games from Feb. 1 to March 8 - and the Wild's top defensive pair of Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon must minimize the Canucks' top contributors.
Player to watch: Mats Zuccarello. The Norwegian waterbug put up so-so numbers in his first season of a five-year, $30-million deal with Minnesota, but last year he showed with Dallas that he saves his best hockey for the playoffs.
Nashville Predators
The Predators have one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL with Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros, and they have one of the best defensive pairings with Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis.
Nashville is held back from being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender by its weak forward group. Filip Forsberg was the only skater to hit 20 goals in the regular season, and no forward reached 50 points. The club desperately needs more from Forsberg, Ryan Johanson, Matt Duchene, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Arvidsson, who are paid a combined $32.25 million per year to drive the attack.
Player to watch: Dante Fabbro. The 21-year-old played third-pairing minutes last postseason before sliding into P.K. Subban's spot on the second pair after the star was shipped to the New Jersey Devils.
St. Louis Blues
There was no hangover in St. Louis. The Blues finished second behind the Boston Bruins in points percentage during the regular season and looked every bit like a Stanley Cup favorite right before the league's hiatus.
Question marks coming into the season have been answered, too, with goalie Jordan Binnington proving he's not a one-hit wonder and captain Alex Pietrangelo performing at a Norris Trophy level despite the possible distraction of an expiring contract.
Heading into the qualifying round, the bulk of the attention is rightly focused on Vladimir Tarasenko, who's been sidelined since late October. We'll have to see the impact the sniper has in his long-awaited return.
Player to watch: David Perron. The big 32-year-old winger is coming off his second straight 60-point season and was a handful for the opposition with 16 points during the 2019 playoffs.
Vancouver Canucks
It's important for playoff teams to capitalize on their early power-play opportunities, as it can tilt an otherwise even matchup. Referees tend to put their whistles away for long stretches, which can somewhat eliminate the special-teams factor.
Enter the Canucks. Powered by a first unit of Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, Tyler Toffoli, and Bo Horvat, Vancouver finished with the fourth-ranked power play in the regular season, scoring on 24.2% of its opportunities. The Canucks have quality goaltending, some high-end skaters, and decent depth. They're not a perfect team, but they have a better chance than most lower seeds to go on a surprise run. And it all starts with the power play.
Player to watch: Quinn Hughes. His Calder Trophy counterpart Makar blew away the hockey world last postseason, so now we'll see how Hughes' playoff debut measures up.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights are gaining steam as a popular Stanley Cup pick among media and fans. Vegas is well-coached, plays a counterattacking style conducive to winning playoff games, is a top-10 squad in terms of team offense, and dresses a pair of No. 1-caliber goalies every game. And now, coach Pete DeBoer, who took over for Gerard Gallant midseason, has a training camp under his belt.
The hot topic circling Vegas, though, is who will ultimately man the net. Incumbent Marc-Andre Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, had a down year - .905 save percentage in 48 starts. Robin Lehner - .920 SV% in 34 total starts - was acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline as insurance but could easily usurp Fleury for the top job. DeBoer said he's not afraid to tap either one, which means a little goalie controversy might be on the horizon.
Player to watch: Max Pacioretty. The 31-year-old had a highly productive regular season (career-high 0.93 points per game). Nobody's hungrier for a deep run.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets operated with an underwhelming defense corps during the regular season. Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers left via trade and free agency, respectively, and the Dustin Byfuglien situation wasn't resolved until April. The latter handcuffed management's ability to bring in a big name on the blue line.
Needless to say, the most interesting aspect of the Jets' return will be their defense. That attention will turn to Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Neal Pionk, Dmitry Kulikov, Nathan Beaulieu, and Tucker Poolman, and how much help they can provide goalie Hellebuyck. The presumptive Vezina Trophy winner was fantastic during the regular season, so a little help in the defensive zone could go a long way in improving Winnipeg's playoff run prospects.
Player to watch: Kyle Connor. Maurice said that Connor has "top-10 player" potential, which, fair or not, shines a bright light on the winger. He'll be in good company, lining up alongside Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.
John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.