Second Round Match-Ups in the West

The Western Conference match-ups are now set after the Red Wings beat the Coyotes in Game Seven on Tuesday night.  Their reward... the San Jose Sharks.The Sharks are the number one seed in the West, while the Red Wings did not finish with a division title, rather a 5th place finish.  The Sharks managed to dispose of the Colorado Avalanche in six games in their 1st round series, so they managed to get an extra few days of rest leading up to the start of their series.  The leading point-getter going into this series is Henrik Zetterberg, who will go in with 12 points after seven games versus the Coyotes.  Zetterberg had to be one of the Wings best players and that he was.  For the Sharks, they'll be throwing Joe Pavelski out as their best player, as he opens the 2nd round with 10 points through six games.

This match-up is exceptionally close when it comes to picks and determining a favourite in the pool.  The number one team, the Sharks, have 82.1% of their maximum allowable picks, while the Red Wings come through from behind with a 83.9% selection rate, meaning that they are considered the favourites in the pool.  The most popular player in this series is Tomas Holmstrom, who has 25 selections to his name.




In what was the first second round match-up to be determined in these 2010 playoffs, the Blackhawks and Canucks will meet again in the second round, a rematch of the series that went six games in 2009.This season, it isn't terribly different as the Blackhawks will have home-ice advantage with the higher seed in the conference, while the Canucks will come into the series with the leading goal-scorer in these playoffs, Mikael Samuelsson.  Samuelsson will go into the series as the leading point-getter as well, as he finished off the series against the Kings with 7 goals (1 winner) and 4 assists in the six games played.  Jonathan Toews is the leader for Chicago, as he has 2 goals (1 winner) and 6 assists for 9 points in the pool.

In terms of picks, the Blackhawks are clear favourites in the pool, as they hold a significant edge in selections over the Canucks with 163 to 125.  The Blackhawks managed to pick up 97% of their possible allowed picks, while the Canucks only secured 74.4%.  The most popular player in this series is Patrick Sharp, who picked up 33 selections.