darrell,

The 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs are upon us. How can you not be excited? Today we share some of the highlights we are looking forward to this playoff season. Please see the article below for insight into this year's NHL playoff picture.

Today we have picks in all four opening-night games.

Wunderdog Picks Results Check out our 12-month performance here.

Please Tell A Friend about this newsletter and they'll thank you!

Good luck to you...

2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview

Eastern Conference

The last three Stanley Cups have come from the Eastern Conference. Can they do it again? We will see. “Sid the kid,” is the youngest scoring champion in sports history at the young ripe age of 19, will go up against a great team in the Ottawa Senators. This is probably the highest scoring of the four other Eastern Conference series and its going to be a blast to watch. Watch out for the Tampa Bay Lighting taking on New Jersey. Lecavalier can take over a series but Brodeur can shut you down. If Tampa can overcome having a rookie (Johan Holmqvist) start in net they may upset the No. 2 seed in the East. Did somebody say Buffalo? Tied for the most points in the league this season with 113, you had better mention Buffalo. Our pick from the Eastern Conference will come from the high scoring Sabres, watch out they may just sweep this first series. Last but not least the Thrashers go up against the Rangers. Let's go RANGERS! Ok, ok no picking sides here but who doesn't love Ranger’s playoff hockey? Come on now! The Rangers have their hands full in Hossa and Kovalchuk. But who knows, maybe Brenda (I've always wanted to say that) Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr could pull out a series win.

Western Conference

One of the most intriguing matchups in the Western Conference is between (4) Nashville and (5) San Jose. Nashville ended with 110 points but San Jose was right behind them with 107. Oh ya’ and “Peter the great” plays for Nashville now, one of the most clutch playoff players of recent years. The Western Conference has seven teams with over 100 points! Any team in the West could go to the Stanley Cup this year. However, one team stands out in our minds and that is the Anaheim Ducks. I mean who can go against one of the top defensive players in the league in Chris Pronger? Scott Niedermayer, Andy McDonald and Teemu Selanne are a few more players the Wild have to watch out for. Although Calgary struggled late in the season they still have a shot against Detroit. Stranger things have happened. Well maybe not, a No. 8 seed beating a No. 1 seed has happened before so Calgary has a shot. Luongo, Luongo, Luongo. That's our motto this playoff season. Goaltending always plays a huge part in the playoffs and this year will be no different. Vancouver has the league's finest penalty-killing unit and Luongo boasts the fourth-best save percentage in the league with .921. Vancouver lost Bertuzzi but gained great goaltending and solid defense. We will ride Luongo all the way to the Stanley Cup, taking Vancouver from the Western Conference.

We rate each pick 1 to 5 units with 5 being the strongest play (read about units).
Risk 1% of your bankroll per unit (never risk more than 5% of total bankroll on any pick).

Game: Pittsburgh at Ottawa (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 2 units on Pittsburgh +156 (risk 2 to win 3.1)

It was Mario Lemieux last time for the Penguins as they made the playoffs in the 2000-2001 season. This time it's Sidney Crosby. He's only 19-years-old but he lead the league in scoring and he gives the Penguins a fighting chance here. Pittsburgh comes in with confidence. They are too young to know that they aren't supposed to win on the road. They simply don't know any better. They are 6-1-1 in their last seven games so they are on a roll. They defeated the Senators in three out of four meetings this season. They are also 11-5 in their last sixteen games vs. winning teams this season and 18-5 in their last 23 vs. teams that allow 30+ shots on goal (Ottawa allows 30.2 per game). Ottawa can't be that confident knowing they have fallen before making it to the Conference Finals in four out of their last seven postseason appearances. They are just 8-10 in April games the past two seasons.

There is no team better on the road than San Jose. They won 26 games away from home - better than any other NHL team. They took care of business in the Conference quarterfinals last year here in Nashville. The Sharks have lost just one April game out of nine the past two seasons. Yes, Nashville had the edge this season on the series but San Jose is 12-4 this season on the road when revenging a loss. They are simply a tougher team that is playing better hockey. They closed the season on an 11-3 run while the Ducks lost nine of their last fourteen games.

These teams played four closely-contested battles during the regular season with each game ending in a 2-1 score. Both teams feature great goaltending and weak offenses. This game should come down to location, with Vancouver getting a big home edge with a raucous playoff crowd. In all four prior meetings, the home team won. Dallas managed just 2.6 goals per game on the road and down the stretch, their scoring fell off even more with just eight total goals in their last four games. Vancouver's offense is slightly better than Dallas' getting 2.8 per game at home this year. The Canucks are 13-8 in their last 21 games vs. winning teams. The Dave Tippett-led Stars are just 1-8 in their last nine road games vs. very good goalies (92%+ save). Luongo shuts down Dallas and Vancouver comes out ahead here.

Anytime we can get this kind of line on a team with as good a defense as Minnesota, we get value. Backstrom and Fernandez allowed a league-low 191 goals this season. Blackstron goes tonight and comes in on fire having allowed just 3 goals on 74 shots in his last four games. The Wild allowed more than two goals just once in their last 15 regular-season games! They won 12 of those games. Their offense is good enough and with that kind of defensive performance tonight, they have a shot. Anaheim was very penalty prone this year allowing 4.9 power plays per game. Minnesota was 13-5 their last 18 on the road this season vs. teams committing 4.7+ penalties per game.