(7) Colorado Avalanche vs. (6) Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Where have you gone, J.S. Giguere? I thought for sure that he would be one of the stars in Anaheim's first round matchup with Calgary, dueling Flames' goalie Miikka Kiprusoff through seven brutal games. Instead, Ilya Bryzgalov has stepped into the spotlight for the Ducks. In this series he will faceoff against Jose Theodore, who appears to have gotten his confidence back after a tremendously disappointing regular season. Up front, the advantage has to go to Colorado with Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay, Milan Hejduk, et al against Teemu Selanne, Andy McDonald and a bunch of rookies and no-namers. On defense, the Ducks boast the reigning Norris Trophy-winner in Scott Niedermayer, the underrated Ruslan Salei, and not much else. The Avalanche, on the other hand, have steady two-way player Rob Blake, offensive juggernaut John-Michael Liles, and the steady Patrice Brisebois, among others. Every sign points to Colorado winning in five or six. However, someone once said, "If everyone thinks one thing -- then I say bet the other way." Prediction: Anaheim in 7. Series home page.