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The playoff draft list is available for download. Buy it now and grab an edge in your pool!

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Whoa – our friends at Draft Street are at it again – $20,000 in prizes for their playoffs contest. Details here!

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So the playoff matchups are set and there are some intriguing first round showdowns. For my money, the best series of the bunch should be San Jose and Los Angeles. It's just too bad one of those teams will have to go down in the first round and even the winner should be worse for wear. I actually thought San Jose had a chance to go on a nice run this year, but I don't see them beating the Kings. If they had any other first round matchup I'd say they could advance and gain some momentum, but Los Angeles just looks to strong and are built for playoff hockey, in my opinion.

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The team with the best chance for an upset could be Minnesota. Colorado is inexperienced and really rely on Semyon Varlamov to carry them, and many of the Minnesota players have more big game experience. If Ilya Bryzgalov can somehow hold his own, I think they take the series.

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I'm sure the Bruins would have much rather seen Columbus in the first round than Detroit. Boston is still the superior team, but the Red Wings just have a knack of turning things on in the playoffs and have overcome all kinds of adversity this year. They are going to be a tough out.

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Something that flew under the radar on Sunday was Tampa Bay beating Washington to flip home-ice advantage in their series against Montreal. I still say Montreal takes it, but credit the Lightning for fighting right until the end and setting themselves up in a better spot. The Lightning have the third best home record in the conference.

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Paul Maurice would like to return and coach the Jets next season, and if Winnipeg was smart they would grant him his wish. The Jets looked like a completely different team when he took over and they have one of the most underrated defense corps in the league. Their biggest question is in goal as Ondrej Pavelec struggled all year and was outplayed by Al Montoya for much of the season. Michael Hutchinson got a few starts late in the year as well and looked sharp. Do the Jets buyout Pavelec this summer?

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EA Sports simulated the playoffs and came up with – the Bruins beating the Sharks in the Cup Final! More details on what their simulation came up with – here.

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Interesting move by the Penguins recalling Tomas Vokoun from his AHL conditioning stint. Vokoun has been out all year recovering from a blood clot, which is why Jeff Zatkoff had to handle the backup duties this season. You might remember the epic meltdown by Marc-Andre Fleury in the playoffs last year, so bringing up Vokoun perhaps gives them some insurance over the inexperienced Zatkoff if Fleury goes off the rails again.

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Barry Trotz is out in Nashville in a somewhat surprising move.  Trotz is a good coach, but maybe they just felt it was time for a change considering he has been there since the team's existence and the Preds have now missed the playoffs in two-straight seasons. He always got the most out of minimal talent and brought a good defensive style to the ice. A new coach could help the fantasy numbers of some of the Preds' players, but as a Leafs fan, I hope he ends up in Toronto.

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Alexander Semin will have wrist surgery shortly to take care of an injury. He had a disappointing year after scoring at a point per game pace in 2012-13 and then just managing 42 this season. Still, I think if he's healthy he'd be a solid option for next year. Semin probably isn't a 40-goal man anymore like he showed at times in Washington, but there's 30-35 goal potential in Carolina.

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Speaking of surgeries, Jonathan Bernier will have sports hernia surgery. He originally went down in March but it looked like he pushed his return too quickly as James Reimer was struggling in the Leaf net. He re-aggravated it against the Bruins in early April and that was it for the Leafs' playoff hopes. It's important to remember that Bernier still hasn't played anywhere close to a full season for an NHL starting goaltender, so if you plan on taking him next year keep his durability in mind. He managed 55 contests this year which was more than double his previous high. I expect Reimer to be gone and Bernier is probably going to have to play closer to 70 if he can avoid being sidelined.

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Sean McIndoe says goodbye to the regular with this post for Grantland.

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Antti Niemi didn't have his best season, but it would be shocking if Todd McLellan went with Alex Stalock when the Sharks open up the playoffs. He hasn't announced a starter yet, although something tells me it's going to be Niemi. Stalock has impressed this year with a .932 save percentage and has snuck his way into the conversation. Starting him would be a bold move though. The kind of move that gets a coach fired if it doesn't work out.

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The Bruins don't believe Dennis Seidenberg will be ready to return in time to help them in the playoffs. He's been out since December with a torn ACL. Seidenberg wouldn't have much value in a playoff pool anyway, but he's an important player for the Boston lineup. They've seemed to cope without him just fine though.

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Here are a couple of free playoff pools you may be interested in entering. This one from DraftStreet could win you $500 and this one could get you a free trip to Cancun.

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The sad thing about Brendan Shanahan joining the Leafs is we won't get to see any more of these.

Michael Amato is an Associate Editor for DobberHockey and a News Editor for theScore. You can follow him on Twitter at @amato_mike