Mats Zuccarello is a significant loss for this team in that it really chips away at that forward depth. Having Martin St. Louis on the third line allowed them to balance the forward attack, and now that's not necessarily the case. The Rangers bottom-six isn't depleted by any stretch, but at this time of the year, any margin is important.

The loss of Zuccarello also afford Kevin Hayes an opportunity. He came through this year in a big way with 45 points while playing just over 13 minutes a game. If he can provide good secondary scoring, that will help his case a lot for a bigger role moving forward.

****

The Flames and Ducks series kicks off as the late game tomorrow night, as Calgary hopes to continue their Cinderella-ish season. One thing they'll have to change in a hurry is that the Flames have not won in Anaheim since before the 2004 lockout (seriously). The Flames will have to win at least one and go perfect at home to move on. That seems like a tall task against an Anaheim team that swept the Jets in the first round.

I'm really looking forward to the matchup of the first lines. These are two teams that rely quite a bit for production from their top forward trio, and seeing how they end up stacking against each other as the series moves on.

I think this is a series where goaltending wins the series, or more likely, whichever goaltender(s) don't lose games will be on the winning side. The games will probably have a "first to four" feel about them, so whichever goalie can keep their team in games, as opposed to having to out-right steal them like Carey Price or Henrik Lundqvist, will be the goalie on the series-winning team.

****

The Minnesota-Chicago series starts on Friday night, and that is a series that should prove to be a lot of fun. The Wild have good forward depth up front, something that can match well with the forward depth of the Blackhawks, both defense corps have a Norris-calibre anchor with good support pieces, and it would seem the edge in net would go to Devan Dubnyk. Don't be surprised if this one goes seven games.

Jonathan Toews now has 25 points in 25 playoff games since the Blackhawks last won the Stanley Cup. If there's one decided edge I see the 'Hawks having, it's that Toews is superior to any centre that Minnesota has. Hockey is decided by whole teams, but Chicago needs to take advantage of its edges, which means Toews will probably have to be a big factor on the score-sheet in order for Chicago to get through.

Of course, Toews could have 10 points in 7 games but if the Chicago goaltending situation doesn't steady itself, it may be all for naught. The team is staying with Corey Crawford for Game 1, and the last thing they want to see is Minnesota scoring two goals on five shots in the first 10 minutes of Game 1. How he handles himself in that game will go a long way in whether or not Scott Darling appears again.

**Some stats take from Hockey Reference and War On Ice.