After a late push from the Ducks tried to overtake the Coyotes for 6th spot, Phoenix will face the Edmonton Oilers in a Western Conference first round matchup. With the Oilers locking up the division title with a few games to go, they too were keeping an eye on who came in 6th. Although they would have preferred to go against the Wings (who they were 3-1 this season), the Coyotes would have been their second choice. Despite losing three out of the four games (two were in a shootout), the Oilers will feel somewhat relieved to play against the Coyotes.
Offense
The Oilers enjoyed a solid season from Jamie Langenbrunner who scored 26 goals and had 41 assists to lead the roster in scoring. However, after Robert Lang, the Oilers depended upon Martin Havlat and Markus Naslund to pick up the points. As a result, depending heavily on veterans may see them tire out quickly and the lack of youth may cost them. With Lang and Langenbrunner being the Oilers best defensively rated forwards (at 68), the Oilers will have to hope their goalie is able to face lots of shots.
The Coyotes scored 240 goals this season, good enough for 5th in the conference and averaging just under 3 goals a game. Teemu Selanne surpassed 30 goals while Owen Nolan started out of the gates on fire before ending the year with 68 points and a +13 rating. With deadline acquisitions Kristian Huselius, Chris Drury and Stephen Weiss scoring at nearly a point per game average. The Coyotes do have an overwhelming advantage up front.
Series Edge: Phoenix
Defense
With their youngest blueliner being at the age of 28 (Matt Walker and Ossi Vaananen), it's obvious to say that the Oilers are built with oldies. 31-year old Filip Kuba leads the blueline and scored 20 points in 29 games with the Oilers. Jan Hedja will handle the tough defense matchups, though his speed could catch him out with guys like Selanne and Huselius. Ruslan Salei and Bret Hedican are two others to mention, but not noteworthy by any means.
However, Phoenix's blueline are no spring chickens with Bruno Gervais being the only defenseman under 27. However, Scott Hannan, Brendan Witt and Andres Lilja should handle the Oilers threats easily while Hainsey (who had 17 points in 32 games with the Coyotes) and Roman Hamrlik will be depended upon to provide a presence on the blueline.
Series Edge: Phoenix
The Oilers possess a wildcard in Martin Biron, the outcome for the Oilers will depend what form he shows in the series. If he can do better than his regular season performance, where he had a 2.18 GAA and a .925 save percentage, than the Oilers have a chance to hold off a potential upset. If he doesn't, then I see a quick exit for the Oilers who would still consider this season to be a successful one.
The Coyotes traded for Dwayne Roloson, believing his veteran presence would improve the Coyotes' postseason success. His .919 SV% and 2.26 in 37 games are decent, but would need to improve drastically if the Coyotes want to lift the Cup.
