ESPN NHL

Injuries, injuries, injuries. How teams react to them will be the big story of the playoffs. The Stanley Cup playoffs are the most grueling in professional sports. For two months, teams are playing every two days as if lives depended on the outcome. There's no greater mental or physical test in all of sports. The closest maybe football and in the NFL teams play four games at the most with a week or two in between games to rest injuries. When travel time, intensity and physical nature of play is factored in it becomes obvious how difficult a Stanley Cup championship is to win.

It's very rare for a team to be lucky enough to get away with going the entire playoffs without an injury to a key player. That's why it's so important for teams to handle injuries well during the run. At this point in the season every player is banged up from the regular season. That's why it's important for teams to have adequate depth at each position so they can counteract any potentially devastating injuries.

The playoffs can also be a time for teams to get injured players back. For instance, the Philadelphia Flyers will be getting Keith Primeau back from his concussion and Eric Desjardins back from his broken right forearm. Obviously it's a plus for the Flyers to get these players back on the ice, but it could prove difficult for them to get them back into the flow of things quickly. In the case of Desjardins, he's been out for 10 weeks and the team has had to make adjustments without him. Also, his conditioning won't be up to the standards he'd like for the playoffs. Believe me the Flyers as well as any team in their position would love to have gotten those two players back a week or so ago to work them back into the flow of the game.

But that's not the way the cookie crumbled so the Flyers will deal with it and hope those two will be the spark to get them to the Stanley Cup finals.

On the other hand there are teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs that are wondering when a top player like Owen Nolan will return. Nolan injured his knee March 27 against Ottawa and will have the injury re-evaluated in three weeks. They don't know when he'll return and it's going to hang over the Leafs for the duration of their playoff run. Losing a player like Nolan hurts because he's such a large part of their success, but not knowing when he'll return hurts them even more.

It's dealing with these situations makes hoisting the Stanley Cup so special and difficult.

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Plus: The playoff matchups are excellent. I'm looking forward to watching a great rivalry like Montreal and Boston going at it because of the history between the two teams. Also intriguing is the Philadelphia-New Jersey series, which features two excellent defensive teams fighting to make it to the next round. Then there's a series like Toronto-Ottowa, which has two cities and teams that hate each other. It's going to be fun to watch and I will be glued to my television set watching them when I don't have the pleasure of being at these games personally.

Minus: It's a huge minus when three of the biggest markets in the country (New York, Chicago and Los Angeles) won't be represented by their signature team. Television ratings will probably be down because those markets aren't being represented and that's going to hurt because the NHL is desperate for higher ratings.

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	Kiprusoff

Goaltender
Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames: He's had a great season and I have a feeling that he's going to step up big for the Flames. He's first in the NHL in goals against average (1.70) and save percentage (.933).

Defensemen
Rob Blake, Colorado Avalanche: He's going to have a spectacular playoff for the Avalanche. I was his coach in Los Angeles and year in and year out he plays big when it counts and this season should be no different.

Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues: He's put up the second-highest point total of his career (53) and is coming off a strong eleven point month in March. For those reasons alone, Pronger is going to be a special playoff player this season.

Forwards
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings: He's had a phenomenal season this year with 68 points and will continue to dominate opposing defenses in the playoffs with his oft-times amazing play.

Mike Modano, Dallas Stars: Modano is coming off a sub-par year for himself. He has only 43 points this year after five consecutive seasons with 75 points or more. I fully expect him to bounce back in the playoffs with a big offensive run.

Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils: He's a great player who can get on unbelievable offensive rolls. I wouldn't be surprised if he has one during the playoffs.

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Barry:
Hi Barry, I love your work and your wardrobe. Can you explain why the Avs traded all their puck-moving defensemen (Morris, Skoula, Ballard) for stay-at-home types (Boughner, Sauer, Vaananen)? Obviously they still have Blake and Liles, but losing that great first pass sure doesn't help them break out of the scoring slump they're in.
--J, San Francisco, Ca.

Thanks for the compliment on my wardrobe. As you'll see later, some don't share your belief in my ablilty to dress well. The Avalanche made those trades to upgrade their team in other areas and I think they did a good job. They added quality depth with the acquisition of forward Matthew Barnaby, which they need to make a run for the Cup. I disagree that their recent scoring slump is due to the lack of a "great" first pass to start the offense because every player in the NHL passes the puck well.

Hey, Barry:
Barry, when are you going to finally wear a decent suit on air? You can't possibly let Buccigross constantly out dress you. Anyway I really want know your thoughts on a potential Toronto- Detroit Cup final? Wouldn't it be the perfect matchup for hockey at a time like this?
-- Justin, Bay City, Mich.

Justin, luckily everyone doesn't share your feelings about my wardrobe. Getting to your question, it'd be great for the NHL to have two original six teams playing against each other. Whenever that happens it always seems to make the Stanley Cup more special and magical. The Red Wings and Leafs have a great history together and as a hockey purist, I'd love to see them playing for the Cup. Of course as an American and an ESPN broadcaster, I'd like to see two American teams battling for the Cup to bring the game higher ratings in the states.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL defenseman and coach, is a hockey analyst for ESPN. He'll answer selected questions submitted to his e-mail bag each week. Also, click here to send Barry a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.