Sharks run is amazing

To fans of the San Jose Sharks, defeating the St. Louis Blues is something they can cherish for a long time. For Colorado Avalanche fans, the Blues' loss may deflate their team's hopes of winning a Stanley Cup.

The Sharks bombarded the Blues right from the start of Game 7 and used excellent penalty killing in ousting the President's Cup winner, propelling themselves into a second-round battle with the defending-champion Dallas Stars.

The Sharks were clearly the better team and should be commended for staying focused throughout the series, especially after Game 6, when the Blues demolished goaltender Steve Shields and the San Jose defense. Shields was excellent in Game 7, providing the Sharks with 21 saves and very few rebounds to prevent the Blues from crashing the net and creating scoring chances.

The Blues were shaky all night, and the Sharks physically wore down the top seed from the Western Conference by using countless forechecks and relentlessly chasing down loose pucks.

The Sharks did not beat the Blues at all in the regular season, proving the point that the playoffs really are a different season. I honestly didn't think the Sharks had it in them.

Because of that, I was instructed by Appeal sports editor Jeremy Littau to "bow down" in honor of the San Jose victory. Some people have no shame.

San Jose fared well against the Stars during the regular season, winning four of six contests. Two of those games were won by scoring only two goals, so the Sharks will have to play tenacious defense to come out on top.

The Stars were the best penalty killers in the NHL during the regular season, turning away 89 percent of their opponents' chances. The Sharks do not have a great power play, so that edge goes to Dallas.

However, in the St. Louis series San Jose showed that it can kill penalties too, and it will need to against Mike Modano, Brett Hull and company. All season the so-called experts stroked Ed Belfour's ego, saying how good he was and that he was the best goalie in the league.

Yeah, and I'm Elian Gonzalez.

Belfour has played mediocre at best in the playoffs and gave up eight goals the last two games of the series.

Steve Shields has come up big at times, but he has the worst goals-against average of the remaining netminders. Not that goalies don't normally need to come up big, but in this series it may be more important than normal. Stars in 6.

Have I ever mentioned I hate the Detroit Red Wings? Now, because the Blues folded faster than Colonel Klink during an air raid, the Avs face the Red Wings a round earlier than expected.

The good news for Colorado fans is that the Avs have the home-ice advantage - for whatever that's worth. Home ice advantage is about as meaningful as an O.J. Simpson juror.

As a Colorado fan, I was hoping that St. Louis would beat San Jose so that the Avalanche could play Dallas instead of the Red Finks. The Avs were 4-1 against Dallas this season while managing only one victory in five games against Detroit.

Detroit came from two goals down twice to win and showed much more heart and drive than the Avs did.

The catalysts behind Detroit's drive to the Stanley Cup are not the stars - Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Osgood - but rather their role players.

Darren McCarty, Chris Draper, and Martin Lapointe are examples of the type of player that very few people know about, yet continually produce like a top-line player. Detroit has enforcers in Lapointe and McCarty, and it has the hottest goaltender in Chris Osgood.

Since winning the Stanley Cup in 1996, the Avalanche have become soft and are less than intimidating to the other teams in the Western Conference. The Avs have lost Mike Ricci, Mike Keane and Chris Simon, and it has cost them dearly.

I believe that the Avs are much better in regards to special teams, but Detroit has better results playing at even strength.

Goaltenders are key and Patrick Roy is the best in the business when it comes to winning in the playoffs. His 114 playoff victories is first all-time, and he has the ability to shut down even the mighty Red Wings.

Roy will have to play above and beyond his capabilities, because that is what Chris Osgood is doing. Osgood played brilliantly against the L.A. Kings and is largely responsible for the Wings being in the second round.

Watch for Yzerman, Fedorov, Sakic, Forsberg and others to provide some great skating and amazing shooting. As much as it pains me to say, the Wings are too much for the goonless Avs. Detroit in 6.

The circus that is the Philadelphia Flyers continues. Coach-turned-cancer-patient-turned-assistant Roger Neilsen is a little bent at General Manager Bob Clarke for reducing his role, even though doctors cleared him to return. In a recent radio interview, Neilsen suggested that Clarke wants nothing to do with a cancer patient who is also a supporter of team outcast Eric Lindros.

Oh by the way, Neilsen's contract runs out at the end of the year. Looks like Lindros won't be the only Flyer leaving Philadelphia.

I almost forgot. The Flyers have a series to play. The Pittsburgh Penguins come into town sky-high after dismantling the Washington Capitals. Jaromir Jagr is leading the league in playoff scoring and has been, well, Jaromir Jagr with the puck.

Philly has Brian Boucher, who outplayed Dominik "I knew I should have retired" Hasek in the first round. The Flyers were undefeated against the Penguins this season and should be able to dominate them with their size and strength.

Mark Recchi, John LeClair and Keith Primeau are huge and will bury the smaller Penguins. Pittsburgh will have to rely on Sharks-type goals (real lucky) to come out on top of this series. Philadelphia in 5.

Let's face it: after the previously mentioned series, nobody cares about New Jersey and Toronto except for the country of Canada. Hopefully Gordon Lightfoot is watching, because nobody else will. New Jersey in 6.

Trevor Smith is the Nevada Appeal hockey columnist.