Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

The Canucks cruised to the Presidents' Trophy, but now the real work begins in Vancouver.

After 82 games the seedings and match-ups for the second-season are ready. Ahead of Wednesday night sportsnet.ca columnists Mark Spector & Mike Brophy ask the 'Burning Questions' surrounding each series and outline players to watch before putting it on the line with their predictions.

Be sure to vote and look for the results on Hockeycentral's two-hour playoff preview show Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Canucks fans can tune in again at 9 p.m. PT for the half-hour Canucks Connected: Playoff Edition.

Vancouver is trying to become the first team since 1993 to bring Ol' Stanley north to Canada. What are the two scenarios that await the good folks of Van City?

Well, if the Canucks deliver -- as every Canadian team in a city that has hosted an Olympics has done in the following calendar year -- it will complete the most blissful year-and-a-half in sports that town has ever seen.

And if they lose? Well, they rioted in '94, for a surprise Canucks team that went to a seventh game against the Rangers. This time, with the parade all but being planned by success-starved Canucks fans who have never had a Cup celebration in the 40-year life of that franchise, failure would come with a bitter, bitter taste.

I'd park underground.

Let's cut to the chase: Everyone knows what the burning question is this year. Can the Vancouver Canucks, after 39 year dry seasons, finally drink from the Stanley Cup?

We can't think of a more prepared team than this one. They're deep, despite the loss of centre Manny Malhotra, and they've failed twice, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 2 both of the last two springs. Vancouver has learned a ton about what it should take to win, and now meet a scaled-back and not-as-strong Blackhawks club that backed into the playoffs on the final Sunday.

Vancouver won the Presidents' Trophy, the Jennings Trophy (Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider) and the Art Ross Trophy (Daniel Sedin). The Canucks have flat out been the best team in hockey over the course of the 2010-11 season.

Vancouver can win this Cup, for sure. But you know what they say: You can't steal first base.

They won't have to.

Canucks in six.

Player to watch: Luongo was last seen weeping in the dressing room when last Chicago and Vancouver tangled. He'll need to see to it that the Hawks are bawling when this series closes.

The San Jose Sharks have been one of the best teams in the NHL since mid-January, but haven't we seen this act before? What makes this year's Sharks any different than the ones that have disappointed in the post-season for so long?

Who hasn't loaded up on Sharks in their playoff pool, only to watch them go out in Round 2 and cost them a bundle of dough? The flip side is, the odds say that at some point the Sharks have to deliver. Don't they?

Since the lockout, San Jose has played 10 playoff rounds. In the West, only Detroit (14) has played more. Slowly, the Sharks have built depth below Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, and although that pair is one-two in team scoring, there are seven Sharks with 50 points or more.

And, they have the Stanley Cup-winning Antti Niemi in goal.

Can the Sharks finally win it all? Not sure about that. But they can beat the Kings in Round 1, and will do so easily.

Sharks in five.

Player to watch: Niemi. Almost blew Round 1 last year for the Hawks, needs to be sharp from shot one.

Detroit, like Philadelphia, has stumbled down the stretch. And, like the Flyers, the Red Wings don't have proven goaltending. Could this be an upset year for the Red Wings?

There are two things you need to know about Detroit. They've made the playoffs for 20 straight springs, but they've been Round 1 victims six times. The last time was five playoffs ago, to Edmonton in '06, so perhaps they're due again in '11.

The injured Henrik Zetterberg is not expected to be ready for the start of the series. Detroit posted their second lowest wins total (47) since the lockout, won just 21 games at home, and is a mediocre 4-5-2 in the season's final 11 games.

Phoenix, a young team that took Detroit to a seventh game before losing Round 1 last spring, won't be intimidated. The 'Yotes pulled away from the playoff mire over the last three weeks, losing just three of their last 16 games in regulation (10-3-3). They're hot at the right time, and have the ability to boil this series down to Jimmy Howard vs. Ilya Bryzgalov.

If that's the case, we know where our money goes. The Jets franchise hasn't won a playoff round since 1987. That changes now.

Coyotes in six.

Player to watch: Shane Doan, the captain and leader needs to put this team on his back.

The Ducks have the offence, they have Corey Perry, and they have the power play. But will goaltending be the great equalizer in Nashville-Anaheim?

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne has the second best save percentage in the NHL (.930), the third best GAA (2.12), and will be a Vezina finalist this June. He has the skills and pedigree to be Halak-ian in any give playoff series.

In Anaheim, No. 1 Jonas Hiller has played just 11:37 in the last two months due to a bout with vertigo. Ray Emery missed the last two Ducks games with the ol' "lower body injury," which could mean anything. That means the Ducks could be going to war with Dan Ellis in their nets -- the very 'tender who lost his job in Nashville a year ago to Rinne.

Nashville finishes the season tied for 12th in Conference scoring, recording 20 less goals than Anaheim. However, only Vancouver allowed fewer goals than the Preds, who let in 41 less goals than Anaheim this season.

It's a close series. The kind usually decided by goaltending.

Nashville in seven.

Player to watch: Patric Hornqvist scored in just two of the Preds' last 17 games. They badly need his production to overcome Anaheim.