Red Wings are strong in West; East open

The one overriding question with the NHL playoffs under way is will the officials continue to call the game the way they did during the regular season that saw clutching and grabbing reduced and skating increased? The league says yes.

To undue the positive results of the regular season that came from the rule changes instituted this year would defeat the redefining of the game and that would make no sense. Look for officials to let a little go toward the end of close games, but not much and not in the opening rounds.

That said, this year’s postseason will emphasize speed and put more pressure on defenders and goaltending.

The East is wide open. Ottawa is the best team when healthy. It is not. The Senators’ No. 1 goaltender, Dominik Hasek, is injured. He will try to play. Without him, the Senators are still a good team, but….

They play former University of Maine star John Tortorella’s Tampa Bay Lightning, the defending Cup champs from two years ago who have struggled all year without a No. 1 goalie. Ottawa should win, unless Tampa Bay finds a hot goalie in Sean Burke.

Carolina should beat Montreal. Eric Staal is ready to be a postseason star. However, Canadiens goalie Cristobal Huet finished first in save percentage and fourth in goals-against. He believes in himself, and the team believes in him. This should go seven.

The New Jersey/New York Rangers matchup is a dandy. The Devils are red hot, the Rangers are not. The Rangers have Jaromir Jagr, who has played like an MVP all year, but the Devils have Marty Brodeur in net. That, together with the hoopla of New York teams facing each other, will be fun and deadly for the Rangers.

Philadelphia lost the division lead on the last day of the season and now must open on the road in Buffalo with an injured Peter Forsberg. The Sabres are a fast team, and the Flyers are slow on defense. It will be a bitter defeat if the Flyers are out in the first round, but look for that to happen.

In the West, Detroit is the best. The Red Wings will overpower Edmonton, a team more unsure of its goaltender, Dwayne Roloson, than the Red Wings are of theirs, Manny Legace.

Mike Modano, the Dallas star, has a bad knee, but the Stars are still better than Colorado. Marty Turco in net for the Stars will be a big difference against a Colorado team whose goaltending has been a minus all year.

Calgary doesn’t score much, 27th in the NHL, but it can skate and play defense, with the best goals-against average in the league.

The Flames have Mikka Kiprusoff in net, maybe the best in the game right now. They also have rookie masher Dion Phaneuf. This kid is going to open some eyes and dent some bodies. Their problem is an Anaheim team that is fast and led by Teemu Selanne. Calgary wins with “D.”

Nashville looked like the team to beat for much of the year. Then the Predators lost their great goalie, Tomas Vokoun, to a blood clot. They face one of the hottest teams in the league in the San Jose Sharks, who have the league’s leading scorer in Joe Thornton (sorry, Bruins fans) and leading goal scorer in Jonathan Cheechoo. This will be a heartbreaking end for the Predators and former Maine All-American Paul Kariya.

The long road to the Cup is under way.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.