As the playoffs begin, we have one of the best matchups in all of hockey in the first round. The Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues flat out hate each other. It’s not as bad as the cold war in Pennsylvania but there is certainly plenty of history between the two long time rivals. The series began Thursday night but here’s a preview for the rest of the series.

Offense

Both teams have great offenses. On Chicago, you have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews which is arguably the best tandem in the NHL. Marian Hossa is also very dangerous for the Hawks and is still producing at a high level with yet another 30 goal season. Patrick Sharp had a fantastic year, finishing at the top of Chicago’s talented scoring chart.

The Blues, meanwhile, have some great offense too. Unfortunately, one of their best offensive weapons in T.J Oshie is out in game one (concussion). They still have plenty of good scoring in David Backes and Alexander Steen and they get a huge boost Thursday with Vladimir Tarasenko’s return to action. Both teams can score at will but the advantage goes to the defending champs. Advantage: Chicago

Defense

Both defensive units also have some great talent and depth as well. Chicago has Duncan Keith, who may very well win the Norris trophy this year for best defenseman and they have Brent Seabrook who is one of the most underrated defenseman in the NHL. They’re going to need to be at their best to shut down some of the best forwards in the game on the Blues.

On St. Louis, Kevin Shattenkirk is a great defenseman and is having just an unbelievable season this year for the Blues. Alex Pietrangelo is also a great defenseman posting 43 assists and 51 points this season. Jay Bouwmeester is also a good shut down defenseman that will be tasked with trying to keep up with Chicago’s stars. If the Blues defense, they should be able to win this series but it’s going to be easier said than done. Advantage: Blues

Special Teams

This is going to be a huge X-factor for the team that wants to advance to the next round. Chicago has the edge on the power play with an all-star cast of players at coach Joel Quenneville’s disposal. When you have a power play that can include Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Duncan Keith that can strike at will, St. Louis can’t afford to take any undisciplined penalties.  For the penalty kill, the advantage is to St. Louis since they had the second best penalty kill in the NHL during the regular season. Advantage: Even

Goaltending

Goaltending is also going to be huge in this series. On the St. Louis side, you have Ryan Miller who hasn’t been that good since coming over from Buffalo with Steve Ott. Miller has ten wins and nine losses and he just wasn’t good during the Blues losing streak towards the end of the season. He’ll have to be better in the series. In Chicago, you have Corey Crawford who actually had a good season despite all the criticism he received. He’s going to be good in the playoffs too and outplay Miller. Advantage: Chicago

Prediction

This series is going to be amazing. In the end, I see the defending Stanley Cup champions pull out a win in game seven in St. Louis. Blackhawks in seven