Hockey Column

The last few weeks of the NHL regular season proved to be the death of a few teams participating in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Washington, Edmonton and Buffalo were all playing desperate hockey in hopes of positioning themselves in the postseason, knowing full well that the mental strain of getting there may be too much.

Look at Washington. It was playing for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and was never given a period where it could relax and rest some of their players.

What has happened to the Capitals isn't all that surprising. The Pittsburgh Penguins have dominated Washington while getting spectacular goaltending from Ron Tugnutt.

Washington has not been playing the type of defense that earned it the second seed and has only one goal between Chris Simon, Adam Oates and Peter Bondra.

Olaf Kolzig has played average at best, while Caps coach Ron Wilson has blubbered about everything from scheduling to Jaromir Jagr getting preferential treatment.

Here's a tip for coach Wilson: The net is the same size at both ends - try having one of your players put the puck in it for a change.

Pittsburgh has everything going for it, and looks as if the Penguins will play Philadelphia in the next round.

Speaking of Philadelphia, it has put a hurt on the defending Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres.

The stifling Flyers defense that gave them the top seed in the East is paying dividends against a worn-out Sabres team that had to play all 82 games to see if they were going to make the playoffs.

Buffalo is beat up emotionally and probably won't make it back home for a Game 6. Dominik Hasek has played great, but the fact is that the Buffalo special teams are a joke. The Sabres have not scored one power play goal while giving up six to the Flyers. The Flyers have scored only one goal with five skaters apiece, which should cause a concern for the coaching staff if and when the Flyers make it to the second round.

The Edmonton Oilers are another team that must be dead tired. The Oilers battled with the Colorado Avalanche for the Northwest Division title until the end of the season, then drew the Dallas Stars.

The Stars play a bruising style and can wear down a team better than anyone in the NHL. Edmonton and Dallas are not only two totally different franchises, but have two distinct different kinds of ice.

The Stars have slushy ice, due in part to the Dallas heat, and Edmonton has very hard ice, which can help a fast-skating team such as the Oilers.

Dallas dominated at home and then turned around and lost game three. However, it shouldn't matter, as Dallas won game four and returns home for game five in hopes of finishing the series.

One thing that Stars fans need to keep an eye on is the goaltending of Ed Belfour. He has been less than brilliant and has let in 10 goals in four games against a lesser skilled team.

Colorado and Detroit should be foaming at the mouth right now.

As far as the Wings and Avalanche go, they are about to sweep their respective series and move on to the semifinals of the Western Conference. Detroit should meet the St. Louis Blues, if the Blues can wake up against the San Jose Sharks. Colorado will then face Dallas if things fall into place as predicted.

The Avs have now won 11 straight games dating back to the regular season and have their power play scoring at a 40-percent clip. That in itself will win a series against anybody, even Dallas.

Since the Ray Bourque trade, the Avs are an astounding 17-2-1 and have beaten Dallas twice. The only concern for Colorado now should be the ability to keep Peter Forsberg healthy and on the ice. Patrick Roy is playing above average and should be able to keep the Avs in front in most games.

The Red Wings are playing great against a bigger Los Angeles team and have done everything needed to play the minimum amount of games. The Red Wings' age should be a concern, and they will need to conserve every bit of energy they have in order to challenge the younger Blues or Avalanche.

The best news regarding Detroit fans is the play of Chris Osgood in two of the three games. He has allowed six goals (five in game two) and has been brilliant defending the net. Detroit will need to improve its team defense with all those geriatrics on the blue line.

So far, the playoffs have proven that the better teams are playing the way they should, and that there are no real surprises, with the exception of Pittsburgh.

Look for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to meet in the next round, as well as New Jersey and Toronto. New Jersey is playing its best hockey in a month while skating all over Florida.

Trevor Smith is the Nevada Appeal hockey columnist.