In their Hockey Today podcast on ESPN.com this morning, Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun talked about the one team in each conference that the top seeds wouldn't want to play. Before picking the Nashville Predators as his team in the West, Pierre LeBrun picked the Buffalo Sabres as a team to be feared by whoever they draw against in the playoffs.
Citing the team's 9-3-2 record in the month of March, the ESPN analyst says the team is peaking at the right time. He also compares Ryan Miller's resurgence to the hot streak that Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens rode to the Easter Conference Finals last year:
"Ryan Miller looks like the Vezina trophy Ryan Miller, and much like the Canadiens were able to ride their goaltending and knock off a couple top seeds last year, Scott, I think the Sabres have that ability. I'm not saying they're going to do it, but I believe the Sabres pose a real issue to whoever they end up drawing in the first round."
Scott Burnside went on to pick the Rangers for much the same reasons as LeBrun picked the Sabres, though they don't have quite the offense Buffalo does. Nevertheless, with Henrik Lundqvist and his 11 shutouts they have as good a chance as anybody to ride a hot goaltender to a few upsets. Burnside also chose Chicago as his higher seed in the West that could look to be an upset pick.