THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: It’s prediction time … The Blues and Canucks will kick off their seven-game series tonight in Vancouver. What do you see being the key areas in how this series plays out, and who comes out on top?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD

There’s a lot of pressure on the Canucks and virtually none on the Blues. Fans in Vancouver are waiting for the big contract given to Mats Sundin to pay off, they’re waiting for the Sedin twins - Henrik and Daniel - to produce in the playoffs and they’re waiting for Roberto Luongo to prove he’s a goalie that can take them deep into the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Blues aren’t supposed to be here. They aren’t Cinderella . . . instead folks should start calling Cinderella “The Blues.” And yet while they’re underdogs, they were 2-2 against the Canucks in the regular season, and that was with Chris Mason not playing as well as he has shown this season. Mason is 1-3 with a 3.44 goals-against average and an .863 save-percentage against the Canucks this year.

The edge may come in the special teams. The Blues have the No. 3-ranked penalty-kill and the No. 8-ranked power-play in the NHL and those categories will become even more important in the playoffs. If the Blues can play physical, continue to get balanced scoring and Mason can come close to matching Luongo, they can beat the Canucks.

Prediction: Blues in six.

DAN O’NEILL

For the Blues, the key areas will be stopping those darn Sedin twins, pounding on 38-year-old Mats Sundin and scoring ugly goals against elite goaltender Roberto Luongo.

To that end, the Blues have to win the special teams battle. They were better than Vancouver with both the penalty kill and the power play units during the regular season, and that must hold true. Obviously, Chris Mason has to make big saves and bail the team out when the opposition pressures. And it wouldn’t hurt to have Brad Boyes get hot.

For the Canucks, the biggest key is Vlade Divac look-alike Luongo. He has been outstanding since returning from an injury and he can win a series single-handedly. At the same time, Vancouver has to get balanced scoring from its forwards. During the regular season, five different Vancouver players scored 20-or-more goals, with the emerging Alex Burrows scoring 28 to compliment Daniel Sedin’s team-leading total of 31.

Prediction: This is truly a toss-up, but Canucks in seven.

JEFF GORDON

The Blues have tons of momentum coming into this series. Sadly, the Canucks are rolling, too. Vancouver has the edge in goal, with Roberto Luongo, and on defense, where the Canucks are highly skilled. Vancouver also has the home-ice advantage.

So the Canucks ought to win in six games. But . . . I’ve picked against the Blues down the stretch and they kept winning. So maybe this continued negativity is good Karma.

Prediction: Canucks in six.

ROGER HENSLEY

Let’s keep this simple and take the emotion out of it. The Blues are the better team right now. As Bill Parcells is fond of saying, “You are who your record says you are.” And the Blues record since January says they are ready to compete and win this postseason. I say they steal one game in Vancouver and win all three while playing to the crowd at Scottrade. A tall order? Maybe. But using that math it adds up to …

Prediction: Blues in six.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)

Three days ago on the Blues post-game show, right after the 1-0 win in Colorado, a caller asked me if I thought the Blues were going to beat the Canucks. While allowing for a change of heart after a few days of consideration, I said I thought Vancouver would probably win.

Well, I’ve had a change of heart.

The Blues are loose, playing better hockey than anyone in the NHL over the last 40 games - and the last 10 games for that matter - and the weight of the world is on the shoulders of the Canucks. The tension here in Vancouver is palpable. There are questions about key Canucks’ players, like the Sedin Twins and Mats Sundin, and whether or not they’re “playoff tough.”

Plus, Vancouver is Canada’s great hope for the 2009 playoffs. It’s been 16 years since Lord Stanley’s Cup made it’s home in Canada (1992-93 Canadiens) and the pressure is clearly on this Vancouver team. It all adds up to a Blues series win to me.

Prediction: Blues in six.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)

First off, how great is it to once again be breaking down the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Only if my dog didn’t chew up my passport I’d be in Vancouver!

Just because it’s the playoffs doesn’t mean you are forced to change your game. You want to continue to do the things that got you here. Obviously if you see something Vancouver is doing on the PP or PK you may be forced to make an in-game adjustment, but besides that, the Blues don’t need to worry about changing what they do.

It is important however that the Blues get to the Canucks “D” on the forecheck. Vancouver’s D-men are all mobile skaters who have the ability to move the puck quickly. The Blues need to prevent guys like Ohlund, Edler, Bieksa, and Salo from making their usual long stretch passes through the middle of the ice. The Blues will try to make Vancouver go D to D and force them to go up the boards when they are leaving the zone.

My point here is that a strong forecheck will cause problems, create turnovers, and allow St. Louis to spend a lot of time in the offensive zone. My other point is that everything needs to be taken to the net hard. Don’t pass up chances to shoot the puck and it’s important the Blues forwards drive hard and makes things as difficult as possible for Vancouver all-world goaltender Roberto Luongo.

It goes without saying the Blues checkers need to be successful in keeping Vancouver’s top offensive players off the score sheet. This is no different than any other game, but the Jay McClements of the world have an opportunity to create a strong reputation as quality NHL shutdown players.

It’s going to be a long, physical series and the Blues need to make life miserable for the Sedins, Sundins, Keslers, and Demitras of the world. If the Blues can do this they can win the series, and I think they will. It’s critical they get a split in the first two games.

Enjoy the playoffs Everybody.

Prediction: Blues in six.