• San Jose wins the series four games to three.

{{:NHL Western Conference Bracket}}

• Regular Season Records (W-L-OTL): San Jose 49-23-10, 108 points; Calgary 42-30-10, 94 points
• Leading Scorers (G-A-PTS): San Jose, Joe Thornton 29-67-96; Calgary, Jarome Iginla 50-48-98
• {{credit|jon m}} - Crief:
  • The Sharks finished the season as the hottest team in the league, going 20 consecutive games without a regulation loss (winning 18 of those outright) before finally losing two games the final weekend with nothing on the line. This upswing in play can be directly correlated to the trade deadline acquisition of defenseman Brian Campbell from Buffalo. Not only did the power play efficiency increase, but so did the Sharks ability to kill penalties as well. San Jose's best player is former league MVP Joe Thornton, but the Sharks feature balanced scoring up front, and have bought into coach Ron Wilson. In the past, the goaltending has been outstanding during the regular season, but come up short in the playoffs. So the pressure is squarely on the diminutive shoulders of likely Vezina Trophy winner Evgeni Nabokov to show up in a big spot if the Sharks are to succeed. Look for one last playoff burst from Jeremy Roenick. For the Flames, they have perrennial 50-goal scorer Jarome Iginla, hard-hitting defenseman Dion Phaneuf, and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who has led the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals before. If the Flames are to pull the first round upset, they must limit San Jose's power play chances, dominate control of the puck by controlling face-offs (Craig Conroy would help tremendously here), and play smothering defense in their own zone. Alex Tanguay hasn't been the player Calgary thought they were acquiring from Colorado a few years ago - he must step forward in this series for the Flames to have a legitimate shot at winning this series.