The Kings are led by a couple of talented youngsters in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, who combined for 95 points. Doughty, in particular, has had an outstanding season and was terrific in the Olympic tournament for Team Canada. Greybeard Sean O'Donnell and the likes of Randy Jones and Rob Scuderi give the Kings a veteran element on defence. Both O'Donnell and Scuderi have Stanley Cup rings. Slight edge to the Kings  EDGE KINGS 

Vancouver's penalty-killing, already hurt by the absence of Willie Mitchell, took another blow late in the season when shot-blocking specialist Ryan Johnson was lost with a foot injury. Los Angeles enters the series without any injuries. Based on that, the Kings have a slight edge.  EDGE KINGS 

“L.A. is young and they don't have a lot of experience," said Canucks defenceman Shane O'Brien. "But you learn as you go and experience will only take you so far. They have a bunch of guys who play hard, finish their hits and play hard. It's not going to be easy. I think it's going to be a physical series and I'm sure they'll be ready to go.”

The Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings haven't faced each other in the playoffs in 17 years, but they engaged in three memorable battles in just over a decade.

Okay, I am obliged to make playoff predictions, so here they are in all their gory glory: Washington over Montreal in 6; Philadelphia over New Jersey in 6; Buffalo over Boston in 7; Pittsburgh over Ottawa in 6; San Jose over Colorado in 6; Chicago over Nashville in 6; Los Angeles over Vancouver in 6; Detroit over Phoenix in 5.

Predictions may be the dumbest thing ever - I mean, if the media was any good at forecasting outcomes, we'd all be living in mansions in Vegas -- but they go with the territory. So there you go…(Ed. note: Gee, thanks Bob...)

"I knew they had been kind of slacking off, and hadn't made the playoffs for a while," said Doughty, the 20-year-old defenceman chosen by the Kings with the No. 2 overall pick in 2008. "It's exciting to be here now, though. It's cool to be a part of bringing it back."

On a line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams to begin the year, Smyth put himself back on the radar for the Olympic team with 23 points in 22 games when he and the Kings jumped out of the starting gate. It wasn't to be, but it was one last push, which gives you an indication of how pumped he's been over the years to put on the Maple Leaf.

Kopitar, who finished the season 17th in NHL scoring with 34-47-81 in 82 games, said he's well aware of what makes Henrik and his linemates -- twin brother Daniel and emerging star Alex Burrows -- so effective.

Expect Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault to get his shutdown pair of Sami Salo and Alex Edler out against Kopitar and linemates Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams as much as possible.

Yet, given all their built-in advantages, and their fans’ waning patience, the Kings did not succumb to quick fixes – building with expensive free agents like the New York Rangers, their big market bookend on the opposite coast, did. That has served the Kings well in the salary cap era, and it’s about to pay dividends. 

Having that firepower is a great security blanket. But the Canucks know they will be flirting with disaster if they don't tighten up on defence when they open their first-round NHL playoff series Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

Big story -- On one side, you have a Canucks team that has plenty of familiarity with the playoffs. With the Kings, it's not lacking, but they're not bursting with it, either. Ryan Smyth and Sean O'Donnell have been there, done that. But for four of the five leading scorers on the Kings -- Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov -- this is their first trip to the postseason. The Kings and Canucks didn't finish far apart in the standings, but experience could be the difference.

One of the biggest questions that continue to swirl around the team has to do with the recent performance of netminder Roberto Luongo, who comes into the playoffs having surrendered 17 combined goals in his final four regular season games.