PREVIEW TIME

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League kicks off their 2010 post-season tonight in Quebec City.The Saint John Sea Dogs, the regular season champions, are going to have to prove a large amount of doubters wrong when they begin their journey on Friday night.

Almost every playoff preview we check out, talks about Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Moncton. Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant finally spoke his mind in the Times & Transcript on Wednesday.

"I think we're the favourites, but that's not what you (Neil Hodge) say and everybody else says," said Gallant. "We finished first overall, but everybody says Moncton is a pretty good team also so we'll see."

Here is what several different publications had to say about the Sea Dogs’ playoff chances both in round one and overall.

First, we present what The Checking Line had to say. It was by far the most entertaining to read so click the link to read more.

And thennnnnnnnnnn (in my best Chinese takeout from Dude Where's my Car? accent) whoever emerges from the first round as the top seed overall plays the last seed overall and so on. The lowest-ranking "favourite" is Montreal and the highest is Saint John. Thus, barring upsets, those two would face each other in the second round (and I would be forced to bring my notes and books to the Verdun Auditorium in studying for finals because there's no way I'd miss that).

The aforementioned Sea Dogs took over the league this year with their 22 game winstreak earlier in the year enabling them to sit atop that first seed throne. They form a stable hybrid of youth and veterans, and boast two champions from Drummondville's squad last year in sniper Mike Hoffman, drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round last draft as a 19 year old, and goaltender Marco Cousineau, playoff MVP of 2008-09 and Anaheim Ducks prospect. Workhorse defensemen Yann Sauvé and Simon Després provide an influx of offense in addition to their future-NHLer poise/defensive mad skillz (I know, I sounded almost credible until that point) and European forwards Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Jurco each finished with strong numbers in their rookie campaigns.

The CHL Insider took a look at the top five teams in the Canadian Hockey League, with Saint John coming in the two slot of course.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are breaking new ground this season as the youngest team to win a QMJHL regular season title. In their fifth season in the CHL, the Sea Dogs won 53 games and claimed the QMJHL title with 109 points. They are led offensively by overager forward Mike Hoffman, a native of Kitchener, ON, who helped Drummondville win the QMJHL title and advance to the Memorial Cup last season. Hoffman scored 46 goals and 85 points in 56 games with the Sea Dogs this season. They open the playoffs against the PEI Rocket.

Prohockey News predicts the Sea Dogs to win in five games over the PEI Rocket. Also, Christian Morin is now a goalie?

Looking at the divisional standings, people might say that it won’t be hard battle for the Sea Dogs to win the series over the Rocket. You often hear a head coach say “Games are never won on paper but on the ice. That’s why you never take your opponent for granted.” Fans will reply that “It’s a cliché; all head coaches will say the same thing.” But when you look at the numbers between these two teams, you have to give a slight advantage to Saint John. The number of points separating the two teams in the divisional standings was 102-78 in favor of Saint John. The series between the two teams (8 games) ended in favor of the Sea Dogs 5-3. Special teams usually play an important role in order for a team to win a series. The Saint John power play is fifth at 24.3 percent while Prince Edwards Island is tenth at 19.6. On the penalty kill, Prince Edwards Island ended with 81.0, Saint John Sea Dogs 78.8, advantage Rockets.

Goaltending is another aspect of the game that has a great influence on the final result. In Saint John, Karel St.Laurent and Marco Cousineau (who began the season with PEI) and Christian Morin form the trios of netminders for the Sea Dogs. Cousineau (2.82 GAA and a .910 save percentage) will certainly be the one who will see all of the action in the playoffs if he isn’t injured. The Anaheim Ducks prospect played a key role in Drummondville last year helping the Voltigeurs to win the Presidents Cup and represented the QMJHL at the 2009 Memorial Cup. The task of trying to stop the puck for the Rockets will belong to Wendell Vye or Evan Mosher. Vye, who began the year in Moncton with the Wildcats, had a combined GAA of 2.41 and a save percentage of .928. Evan Mosher ended with a GAA of 3.13 and a .908 saving percentage. Offensively, the Sea Dogs can count on some very talented players. Mike Hoffman is the offensive leader with 85 points in 56 games (46 goals), followed by Michael Kirkpatrick (83 points in 67 games) and Nicholas Petersen (79 points in 59 games). Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Jurco, both rookies, played very well for head coach Gerard Gallant. On defense, Yan Sauvé (drafted by Vancouver Canucks 41st overall in 2008), Simon Despres (drafted by Pittsburgh 30th overall in 2009), and Nathan Beaulieu are the main guys the will be counted on to lunch the offence from the defense.

On Prince Edwards Island Rocket side of the ice, Vye will have to be the key between the pipes. The defense will have to play their best hockey and guys who are usually the team leaders will have to be at their best.

Prediction: Some fans might bet their money that PEI could possibly cause an upset, but I’m not one of them. Bet on the Saint John Sea Dogs in five.

Canadian Press CHL reporter and our Twitter friend John Chidley Hill likes the Voltigeurs.

For starters, I really like the chances of the Drummondville Voltigeurs to win the President’s Cup and represent the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They’ve won 16 straight behind the incredible goaltending of Jake Allen. Although he did not look strong in the World Junior Championship final for Canada, Allen is arguably still the best goaltender in Canadian junior hockey today.