The Western Conference semifinal between the Avs and the Sharks was a fun series to be part of because it reminded me of the 1980s.There were odd-man breaks, slap shots off the wing, one-timers in the slot and bloated goals-against averages.

	Roy

At the same time, the goaltending was sharp when it had to be and Game 7 was one for the ages.

Patrick Roy got better as the series went along. He wasn't happy with the way the puck was bouncing, how the breaks were going and that the puck kept ending up in the net during at least three of the first five games.

In a must-win Game 6 at San Jose, Roy was terrific. He was making good decisions with the puck and talking assertively to his defenseman when there were breakdowns in front of his net. Early in the game, the puck was bouncing in front of Darius Kasparaitis before it reached Roy. When the play stopped, Roy looked like he was scolding Kasper. I talked to him after the game about it and he said he was "just letting (Kasper) know that he should stay on his side of the ice and do his job, and I'll do my job."

In basic terms, he was being a leader and taking charge. He calmed things down by letting his D know that as long as he can see the puck, he'll stop it. He played a strong game, then followed it up with a terrific Game 7 with all the pressure on him on home ice.

His confidence is staggering. Just before Game 5 in Denver, he stopped me in the hallway leading to the lockerroom. He is such a huge golfer and he knows I am as well. He asked if I was doing their next series against the Red Wings, and if I would be able to play golf between series. He only has the positives in his head. He wasn't saying that "hey, if we lose this series would you stay for a day and we'll play some golf." It is a confidence that trickles through every member of the team.

I thought he was trying to do too much early in the series. He was playing the puck at times when his defense was already in good position to do so. I know he was trying to help, because they only play four defensemen and he thought they would be getting tired if they continued to get run by the physical San Jose forwards. He began to slow things down to give his players some rest instead of keeping the play moving.

The Wings will probably try soft dumps to the left of Roy to see if he will make good decisions with the puck or give it back to them. His decisions were good late in the Sharks series. He did a great job of keeping his upper body erect and took several high shots around the shoulder area. He was also very strong getting to the top of his crease to challenge through traffic. We know that the Wings have guys like Kirk Maltby and Tomas Holmstrom who will get in his face to stir things up. His play is reminding me of last year when he started slowly and gained enough momentum to win the Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Dominik Hasek: Pressure at home
Hasek had to grow an extra layer of skin after the Wings lost the first two games of their first-round series against the Canucks at Joe Louis. That's life as a goalie for the Wings this time of year. But he made some adjustments and since then he is 8-1.

	Hasek

Hasek is at his best when he is sprawling on his back after making the initial save. He single-handedly can change the momentum of a play, let alone a game. The key, though, is making the first save that leads to the snow angel save. He has to take one save at a time and that means making the save off the wing by staying with the puck. Hasek has always been the best at "watching" the puck go directly into his body or glove. Early in the postseason, he took his eye off the puck. It was as if he was taking it for granted that the puck would hit him and that's just not like Hasek.

He is getting better as it goes along, just like his heavyweight counterpart, Patrick Roy.

Hasek also has the tendency to try to do too much with the puck. That can cause more trouble than it's worth for his defensemen and forwards. First of all, he doesn't have much "hockey sense" when it comes to reading the play and playing the puck. He has that sense when it comes to reading a 3-on-2 or a 2-on-1 coming down at him, but not when it comes to playing the puck. Keeping it simple is always the best way to think about it.

When it comes to squaring off against elite shooters, playing the Avs in the Western Conference final will be much different than facing Vancouver and St. Louis in the first two rounds. The Canucks and the Blues have some gifted players, but they won't come at you in waves. Hasek had to contend with Vancouver's Bertuzzi line and St. Louis' Tkachuk line, but those were the only line sgenerating any tough offense for their teams.

The Avs have energy up front as far as their top two lines are concerned. Milan Hejduk is world class, and after missing 20 games to end the regular season, he is full of zest right now. Peter Forsberg is playing as well as I've ever seen him. He's got jump, hands and ambition with the puck. He doesn't want to give it up. When Bob Hartley puts Joe Sakic and Forsberg on the same line, it generates speed on two lines because Alex Tanguay goes to the kid line with Chris Drury and Steve Reinprecht. Hartley calls this a two-headed monster. I don't expect him to do this until late in games if he is behind, or in power play situations. It can provide the element of surprise and he wants to catch the Wings and Hasek off-guard.

Hasek has an advantage playing against the top six forwards because there is a lot of criss-crossing at the blueline to gain the zone and he has faced that many times in his European background. Keep in mind, there is more pressure on a Wings goalie when they start out on home ice. Dom saw that in the Canucks series and it is even more magnified when it's the Wings and the Avs with Roy at the other end of the ice.

Darren Pang, a former goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.