Out west I believe most of the attention has been put on the series between Calgary and Winnipeg and for good reason as those two teams tend to represent the west in the finals as of late. However both Edmonton and Los Angeles have shown they can hang with the giants and both are willing to do what ever is necessary to move on to the second round.
While Los Angeles's top line is significantly more talented TPE wise, the depth of Edmonton on offense, and specifically on defense, give them the edge in this matchup. Through 3 games the difference maker for Edmonton has been their top TPE earner, goaltender Michael McFadden. His most notable performance so far was actually his game 2 loss in overtime as he managed to keep Edmonton relevant despite the Blizzard being significantly out shot. If he can continue to keep Edmonton within 1 or 2 goals against the high flying offense of the Los Angeles Panthers I predict the Edmonton Blizzard will win this series in 6 games at the most.