Aeros will lose in six; Constantine has very kind words about Jacques Lemaire

Every year for the Chronicle, I have to do a "How they matchup" graph for the paper before each series starts. This year, in going over all the numbers, I tried to find stats that would make this a clear-cut and easy series to pick. Three vs. Two is never easy, as the team's generally have similar records and stats.

But I hope you have time to read through this (scroll to the bottom) and see why and how I came to the conclusion that the Aeros will only last six games against the red-hot Rivermen. Above the matchup section in the advance about how lousy the Aeros have been at home during the playoffs since they moved to Toyota Center after winning the Calder Cup Finals in 2003.

Also, after last Saturday's 4-2 loss at San Antonio, I asked Constantine if he was prepared to handle any distraction that would go along with he being a candidate for the open head coaching job in Minnesota. He just said he was going to stay on task, but he did open up when I asked him to talk about what he thought Lemaire meant to the Wild organization. Here are the quotes, verbatim:

"In a way, I have been following him for a long time because he was in New Jersey when I was in New Jersey, and then now we are both with Minnesota. Because of that, I have had the chance to be up close and personal with him at least a little bit. We even won an All-Star game together."

"But if you are a coach in this business and you start listing the five greatest coaches of all time, it is pretty easy to throw his name into that group. I think he gave this team, this organization some instant credibility, and it has been very competitive from the very first day. Jacques has a lot to do with that."