What a 2nd round, something that happened last year that certainly didn't happen this year was the drop in play from the 1st round to the 2nd round. The 2nd round was great, in particular the 2 West series that went to 7 games. We are left with 4 teams remaining, and they just happen to be the last 4 Stanley Cup Champs (PIT in 2009, CHI in 2010, BOS in 2011 and LA in 2012). In my opinion these are the 4 best teams in the NHL, and it will make for 2 amazing series leading to the Stanley Cup. A very exciting time for hockey fans, with that being said here we go with my preview and predictions
Eastern Conference Finals:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 4. Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh won the season series 3-0-0
Players to Watch: PIT - Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jarome Iginla, James Neal. BOS - David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, Jaromir Jagr, Torey Krug
X-Factor - PIT - Sidney Crosby. BOS - Patrice Bergeron
Notes - I am so excited for this series for so many reasons, and the first being the Jarome Iginla vs. Jaromir Jagr storyline. The Bruins feel cheated from Iggy snubbing them, and the Penguins feel cheated from Jagr choosing Philadelphia last season, so the spotlight will be on both players. There are so many important matchups in this series, Crosby vs. Bergeron, Malkin vs. Krejci, Vokoun vs. Rask, Chara vs. all of Pittsburghs stars, etc. I think this is going to be a very close series, it could go either way depending on who produces. I think it will be a high scoring series as well, lots of firepower (top 6 scorers in the playoffs in this series) on both sides. The obvious favourite is the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team that most people had going to the Cup and its okay to think that. However, I think it is going to be a lot closer then people think. The Boston Bruins are a big, strong team and they are gonna crash the crease very hard in this series. The Penguins have beat 2 smaller teams in New York and Ottawa, and now will have a lot tougher task dealing with Bostons power on the cycle (in particular the Krejci-Lucic-Horton line and the Jagr-Bergeron-Marchand line). The Bruins are going to need scoring from all 4 lines to beat the high-scoring Penguins, and this is where the 4th line of Thornton-Campbell-Paille will come to their advantage. The Bruins will also need a big contribution from their D, as I fully expect both Chara and Krug to get some big points in this series. Overall I think this is going to be a fantastic series
Prediction - It is so hard to bet against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, however I believe in the strength of this Boston Bruins team and think they are capable of returning to the Stanley Cup
(BRUINS IN 6)
Western Conference Finals:
Chicago won the season series 2-1-0
Players to Watch: CHI - Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Corey Crawford, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa. LAK - Jon Quick, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown
X-Factor - CHI - Jonathan Toews. LAK - Jon Quick
Notes - This series has the qualities to be a fantastic series, with the Defending Champs back in the Western Conference Finals facing the 2010 Champs. The Kings got to this point beating the Blues in 6 and Sharks in 7, while the Blackhawks got here by beating the Wild in 5 and the Red Wings in 7. It is going to be really tough for each team to overpower one another, I think this is a completely even series that is going to be very close. For the Hawks to win they need Corew Crawford to continue his stellar play, as well as they need their stars Toews, Kane, Hossa and Sharp plus their supporting cast to try and beat Jon Quick. Both the Blues and Sharks had a lot of trouble beating Quick in the playoffs, in fact since last Playoffs he has been the best goalie in the Playoffs in both. The Hawks need to crash the crease and get as much traffic in front of Quick as they can, having home ice advantage will play in their favour. For the Kings to win the obvious fact is Jon Quick will need to continue his stellar play, and I think that is expected at this point. They will also need their top 2 lines to get going, as Kopitar-Williams-Brown and Carter-Richards-Penner haven't been as dominant as they were last playoffs but they have been big in clutch situations. The Kings will also need their D to pitch in as much as they can, I look to Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov to provide a boost from the back-end. Overall I think this is going to be a fantastic series, and really either team can win.
Prediction - This series could go either way, but I think the Defending Champs are too good the way Jon Quick is playing and they are on their way back to the Stanley Cup Finals
(KINGS IN 7)
That leaves the Stanley Cup Finals as the Boston Bruins vs. the Los Angeles Kings, the battle of the last 2 Stanley Cup Champs. The obvious prediction is Pittsburgh vs. Chicago, so I am going agaisnt that to try and see if both #1 seeds will lose (however if it is CHI-PIT I won't be surprised). I picked Boston in 7 despite actually thinking Pittsburgh will win, just want to take a risk. The Conference Finals open Saturday with both series starting, going to be 2 great series leading to the Stanley Cup
-Joel Forman - Stanley Cup Playoffs 2013
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