Conference Finals Preview
Both the Western and Eastern Conference Finals will kickoff on Saturday night.
The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks will start at 5 P.M EST while the puck drops between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins at 8 P.M. The shortened may not have been an accurate depiction of how things would have shaken out during a full length regular season, but the playoffs are still the playoffs. It is no mistake that the last four Stanley Cup Champions are the last four teams remaining in the post-season. The Playoffs are a whole different style of hockey and these teams have proved in the last few years that they have what it takes to win the Cup.
Western Conference – #1 Blackhawks vs. #5 Kings
Chicago and Los Angeles opened the season against each other with the Blackhawks beating the Kings 5-2. Chicago won the season series 2-1 while outscoring the Kings 12-9. Both teams have been led by outstanding goaltending in the first two rounds. Jonathan Quick who won the Conn Smythe last season is putting together another MVP worthy post-season. He has the top ranked GAA (1.50) and SV% (.948) in the playoffs however Corey Crawford is not far behind. Crawford’s 1.70 GAA is second best to Quick and his .938 SV% is third amongst active goaltenders. Special-teams is going to be key in this series. The Blackhawks have been fantastic on the penalty kill in the post-season, killing 97.6% of their penalties. This series is loaded with offensive talent and should be a fun one to watch.
Prediction: Kings win in 7.
Eastern Conference – #1 Penguins vs. #4 Bruins
Pittsburgh swept Boston in the season series 3-0 but all three games were one-goal games. They outscored the Bruins 8-5. The Penguins are absolutely stacked so it is no surprise that they are in the Conference Finals without much of a struggle. After a tough first series vs. the Maple Leafs the Bruins did not have much trouble beating out the Rangers in Round 2. Like all playoff series goaltending is going to be a key factor in who wins this series. However the goaltending matchup in this series is a unique one. Tomas Vokoun came in for Marc-Andre Fleury in the first round and has play admirably. He has posted the third best GAA in the playoffs with a 1.85 while his .941 SV% ranks second. In the other crease we have 26-year-old Tuukka Rask who will play in his first career Conference Final. After waiting in Tim Thomas’ shadow for a few years Rask has finally been given his shot and he has played very well. The Bruins are a good team but the Penguins have too much fire-power. All of the playoffs top four scorers are in this series, but three of them are Penguins. Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have combined for 47 points in Pittsburgh’s 11 playoff games. Not to mention Jarome Iginla has 12 points of his own.
Prediction: Penguins win in 6.