Frozen Four...NHL Style

The underdog stories in the East playoffs continued while the two best teams out West moved onto the Western Finals. Goalie play and shutdown defense were certainly the story of the last round as well as the first round. The Canadiens not only have knocked out Alex Ovechekin, but now have sent home Sidney Crosby and the defending champion Penguins. The Flyers might not have the greatest goalie and a healthy line up, but they not only beat the Bruins, but made history coming back from down 3-0. The Sharks and Blackhawks were able to outlast the Red Wings and Canucks, respectively. San Jose was especially good as they demonstrated a killer extinct in nearly sweeping Detroit. Now it is time to battle for the right to play for the Stanley Cup. Overall, my predictions have me at 8-4. Not too bad considering some of the surprising results as all series went at least six games.

Eastern Conference Finals
7 Philadelphia Flyers v 8 Montreal Canadiens: It's not every year that the Number 7 seed gets to host a Conference Finals. However, in the Eastern playoffs this year, the seeding has meant next to nothing. The Flyers overcame injuries to oust the Devils in 5 and then fell down 3-0 to the Bruins before the Bruins forced a Game 7, where they fell down by 3 early and battled back to win the game 4-3 and the series 4-3. Almost fitting. They became only the third NHL team to come back from such a deficit. The legend of Jaroslav Halak for the Canadiens continues as the team forced another Game 7 against a better team and won in impressive fashion to move on to the Conference Finals. Halak is the better goalie in this one, but will be challenged by a persistent squad. I think the Canadiens will push the Flyers to the limit, but Philadelphia will have enough and their goalie play has been above its expectations. PICK: FLYERS (in 6)


Western Conference Finals
1 San Jose Sharks v 2 Chicago Blackhawks: The Sharks and Blackhawks both struggled a bit at times in the first round, but they stepped up their play in the last round. The Sharks showed something extra taking it to the Red Wings while the Blackhawks battled off a very tough Canucks team. I see this one being a close battle between the two best teams in the West. The Sharks have shown they can play on a big stage, but will they have enough to shut down a young and diverse Chicago team. I think Chicago has too much for the Sharks in the end. PICK: BLACKHAWKS (in 6)

These Conference Finals should continue the playoff excitement of the first two rounds and it looks like the Flyers and Blackhawks seemed poised for a Stanley Cup matchup. Not exactly the matchup that many would have foreseen over a month ago. Let the NHL's Frozen Four begin.