Interesting little tidbit about the NHL's conference finals: the four remaining teams are the last four Stanley Cup Champions. The Penguins won in 2009, the Blackhawks in 2010, the Bruins in 2011 and the Kings last year. That hasn't happened since 1945. So, it should come as minimal surprise that these are the last four teams standing. Especially since Pittsburgh and Chicago were far-and-away the two best teams in the league this season, Boston's the only team in the East capable of beating Pittsburgh, and LA won the Cup last year.
The matchup in the East is really not surprising. Before the playoffs started, I figured this would be a Boston-Pittsburgh matchup. And it's an intriguing one at that. Both of these teams proved their dominance in the conference semis. The Rangers and Senators were completely overmatched. This series should be a different story, though. I think the Penguins-Bruins matchup is a very even one. It could easily come down to the little things that make the difference.
Boston's fourth line absolutely dominated the Rangers. That's the main reason why the Bruins won. And that defense, which included three rookies. It's crazy to think that as important as those three were in the conference semis, they might not even play as Boston's regular defensemen are all set to return against Pittsburgh. I wonder how much that'll effect the unit's chemistry, though. Even so, are they up to the challenge against the best offense in the NHL? It's safe to say that the Penguins are much better offensively than the Rangers are.
If defense is Boston's strength, it was Pittsburgh's Achilles heel against the Islanders. But ever since they straightened out their goalie situation by going from the struggling Marc-Andre Fleury to Thomas Vokoun, the Penguins have gone back to being the same dominant team they were during the regular season. It's a great battle of strength against strength. If the Bruins are able to slow down Pittsburgh's high-powered attack, I really like their chances. This series also promises to be physical. Seeing as Zdeno Chara is about nine feet tall on ice skates, I give the advantage there to Boston as well. The Penguins like to beat you with finesse.
I can't move on to the West before looking at some of the more intriguing individual players. The Bruins thought they were getting Jarome Iginla at the trade deadline, but he decided to go to Pittsburgh instead. And he's been incredible for the Penguins in the postseason. Boston's big deadline deal acquisition was Jaromir Jagr. They beat Toronto and the Rangers without getting much of a contribution from the future Hall of Famer. They need him to be Jaromir Jagr and make that offense deeper if they have any hope of advancing. Of course, Jagr started his career in Pittsburgh, playing on those two Penguin Stanley Cup teams in the early 90s, when they beat the Bruins in the conference finals twice. Yeah, I think he'll be booed in Pittsburgh.
Out west, we got a thrilling final chapter in the Blackhawks-Red Wings rivalry. Nothing like Game 7 playoff overtime. Ultimately, the better team prevailed. The same can be said about the all-California series, where the Kings had home ice in the postseason for the first time since 1992 and took full advantage. The home team won every game in that series. That road magic the Kings rode to the Cup last season has suddenly vanished. Winning a game in Chicago's going to be difficult, but LA has to in order to become the first team to go to back-to-back Finals since the Penguins and Red Wings played each other in 2007 and 2008, as well as to become the first post-lockout (1.0) repeat champion.
I've been very impressed with the Los Angeles Kings throughout the playoffs. Maybe even more than last year. This year, everybody knows how good they are. They aren't surprising anyone. Yet they keep winning. Six straight series (five of them as the lower seed) and counting. Jonathan Quick is a freak of nature. Ryan Miller's hold on Olympic starter might not be that firm after all. The Kings are a better team than their Cup winner from a year ago. But the problem is they're not as good as Chicago.
Against the Red Wings, the Blackhawks had their backs against the wall for the first time all season. And they responded by winning three straight after going down 3-1 in the series. Game 5 was a blowout, but they scored three in the third to overcome a one-goal deficit and win Game 6, 4-3, before clinching it in overtime. Somewhat overlooked about that series was how well both teams played defensively. The losing team only scored one goal in five of the seven games, and the Red Wings had a 2-0 shutout in Game 4.
Overcoming the Red Wings was an incredible show of resilience by Chicago. The Kings are making a run that's very similar to the one they last year. They don't score a lot, though. Only 26 goals in 13 playoff games. Goals will probably be hard to come by in this series, too. So far, Quick has played like he wants another Conn Smythe Trophy. He may need to continue that in order for LA to get back to the Final.
Heading into the playoffs, I said that while I thought they were clearly the two best teams, the Pittsburgh-Chicago Final was far from guaranteed. But we're just four wins by each away from that, in fact, being the matchup. While I think the Blackhawks will have an easier time than the Penguins (the Eastern Conference Final should be a battle), I do expect them to both get it done. I'm saying Pittsburgh in seven and Chicago in six.
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