Congratulations to the Ducks on finally winning a Game 7! And at home no less! Congratulations to the NHL on avoiding that Senators-Oilers Final I'm sure you were dreading! Congratulations to the Predators on your first-ever Conference Final appearance! And congratulations to the Penguins on knocking out the President's Trophy winners yet again!
Notice I didn't congratulate the Senators on "winning" their series. That's because I still haven't figured out how they did. The Rangers were the better team in four (maybe even five) of those six games. They gave away two games at the end, but all credit to Ottawa for taking advantage. There probably aren't many people who expected to see the Senators four wins away from playing for the Cup, yet here they are. Beating Pittsburgh will be a daunting challenge, though.
I actually thought for a second that the Penguins might find a way to blow that 3-1 lead against the Capitals. Especially with how inspired Washington came out in Game 6. Then the Penguins played like the Penguins in Game 7, and the Capitals once again came up short of the Eastern Conference Final. And now Pittsburgh becomes the overwhelming favorite to become the first team to win consecutive Cups since the 1997-98 Red Wings.
That's not to say Pittsburgh is unbeatable, though. Sidney Crosby's health is always a question, especially after he missed Game 4 of the Washington series with another concussion. And their goaltending will continue to be suspect as long as Marc-Andre Fleury is around. But they're also the best offensive team around, and they're perfectly capable of outscoring you.
There's not really much I can point to as an area where Ottawa has the advantage over Pittsburgh. Yes, they have one of the best defensemen in the game in Erik Karlsson. But Karlsson played Duncan Keith-like minutes in the first two rounds, and he definitely looked injured towards the end of the Rangers series. Can he continue to play half the game and effectively take out the other team's best player? Problem with playing Pittsburgh is that even if he does that, the Penguins have too many offensive weapons. Karlsson can't stop them all.
Can Ottawa steal a game or two? Sure. After all, they got outplayed by the Rangers for a vast majority of the last series. But they managed to hang around before striking at the end, including those two overtime winners in Ottawa. So I won't say this will be a Penguins sweep. I just don't see a way the Senators beat them four times, though. Pittsburgh in six.
Out west, however, that's going to be a great series. Just like it was last year, when the Predators handed the Ducks one of their trademarked Game 7 home losses. And both of these teams are better than they were last season, as well as the two most impressive clubs so far in the playoffs.
Unlike the Pittsburgh-Ottawa series, I'd be very surprised if this one didn't go the distance. There just isn't that much separating the Ducks and Predators. It's why they were both popular Stanley Cup picks in the preseason. And, frankly, either one will give the Penguins a run for their money in the Final.
So which one will it be? Well, the Predators are by far the hottest team. They're firing on all cylinders right now, and Pekka Rinne is getting hot at just the right time. In fact, all of the Predators are. One of the keys to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they always say, is just getting in. Nashville's certainly proving that. Because there's no way this is the eighth-best team in the Western Conference.
Anaheim might be the best team out West, though. The Ducks have been teetering on the brink for the last couple years, yet have always found a way to screw things up. Is this the year things will be different? Well, after that crazy comeback from 3-0 down with like five minutes left in Game 5 against Edmonton, you've gotta think it might be. This year's Ducks aren't doing the things that have cost them dearly in the past. They look like a team on a mission.
It really could go either way. I don't see much of a difference between these two teams at all. Anaheim's strength is its scoring ability, while Nashville relies on its outstanding defense and goaltending. The Predators have gotten out to a bunch of early leads this postseason, allowing them to dictate play. Anaheim has shown an incredible ability to come from behind, though. This series could easily go back-and-forth, which is where the Ducks' home ice advantage might come into play.
Except Game 7 in Anaheim is clearly not an issue for the Predators. They showed that last year. And I think Pekka Rinne's going to be the X-factor in this series. He'll steal at least one game for Nashville. He's the reason I give the Predators the edge. Nashville keeps its incredible season going and plays in its first Stanley Cup Final. Predators in seven.
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