Conference Finals, Who Would Have Guessed?

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you all are enjoying this years playoffs, I know I am. Thanks to Montreal and San Jose we are guaranteed a new match up for the cup this year. The playoffs have been wild though to say the least, especially the second round. Who would have guessed, aside from fans of the respected teams, that the Habs would knock off the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the same fashion as the Presidents Trophy winning Washington Capitals? Who would have guessed that the Boston Bruins would lose their series against the Philadelphia Flyers after being up 3-0 in the series, and 3-0 in game seven?

You couldn't write this script even if you tried.

On the western side of the fence things shaped up as they should have based on regular season standings. The #1 and #2 seed will battle for the right to go to the cup final. The Hawks goaltending has held up and Antti Niemi is doing an admirable job, but this is the series that will make or break Chicago's young netminder.

I am not going to recap last round, because well, my predictions were off. Can you blame me though? At least I called the Boston vs Philly series, that counts for something. SSH went 1-

For what it's worth, here are SSH's predictions for the Conference Finals.

Eastern Conference Final

#8 Montreal Canadiens vs #7 Philadelphia Flyers.

Old time hockey makes an appearance in the Eastern finals this year. This series is going to be a good one, but in the end the Habs will walk away the winners. The Canadiens have turned into a shutdown team with a no named defense, and if these no names can shut down Ovechkin and Crosby they should be able to shut down Richards and Co.

Montreal wins the series 4-2.

Western Conference Final

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs #1 San Jose Sharks

The two power houses in the West battle for their shut at the cup. The San Jose Sharks are loaded on offense skill in both their forwards and defense while the Hawks are a more balanced team with the better defense. This series will go the distance, but in the end Antti Niemi will prove he is strong enough to carry his team to the promise land.

Chicago wins the series 4-3.

I hope everyone enjoys the games. If anyone has any comments or questions you can post them on SSH's facebook page or E-mail me at SunStateHockey@hotmail.com