2009 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Conference Finals

Well I was 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. But at least I called the Caps/Pens series going to 7 games and who saw the Canes outlasting the mighty Bruins in their second 7 game series in a row? The NHL has to be excited that their superstars shined in the big spotlight and the series lived up to all of the hype. Even though I picked the Caps to win, I'm not surprised at all that the Pens are moving on because as Mark put it shortly after the embarrassing performance by the Caps in Game 7, "Man, what a dud. But c'mon, the better team won the series." OV now has to go to the LeBron school of team-building and instead of trying to carry this team on his back for 4 rounds in the playoffs, learn to use his teammates and create an atmosphere where the other talent around him wants to raise their game to another level. 

Now onto my Eastern Conference Finals predictions:

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Carolina Hurricanes

All of the headlines leading into this series are about the Staal brothers going head-to-head with younger defensive minded Jordan shadowing the offensive powerhouse in Eric. Every time I've seen Eric play in person it's obvious that he is the most talented player on the ice. Things will be a little different in this series as the two-headed monster down the middle known as Sid and Gino. I'm sure Carolina has a ton of confidence after knocking out the first place Bruins but I just don't see how they are going to be able to handle the deeper and more talented Penguins. Cam Ward better be ready to face a lot of shots but he's shown he has the ability to keep Carolina in many games throughout his playoff career. In the end though I think Pittsburgh feels it's their destiny to meet the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals to avenge last years loss. 

Pens in 6

The NHL struck gold twice during the 2009 Playoffs as this is the best match-up they could've asked for coming out of the West. Two original six teams with Chicago being relevant again in the league after years of being the embarrassment of the league and the Detroit Red Wings proving once again that they are the closest thing to a dynasty this league has seen since the Oilers in the 80's. 

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings

This prediction is a little late due to the fact that the Red Wings took Game 1 yesterday in Detroit but the result didn't do much to change my opinion on how this series is going to play out. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Red Wings are too deep at forward while doing such a great job at possessing the puck and scoring timely goals. They just seem to find guys like Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson who fit well into their system and succeed. The only hope for Chicago is for Khabibulin to stand on his head and not give up soft goals like he did multiple times yesterday(See Cleary's first goal and Franzen's wrap around goal). They're not going to be able to rely on Kane and Toews the entire series in terms of offensive play and need secondary scoring from guys like Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien.  After all is said and done the Red Wings will remain victorious and Marian Hossa will get a shot at playing for another Stanley Cup vs. his former team. 

Red Wings in 5