The Conference Semi-Finals proved us with some great action going from a shocking sweep to a near miraculous 3-0 rally. The Tampa Bay Lightning swept the Washington Capitals, which sent the title of chokers from the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks over the Caps who continue to disappoint the fan base. Meanwhile the Boston Bruins just went ahead and beat down the Flyers causing the Flyers to yank Brian Boucher twice and start Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 4. The Vancouver Canucks had their hands full with the Nashville Predators but disposed of them in 6 even after losing their green men who are fan favorites in Vancouver. And the last series to wrap up saw the San Jose Sharks jump out to a 3-0 lead on Detroit, only to choke that lead away and see the series even up 3-3 and give us a Game 7. The Sharks almost became the all-time choke artists of the playoffs but ended up squeaking past the Red Wings in a thrilling Game 7.
Quick recap to catch you up, I'm now 11-1 on my predictions with Washington over Tampa as my lone screw up and I still have both my of my finalists in the running. I've also predicted six of the 12 series down to the very game they'd end, high five! Now let's breakdown these Conference Finals.
Eastern Conference Finals
3. Boston Bruins v 5. Tampa Bay Lightning - The Bruins are fresh off their dominance of the Philadelphia Flyers and moving on to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boston went 3-1 against Tampa in the regular season winning both games at home and splitting on the road. Tim Thomas shook off a rough first round and rebounded into the Vezina winner he'll likely be, which is good news for the Bruins. The only bit of bad news for Boston is that center Patrice Bergeron is likely out for the series if not the remainder of the playoffs due to a concussion he suffered in Game 4. 19-year old rookie Tyler Seguin will likely take his spot in the lineup.
Never would I have thought that Tampa would sweep the Capitals but that's exactly what they did. They did it with great and timely goaltending and having an equal scoring balance while still converting on the power play (4 for 18, 22%). Martin St. Louis is playing like a Conn Smythe candidate and Vinny Lecavalier have provided the spark for Tampa. However, guys like Steve Downie (12 points, 10 assists), Sean Bergenheim (7 goals) and Teddy Purcell (11 points, 10 assists) have really stepped up. They'll need to continue at this rate if Tampa hopes to make it to the Stanley Cup. The main concern for the Tampa is if their 41-year old goalie, Dwayne Roloson can avoid getting rusty during the time off.
Boston moves on in 6 games.
Western Conference Finals
1. Vancouver Canucks v 2. San Jose Sharks - The Canucks find themselves in the Conference Finals for the first time since 1994, this time their not led by a Russian Rocket but rather Swedish twins and an American firecracker. There's no secret that the Sedins are the best players on the Canucks, Daniel (6 goals, 4 assists) and Henrik (1 goal, 8 assists) but they're both a -8 this year in the playoffs. Ryan Kesler has been a difference maker for the Canucks, scoring 5 goals with 10 assists and is a +6. Not only does he score but he hits and gets under people's skin to the point of drawing penalties. Roberto Luongo seems to have put his shaky first round performance behind him and there's no word on Mikael Samuelsson who was injured in Game 5 and didn't play in Game 6.
The Sharks are coming off a draining seven game series which almost saw them choke a 3-0 lead off. Antti Niemi kept the Sharks in every game in the Detroit series and was a huge reason for their advancement. Devin Setoguchi had 5 goals last series and Logan Couture seemed to score a big goal when needed for the Sharks. Two pieces of good news for the Sharks, Joe Thornton found ways to be productive even when he wasn't on the score sheet and Patrick Marleau finally showed up, it only took Jeremy Roenick calling him out to do so. The Sharks need to remain physical if they hope to advance to their first Stanley Cup final ever.
Sharks top the Canucks in 7.
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