CONFERENCE FINALS PREDICTIONS

I'm predicting that this season's Stanley Cup Final will be a rematch of last season with the Detroit Red Wings facing the Pittsburgh Penguins.


Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks

The Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, so it's hard to bet against them. Chicago is still a young team without much playoff experience. The Hawks have had a great season considering they haven't made the playoffs for years and this experience will help them be even better in next year's playoffs.


Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Carolina Hurricane

Pittsburgh is probably the most Cup-hungry team in the playoffs. After losing in the Stanley Cup finals last season the team displayed severe disappointment but kept a positive attitude that they would return to the finals again. One great story in this match-up will be brothers Jordan and Eric Staal playing against each other in the series. They'll be seeing a lot of ice-time against each other as Jordan centers the Pens checking line and is normally matched-up against the opposing team's top line, which Eric will be centering. Another interesting fact is that Cam Ward has never lost an NHL playoff series. He's now won 6 series in a row in his NHL career and won the Conn Smythe as Playoff MVP as well as the Stanley Cup in 2006.