Round #3

And then there was four...

The absolute shock that has been the East, and the expected match up in the West create two series with a ton of story lines. In the West, can the Sharks finally win the big one? Or will a Blackhawks team that was built to win a cup come up big? And which team of destiny will come out in the East? (Honestly #7 vs #8, thats ridiculous) Now through 2 rounds, I find myself with a solid 8-4 record in picks (Dammit Montreal and Philly), so here's what we are thinking for the conference finals.

Eastern Conference Final

#7 Philadelphia Flyers vs #8 Montreal Canadiens

The Lowdown- Crap, how did we get here? The fact that a #7 seed has home ice advantage in a conference final is mind boggling at best, but the only one of these two teams of destiny will advance to the finals. On one side, you find the small, tight checking Canadiens who have rode Jaroslav Halak through 2 rounds, and on the other, the big, tough, flyers coming off one of the greatest comebacks of a generation. The edge in this series will be found in size, as the Canadiens have yet to face a team with a legitimate group of tough defencemen. The small Montreal forwards have had their way against the weaker defence corps in Washington and Pittsburgh, but expect Chris Pronger to make sure that doesn't happen. Look for Pronger to throw Mike Cammalleri into the stands at one point in this series.

Pick: Philadelphia in 6

Western Conference Final

#1 San Jose Sharks vs #2 Chicago Blackhawks

The Lowdown: So now that the Sharks have made it this far, the question still rises: Do they have the guts to make the finals? Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski seem to think so, but the question remains to be seen if they can go it against a very deep Chicago backend. When you look at the line ups for these two clubs, you find 2 very comparable teams in the top two lines, but a serious advantage for Chicago in depth. Chicago's third line has Kris Versteeg, San Jose answers with......Manny Malholtra? The only way San Jose wins this series is if Evgeni Nabokov is super human, and it's been a long time since we've seen him that good.

Pick: Chicago in 6

Interesting story lines continue in the Pheonix Coyote ownership saga, rumour has it that the NHL has already created a back up schedule for if the team moves to Winnipeg. Let's GO JETS!