Now that the Conference Finals are set, we can go ahead with our predictions and a brief preview of the two series. Devin will have his picks tomorrow and will give an update to the current standings in our ongoing contest as well. Let's get started with the West, so I can stay in a good mood for a least a few more minutes.

Western Conference Finals:
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks

The West is going to be determined by a battle of Original 6 teams that both have long and storied histories in the NHL. Detroit has 11 Stanley Cups to their credit and they are also the defending champions. They come into this matchup after defeating the Anaheim Ducks in a 7 game series, which saw a bit of a back and forth struggle as the Wings took games 1, 4, 5, and 7. 5 of the 7 games were decided by just one goal, including a 3 OT thriller that Anaheim took in the 2nd game of the series. Detroit was certainly tested at a much higher level in this series than they were in the 1st round against Columbus who was dispatched in a hurry. Chris Osgood was the question mark entering the post season for Detroit, but he's proven why he has multiple Cup wins under his belt.

Thus far, Osgood has allowed just 2.06 goals per game and has a save percentage of .921. While Johan Hiller was able to shut down the mighty Detroit offense in a few games, they still managed to average just over 3 goals per game for the series. Johan Franzen has lead the way offensively for Detroit thus far with 8 goals in the postseason and "The Mule" also has 7 assists to give him a team leading 15 points. Henrik Zetterburg is right behind him however with 14 points. Add in the best defensemen in the league in Nick Lidstrom who has contributed 11 points and a team leading 26+ minutes per game in ice time and you can see how it's tough to slow down the Detroit Offense. It will be Osgood who is once again the key for the Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals however, as he faces a Chicago team who has dynamite in the offensive department.

Chicago finished 2nd in their division to Detroit and while extremely young and inexperienced, has proven they belong in this postseason. Offensive firepower has definitely been the name of the game for the Blackhawks as they've taken out both Calgary and Vancouver in 6 games each, dashing any chances for a Western Canada Cup celebration. Many, myself included, expected Roberto Luongo to shut down Chicago and send them to the golf course, but instead, the youthful Blackhawk squad lit Luongo up like the 4th of July. They scored just under 4 goals per game in the series, including 6 in game 2 and 7 in game 4.

Their progress in this postseason marks a resurgence for the Chicago Blackhawks, who have finally broken out of one of the darkest periods in the team's history. A team who dominated their division throughout the 70s, Chicago had made the playoffs for an incredible 28 straight years until 1998. Since that time, other than a quick first round exit in 2002, the Blackhawks have been mired in obscurity. Sadly, it took the death of long time owner Bill Wirtz in 2007 to change around the fortunes of the team. Rocky Wirtz, son of Bill, took over the team and immediately began changing much of how things were ran. The Blackhawks were put back on a local TV station, they changed up the front office and made great draft picks along with some splashes via free agency and trades.

It's worked out well for the team as they've built a very solid team, which is still very young and could have quite an amazing run in front of them. At this point, anything the Blackhawks accomplish this year is just icing on the cake, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt their feelings to have a chance at their first Stanley Cup since 1961, the longest current drought in the NHL. If they are to get that opportunity, it will likely be the offense that has to continue to carry them. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin hasn't been exactly stellar so far in the playoffs, with a 2.76 GAA and a .896 save percentage. The scoring has come from everywhere though, as 4 Chicago players have double digit points so far, and 4 more have chimed in with 9 in the playoffs. Martin Havlat leads the way at 13 points, and Patrick Kane is right behind him with 12, including a team leading 8 goals.

These teams are certainly familiar with one another, as they are both members of the Central Division. Chicago won both games of a home and home series to finish the season, but dropped the other 4 matchups against Detroit on the season. The first 2 of those games were decided in a shootout however. The Red Wings 2 regulation wins were also a part of a home and home, the 2nd of which was the New Year's Day Winter Classic played at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The best bet for Chicago is going to be to try and win in shootouts, scoring as much as possible against Detroit. I don't think their defense or goaltending is built to try and shut down the Red Wings attack and trying to do so might prove futile. Detroit has the ability to crack down a little more defensively when they need to, but that will be quite the challenge as well considering what Chicago has proven themselves capable of. At any rate, suffice it to say I expect some high scoring games throughout this series.

In the end, one of the major keys could be penalties, as Chicago can not afford to allow Detroit's Power Play unit to go to work, they've been amongst the top in the league all year long and have too many weapons to hope to stop if the Blackhawks continuously find themselves in the box. I'm a big fan of how Chicago has gone about rebuilding their franchise and I think they will be the team to deal with over the next few years, but I'm afraid this is the end of the line this season. Detroit will head to yet another Stanley Cup Final in my opinion.

Detroit in 6 Games

Eastern Conference Finals:
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes

I suppose I have to talk about this series too, though it pains me to do so. I think it's been made abundantly clear by now that I do not like either of these teams at all. I guess that makes it easier to talk about this series objectively however since I have no real bias from one to the other, as I hate them both. Pittsburgh looks to make a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals after last year's quick dismissal by Detroit, while Carolina, back in the playoffs for the first time since winning the Cup in 2006, looks to keep it's amazing string of come from behind victories going.

The Penguins head in to the conference finals after taking out the Washington Capitals in a 7 game battle which saw 5 of the games decided by a single goal, including 3 overtime games. In game 7 however, the team from Pittsburgh would not be denied as they stomped the Caps, 7-2. Sidney Crosby earned at least some of his reputation in the series as he put up 8 goals and 5 assists through the 7 games. Crosby has 21 points to lead all players in the postseason thus far, and Evgeni Malkin is right behind him with 19. The two have also combined for 17 points on the powerplay so far in the playoffs, with a combined 9 goals. Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid, but not spectacular so far with a 2.72 GAA and a .901 save percentage. The Pens will need him to step up his game against Carolina in order to move on.

Carolina must have went to magician's school sometime in the last year as they have managed to pull one rabbit out of a hat right after another. They also seem to have a supply of horseshoes stuck somewhere, but I'll stop short of actually saying where I think they might be stashing them. For the second straight series, Carolina managed to win a 7th game on the road to knock off a higher seed, ousting Boston with just over a minute left to go in overtime. This series was much unlike the Pittsburgh/Washington one in the fact that both teams essentially traded easy victories for the most part, excluding Game 7 of course, as well as Game 3, which Carolina also won in OT. Just days after sucker punching Boston Defensemen Aaron Ward in the eye, Scott Walker became the hero for the Hurricanes as he scored the game winner in Game 7. As Devin mentioned to me, I think it would have been fitting if Ward decked Walker in the post series handshake line for good measure.

The key to Carolina's success lies with goalie Cam Ward. A former Conn Smythe winner, he has a tendency to show up big in big games. Thus far in the playoffs, he has allowed 2.22 goals per game and has a save percentage of .927. Carolina does not have the firepower that the other 3 remaining playoff teams can muster and instead relies on Ward to keep the game close while they manage to score goals at clutch times. Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen have provided the majority of the Hurricanes scoring with 13 and 10 points respectively. Staal has scored 9 goals thus far, while Jokinen has added 6. The Canes are only averaging 2.37 goals a game, and they figure to need more than that to keep up with Pittsburgh.

The obvious question that presents itself when looking at this series is who is going to stop Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The answer for Carolina is that Cam Ward is the only one with any chance, and that's probably too much to put on him. The Hurricanes lack any real shut down defenders who will have the ability to deal with those two, and they also don't have the offense to keep up with them. Pittsburgh has been quite successful on the power play so far in the playoffs as well, largely due to those same two guys, however Carolina has a fantastic penalty kill and tends to stay out of the box for the most part to begin with.

Conversely, Carolina has scored only 5 times on the power play so far in the playoffs and that won't get them too far. At the end of the day, Carolina's luck has to run out at some point and I think this is the time. Pittsburgh just has far more skill on the ice than Carolina at any given point in time and the Hurricanes best player is going to get bombarded with pucks flying at him. The Penguins have a tendency for let downs here and there, and Carolina has proved themselves to be gritty and determined... nice compliments to luck, so the series will stay competitive, but ultimately the skill prevails.

Pittsburgh in 7 games.