We now know who are final four participants are.  Philadelphia was able to complete an improbable comeback versus Boston, not only surviving a 3-0 series deficit, but a 3-0 deficit in Game 7 as well.  Montreal didn’t have it any easier as they defeated what may have been the best two teams in the Eastern Conference in Washington in Pittsburgh.  Chicago seems to be getting better as the playoffs go on.  They were shaky against the Predators in the first round but looked much better in dispatching the Canucks in six games in round two.  San Jose however may be the team to beat as they went through the Red Wings in five games, constantly putting the pressure on Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard.

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia (7) versus Montreal (8)

What were the odds that the Flyers would have home ice advantage in the conference finals?  This is a team that has been decimated by injuries.  Jeff Carter is still likely to miss this series after undergoing foot surgery on April 25; Simon Gagne also suffered a foot injury but was able to return to lineup during the middle of round two.  As for their situation in net, it’s almost a comedy scene.  Their starting goalie, Ray Emery, is out for the season with a hip injury; Brian Boucher takes over the starting job but proves to be unreliable so they sign Leighton who was released by Carolina.  Leighton gets hurt late in the season and Boucher is forced to take over the job once again.  He plays great in the first round of the playoffs versus New Jersey, but then suffers a knee injury versus Boston in the second round.  Leighton takes the job over once again and leads the Flyers to an improbable Game 7 victory and will be between the pipes versus Montreal.  The Canadiens have also led a charmed life in the playoffs.  They dispatch the number one seed in the Capitals in seven games, and then do the same to the high scoring Penguins, also in seven games.  How did they do this you ask?  Well they seem to have a brick wall in net in Jaroslav Halak.  A hot goalie can win a playoff round in the NHL.  Combine that with two hot offensive players in Michael Cammallerri and Brian Gionta, and you have the recipe for victory.  Question is can they keep up the high level of play they have shown so far.

Philadelphia in seven.

Western Conference

San Jose (1) versus Chicago (2)

Now the Western Conference has gone according to script.  The top two teams will meet each other for the right to go to the Stanley Cup.  The Sharks have started to exercise some demons of playoffs past.  Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton played well in round two whereas in round one they didn’t do so much.  Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov hasn’t been great, but he’s played better than in prior years and could be the difference in this series versus Chicago.  There is still a ton of pressure on the Sharks as their fans still haven’t forgotten the disappointment of past early round exits, a trip to the conference finals is a good start, but they may need to make the Stanley Cup finals before their fans truly forget about to many early exits from the playoffs.  The Blackhawks are loaded with talent and can throw 2-3 scoring lines at the Sharks.  Their defense should be good enough to keep the talented offensive players on the Sharks outside the perimeter and keep their damage to a minimum.  The Blackhawks would be in even better shape if free agent acquisition Marian Hossa could get untracked, but once again he is having an extremely subpar playoff performance.  The wildcard is Antti Niemi in net.  He is a rookie and has been up and down in the playoffs.  If he is able to play above average hockey, than he may be able to punch the Blackhawks ticket to the Stanley Cup.

Chicago in seven.

Tags: Analysis, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, Playoffs, San Jose Sharks