On to the Conference Finals

When the playoffs started, I thought both conferences would play out according to their regular-season rankings. But if I had been pressed, I would have thought the Western Conference might have undergone some upheaval. There were pretty good teams in the bottom half of their alignment, teams quite capable of causing damage.

Those teams are sitting at home right now and it is the Eastern Conference that has been the cauldron of upsets, with a conference final featuring the seventh (Philadelphia) and eighth (Montreal) seeds. In the West, the top two seeds (San Jose and Chicago) are playing for a chance to move to the Stanley Cup final.

So, there. You've been warned. My picks and the reality of this spring have largely been running in parallel lines. Like that would stop me from more prognostication.

Montreal Canadiens over Philadelphia Flyers in six games. At this point, picking Montreal is as much an emotional reaction as a logical one. Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak and his defense are almost fused as one, they are so in sync. Montreal continues to conjure offense, the link I keep thinking will be exposed as they continue in the playoffs. At this point, Halak is the new Ken Dryden but Michael Leighton of the Flyers is fashioning quite a story for himself, too. Philly would seem to have better scoring punch but I have picked against the Habs twice now and I'm starting to learn that lesson. Whatever happens, I hope Montrealers don't react as they did after the series victory over Pittsburgh. Keep it classy, folks.

Chicago Blackhawks over San Jose Sharks in seven. The Hawks will bump you and they can outrace you. Their defense moves the puck as well as San Jose's does. This could be a great series but the Hawks have shown an ability to elevate their game in the other team's building and I give them the nod for that alone. Chicago can also get by with so-so goaltending from Antti Niemi, while the Sharks will need unbelievable play from Evgeni Nabokov to move on.