Well the Cinderella stories came to an end for Columbus, Dallas and Colorado in round 2, with the latter two teams coming as close as you can to pulling off upsets. Now there’s one Cinderella team left in the final four; it not being surprising to see the other 3 teams (Boston, San Jose and St. Louis) get this far.
Eastern Final
BOS vs CAR
Boston seems to have gotten stronger, in all areas, as the playoffs have gone on. They’re good at blocking shots, good on the fore-check, good too on face-offs, and at spreading the the scoring around…But especially in net: Rask is SOLID. This gives a team confidence. Plus they’re a veteran bunch. Bruins have to be considered the favourite.
But there is a force to this Carolina squad ( a hurricane force, of course) that also seems to be getting stronger as the series continue. As a team they seem more formidable than Boston. And unless the goaltending falters, the Lightning quick ‘Canes are going to the ball.
Carolina in 6
Western Final
SJS vs STL
The sharks are like the Bruins: a veteran, playoff tested team. They too would be the favourites. If the play is wide open then it would be hard to see the sharks lose this series. They’re free wheelers.
But the playoffs are all about battling. And if it’s tight, tough in the trenches type action, I see St.Louis being the harder fighter.
Blues in 7