Tampa Bay got here by knocking off the Detroit Red Wings in the opening round in five games, then took out the New York Islanders in five games in the second round. This marks the 2nd year in a row that the Lightning are playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. Tampa is now 59-50 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the second playoff meeting for these teams. Their only previous series was during the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Tampa Bay came back from a 3–1 series deficit to win in seven games. Tampa Bay won all three games in this year's regular season series.
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 13 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center
May 16 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center
May 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
May 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
May 22 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center
May 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
May 26 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center
Fast paced is the best possible way to describe what we're going to watch in this series.Tampa may have a little more rest ending both of their previous series in five games, while the Pens had to go six games in their last series. If you're Tampa in this series, stick with the gameplan. Ben Bishop, with the exception of the start of the Islanders series, has been totally fantastic. Bishop has played incredible hockey. So to has been Victor Hedman. Hedman shut down John Tavares of the Islanders in the last round, and managed to score ten points in that series as well. Some might have suspected as to how well the Lightning would play without Steven Stamkos. That hasn't mattered because Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov have combined for 25 points. Kucherov's nine goals is tops in the NHL, but the Lightning feature a balanced attack with 11 goal scorers, including Jonathan Drouin, who has nine points in 10 games. Brian Boyle has been a key component too.
Don't sleep on the Penguins though, as they have steamrolled everybody to this point in the post season. Sure, there's no Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pittsburgh net, but Matt Murray has done a fantastic job replacing him, look no further than making 47 saves against the Caps in game three. From an offensive perspective, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been kind of quiet so far in this years pplayoffs. Normally, that might be considered a problem if your the Penguins. Not this year. Thanks to the line of Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino, all new to the Pens within the last year, was dynamite in the Capitals series and single-handedly delivered the Game 6 overtime series clincher. This Pens team has been rolling four lines and averaging nearly four goals a game in this post season.
Tampa will put up a fight in this series, which is going to go the distance. Ben Bishop knows what he's doing in net in the high pressure situations, which is what is going to keep Tampa in this series. But at the end of the day, the Penguins have too much depth and are too talented to hold off.
Pick: Penguins in 7!
Meanwhile St. Louis got here by beating the Chicago Blackhawks in seven, following that up with another seven game series win over the Dallas Stars. This marks the first conference finals appearance for the Blues since 2001. St Louis is now 156-193 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the fifth playoff meeting for these teams, with both teams splitting the four previous playoff series. They last met during the 2012 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which St. Louis won in five games. San Jose won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.
Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 15 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
May 17 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
May 19 St. Louis Blues 9:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
May 21 St. Louis Blues 7:15 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
May 23 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
May 25 St. Louis Blues 9:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
May 27 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
The battle for redemption. St Louis had trouble getting out of the first round the last three years, with the Hawks being a big thorn in their side. That was taken care of. San Jose same thing with dealing with the Los Angeles Kings, been there done that. This series is going to be good. San Jose, much like Dallas, is a fast team. They're also a big team, so their size advantage is going to play a factor in this series. San Jose plays a controlled game, taking a total of 16 minutes in penalties all playoffs. Oh yeah and their powerplay has been the best in the post season. Martin Jones too has played a factor, playing some great hockey.
St. Louis plays a little different style then the Sharks do. The Blues' physical and structured game wears down teams over seven games. Look at what happened to Dallas in game seven in the last round. With veteran head coach Ken Hitchcock leading the way, the Blues' overall game is also extremely detailed. This is a team that doesn't make as many mistakes as most teams. That can frustrate the opposition. Their fundamentals are unreal. And it also helps when you have Vladimir Tarasenko providing plenty of offensive jump, it makes the Blues jobs a lot easier. That and with the play of Brian Elliott in net.
One thing that could wear on the Blues a little is the fact that they've played in two seven games series so far in the playoffs, which could be a huge factor in this series. San Jose hasn't really been a major factor in this round, they still have something left to prove. They've never been in the finals before, something they are looking to change. St. Louis has the same problem, looking to get to the finals for the first time since 1970., Which is what is going to make this series so intriguing. Its going to be a fun series to watch, but I think the Blues have too much good mojo going right now.
Pick: Blues in 7!
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