Conference Finals Preview

We are down to four. It has been a crazy last few weeks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs but we now have four teams left standing for the chase for the championship. Both teams in the East have tasted glory before, six times in Boston and once in Carolina. Meanwhile, both teams in the West have made it to the finals but never finished the job. St Louis made it in each of its first three years in existence, but haven't been back since. As for San Jose, they've only made it once, falling to the Pens in 2016. So that's where we stand, that's who we got left. Lets break it all down right now.

We will start with the East as it's pitting the Carolina Hurricanes against the Boston Bruins. Boston got here by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round in seven games, following that up with a six game series win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. As for the Carolina Hurricanes, they got here by beating the Washington Capitals in seven games, then sweeping the New York Islanders in four straight. This will be the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams with Boston winning three of the four previous series. They last met in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals which Carolina won in seven games. This will be Boston's eighth appearance in the Conference Finals. They last went to the Conference Finals in 2013, which they won against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a four-game sweep. This will be Carolina's fourth Conference Finals appearance. They last went to the Conference Finals in 2009; they lost in a four-game sweep to Pittsburgh. Boston won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 9 Carolina Hurricanes 8:00 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
May 12 Carolina Hurricanes 3:00 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
May 14 Boston Bruins 8:00 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
May 16 Boston Bruins 8:00 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
May 18 Carolina Hurricanes 7:15 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
May 20 Boston Bruins 8:00 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
May 22 Carolina Hurricanes 8:00 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden

this looks like it could be a pretty even match on paper. Boston's big three of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak have made a major impact in this year's playoffs and I expect this round to be no different. But with that being said, even when that top line isn't always on its game, the Bruins have a deep enough offense to be able to support their big boys. David Krejci and Charlie Coyle are finding nice chemistry with Marcus Johansson on the third line, and Sean Kuraly‘s been able to pitch in some offense, too. So they have the weapons to be able to find the back of the net. That's not the only aspect of the Boston game that's on point. The Bruins’ blueline, as a unit, has made life easier for Tuukka Rask in this year's postseason. Torey Krug has been a threat from the point on the man advantage and has been solid overall this spring. Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara enjoy an effective, symbiotic relationship when paired together. Sure, Chara is getting up there in years, and isn't as fast as he once was, but he still a solid enough defender to hang around.

Carolina is a fast team that will try and take it to Boston. Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen have been very much a dynamic duo in their own right. Meanwhile, Jordan Staal is getting his game back and becoming a force again in the playoffs, along with Justin Williams, who's done this a time or two. If Carolina wants to make it past Boston, they're going to need guys like Nino Niederreiter, Andrei Svechnikov and Micheal Ferland to find the back of the net with a little more regularity. From the back end, Jaccob Slavin is starting to get attention on a larger scale for his excellent play, while Dougie Hamilton and Justin Faulk have kept up there level of excellence. Calvin de Haan and Brett Pesce are rounding out this well balanced core. Petr Mrazek missed the latter portion of Round 2 against the Islanders, making way for Curtis McElhinney, who has taken the reigns and run with it , playing very well so far. He's going to make things tough on the Boston shooters.

This is going to be a hard fought series and its going to be evenly matched. At the end of the day I think the experience factor comes into play and Boston has that edge. The Bruins just seem to have that extra mojo working for them right now. Carolina is going to make it a tough series, but at the end of the day, Boston gets the nod.

Prediction: Bruins in 6!

Over in the Western Conference, we have the San Jose Sharks taking on the St Louis Blues. St Louis got here with a six game win over the Winnipeg Jets, following that up with a seven game win over the Dallas Stars. As for the Sharks, they got here with back to back seven game series wins, first over the Vegas Golden Knights and then over the Colorado Avalanche. This will be the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams with San Jose winning three of the five previous series. This will be St. Louis' fourth Conference Finals appearance and San Jose's fifth appearance in the Conference Finals. The teams' last appearance in the Conference Final was against each other in 2016, which San Jose won in six games. San Jose won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 11 St. Louis Blues 8:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
May 13 St. Louis Blues 9:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
May 15 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
May 17 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
May 19 St. Louis Blues 3:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
May 21 San Jose Sharks 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
May 23 St. Louis Blues 9:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center

This is going to be a pretty evenly played series in the West. San Jose just got fully healthy with the return of Joe Pavelski. He gives another element of depth and adds an emotional boost to this lineup. Thomas Hertl and Logan Couture are tied with Brent Burns for the team lead in scoring with 14 points. Hertl and Couture are tied for the team lead in goals with nine each. A lot of eyes are going to be focused on the big boys in the Sharks lineup, guys like, Burns, Erik Karlsson, Joe Thorton, Pavelski, Hertl and Couture. Look out for Evander Kane and Timo Meier. San Jose has no trouble finding the back of the net and keeping it out too. They do a good job defending in front of Martin Jones. He's been brilliant since, turning in a .928 SP across his past 10 games including a series-sealing 29-save performance in Game 7 against the Avalanche. San Jose is the highest scoring team in the West and they can't defend pretty well too.

So too can the Blues. Jordan Bennington has been solid in the playoffs. Not as good as he was during the regular season, which got him a nod as the finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Never the less, Bennington hasn't peaked at that level in the playoffs but he has been good enough to get the Blues this far.Though they don't operate at the same level as the Sharks, St. Louis has no trouble putting the puck in the back of the net. Jaden Schwartz is leading the way with eight goals, and tying him for the team lead in points is Alex Pietrangelo, each with eleven points. Alex Pietrangelo is leading the offensive charge from the blueline, but Colton Parayko could make the biggest impact in the conference final. Both guys know how to shut down the opposition and make noise at the other end of the rink.

Its going to be a tough series to pick. San Jose has no problem scoring, and St Louis might have a little trouble trying to match that punch. The difference here is in net and in this series I feel Bennington makes the bigger saves than Jones does.

Prediction: Blues in 7