Eastern Conference Final Preview: Penguins’ Skill vs. Bruins’ Brawn.

Once the post season began, many thought that this would be the conference final that we’d see, and for those of you that like black and gold, or yellow, you’ll be seeing quite a bit of that as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Boston Bruins in game one tonight.  Both teams were looking to improve themselves at the trade deadline as each team was romancing Jarome Iginla, who ultimately chose the Pittsburgh Penguins, as did Brenden Morrow for their destination.

The season series featured three games all won by the Penguins, and all three games being decided by one goal.  Ex-Panther Tomas Vokoun was in net for two of the three games, and will start the opener as coach Dan Bylsma continues to stay with the hot hand after Marc-Andre Fleury proved he couldn’t stop a beach ball.  Not a bad option for Pittsburgh, and should Vokoun falter himself, going back to Fleury will be something Bylsma won’t hesitate to do if he feels it to be the right decision.  The Bruins on the other hand were on the brink of extinction at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round, but somehow found a way to score three goals in the final 10 minutes to tie the score, and then won in overtime to take the series.  Each team was able to dispose of their second round opponent without too much difficulty and are primed to go the distance in their quest for a Stanley Cup final appearance.

Let’s get to it shall we after the page break:

Western Conference Final Preview: Hawks’ Speed vs. Kings’ Slothness

I don’t know who breathed a bigger sigh of relief after Brent Seabrook scored the winning goal to advance the Chicago Blackhawks past the Detroit Red Wings in a classic game seven battle……the fans of Chicago, or official Stephen Walkom.  But after Walkom theoretically should have bought dinner for the Hawks, we find ourselves here as the Western Conference Final begins in Chicago at the United Center this evening.

The Hawks ended a 49 year championship drought by winning the cup in 2010, and the Los Angeles Kings won their first ever cup in 2012 as an eighth seeded team.  One of these two powerhouses will have an opportunity to win it again after this series has been completed.  The two teams haven’t seen each other in the playoffs since 1974 when I was….nevermind.  So there’s no historic rivalry from the past to be concerned with like there was with Detroit, although going forward both teams could be seeing quite a bit of each other.

During the shortened season Chicago won two of three from the Kings beginning with a 5-2 victory at the home opener which put a damper on the opening night celebration at the Staples Center.  It was a tight series overall with Chicago outscoring the Kings 12-9, as each team managed 84 shots on goal, with both teams grabbing two power play goals a piece.  While the Blackhawks have the home ice advantage after winning the President’s Trophy as the leagues top team, they have their sites set on winning another championship, their second in four years.  The Kings are hell bent on repeating.  Not to make promises, but this is going to be a real showdown.

Let’s break it down a bit after the page break: