Stanley Cup Conference Finals Predictions

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

To me, Chris Berman will always be the Swami.  His fearless, if sometimes off-the-wall, NFL predictions have long been one of my favorite SportsCenter segments.

But there is fear today in Boomer's Bristol, Conn. office.  Fear that he may ultimately lose the title of Swami to yours truly, if my run of winning Stanley Cup playoff predictions continues.

After picking seven of eight winners in the first round of the National Hockey League Playoffs, I managed a strong round two as well, posting a 3-1 won-loss record.  I correctly picked the Penguins, Hurricanes, and Wings to be part of the National Hockey League's final four, with only the Blackhawks messing up my perfect record.

That gives me a 10-2 record overall in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a statistic that hasn't earned me any money to this point.  Unless, of course, you count the thumping I'm giving my friends and family in the annual MacDonald Clan playoff hockey pool.

But what to do for an encore?  How about picking the winners of the NHL's conference finals?  Sounds like a plan to me.

So without further ado, here are my selections for the Eastern and Western Conference championship series.  As usual, no guarantees, but I think they are just about as reliable as Gary Bettman's claims that he doesn't have any personal animosity towards Jim Balsillie.

Eastern Conference

Series M—Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)

Season Series: The teams spilt the regular season series, with each club winning twice.  One of Carolina's victories came in overtime.

Playoff History:  This is the first time the two teams have met in a Stanley Cup playoff series.

Stanley Cup Experience: The Hurricanes have nine players who have taken a drink from Lord Stanley's mug.  Pittsburgh has five players on the roster with Stanley Cup rings and most of the key players return from the team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2008.

Who's Hot: Pittsbugh captain Sidney Crosby leads all playoff scores with 12 goals and 21 points, while Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin sits third with 19 points. Sophomore defenseman Kris Letang had three goals and three assists against the Capitals, while veteran Ruslan Fedetenko had five points in the last five games of the Washington series.

For Carolina, center Eric Staal continues to shine with nine goals and 13 points through two rounds.  After a slow start, winger Sergei Samsonov caught fire against the Bruins with four goals in the final five games of the series.  Defenseman Joni Pitkanen had a pair of huge assists in Game Seven to break out of a postseason slump.

Who's Not:

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