2008 NHL Playoffs: The Battle For Conference Surpremacy Begins

At the collegiate level, they're known as the "Frozen Four."In the NHL, they're the teams battling for the right to play for the Holy Grail.

Regardless, to be at this point in the season, you have proven a lot.

And honestly, in this playoff season, we have the best four teams.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

It has been three seasons in the making for the "Next One."

Since his debut in the NHL back in the 2005-06 season, fans have been waiting for the day when Sidney Crosby would make a true push for the Cup.

Now is that time.

The Penguins are arguably the hottest team in the playoffs this season.  They walked into the NHL Playoffs as the #2 seed, and have posted an 8-1 record in the first two rounds.

Their opponents, the Philadelphia Flyers, are an unlikely team to see at this juncture of the playoffs.

Philadelphia has not had the easiest road to get to the Eastern Conference Finals.  In the first round, it took all 7 games for the Flyers to upset Alexander Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals, but only took 5 games to upset the East's #1 seed, the Montreal Canadiens.

So the matchup pits two Pennsylvania neighbors against one another for, not only state supremacy, but for Eastern supremacy as well.

Who holds the edge here?

Both teams can make a definitive argument about why they should be favored in this series.

Pittsburgh has steamrolled their opponents, while Philly has been the "Cinderella" team of this years playoffs.

Ultimately, it will come down to the youth the Pens against the determination of the Flyers to see who wins this series.  If the Flyers can shut down the Pens' stars, Pittsburgh will be in a deep hole.

But...

The odds on favorite, however, has to be the Pens.  Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been a frightening tandem.  Sid sets them up, Malkin puts them away.

Game one for this series is Friday, in Pittsburgh.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Before the playoffs began, Detroit was seen as a lock to be at this point, while Dallas was picked to, once again, be ousted from the first round, and then the second round.

Nobody expected the Stars to be staring down the "Red Army" of Hockeytown.

Regardless, Detroit and Dallas will be reigniting their playoff rivalry.

For both teams, the road to the Conference Finals was a positive one.

The Red Wings, who also are the #1 seed, have been hot all season, and they carried it over into the playoffs.

In the first round, Detroit was given a good battle against the Nashville Predators.  It took them 6 games, and only 1 victory away from the Joe Louis Arena.

In the second round, many predicted the Red Wings and Avalanche to have a back-and-forth series, culminating in a big game 7 in Detroit.

That never happened.

Detroit man-handled the Avs, winning 4 in a row, and returning to the Conference Championships for the second consecutive season.

Dallas, on the other hand, was never picked to make it this far.

In both of the first two rounds, Dallas was predicted to lose their Pacific Division battles.  Which is understandable since they have not made it out of the first round since the 2002-03 season.

But the Stars have been nothing less than stellar.

In the first round, Dallas ousted the defending champion Anaheim Ducks in 6 games, and subsequently did the same to San Jose in the second.

Behind a stellar power play unit, and amazing goaltending, Dallas has put themselves back in the Stanley Cup picture.

This series promises to be one that pits 2 freight trains against one another, on the same track, with an inevitable collision ahead.

This series will be all about goaltending.  Dallas and Detroit come in with goalies in zones you always dream of.  The matchup of Marty Turco and Chris Osgood is one the promises to be one to watch.

And much like the Eastern Conference matchup, the likelihood of this series going long is highly probable.  Both teams are stubborn in net, and strong is pretty much every category this sport has.

The favorite for this series, again, has to be the Red Wings.  They posted the best record in the regular season, and made short work of a talented Avalanche team.  One of the things working in favor of Dallas is that Marty Turco's confidence is through the roof after his performance in Game 6 against San Jose.

Game one for these two juggernauts is Thursday in Hockeytown.

PREDICTIONS:

For the East, I see Pittsburgh winning in 6.  I don't think the Flyers will be able to successfully shut down the high-octane offense that Pittsburgh has.  I also think the Flyers "magic" was depleted in the first two rounds, and it's time for the Pens to step back into the Finals, where they haven't been since the 1991-92 season, where the defeated the Chicago Blackhawks for the Cup.

In the West, I honestly think Dallas has a chance.  Game 6 against San Jose showed a lot about how bad the Stars want to be back on top, and will do what it takes to win.  That kind of momentum helps a team a lot.  The one thing the Stars don't have that Detroit did, rest.  Detroit winning in 4 against the Avs gave them ample rest, and that could prove to be the deciding factor for the Stars.  But still, Dallas in 6.