Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Conference Semifinals

Round one of the Stanley cup playoffs is done. There were a few things that were predictable, but also a few surprises too. Who knows what round two will bring?

Will the Penguins be one step closer to keeping the cup in Pittsburgh, or can Montreal and Jaroslav Halak deny them another chance? 

Which goalie on a tear can lead his team to victory in the Boston-Philadelphia series?

Will the Sharks find redemption against Detroit or will the Wings give San Jose another taste of playoff heartbreak?  

And can Vancouver get even with Chicago from last season when the Hawks put out the Canucks in the second round?

Answers will be found following the conclusion of each series. Here's my guess of what is yet to come.

Eastern Conference

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (8) Montreal

The Penguins got a brief scare from Ottawa last round, losing game five in triple overtime, but came back from a 3-0 deficit in game 6 to win in overtime 4-3.

Montreal surprised us all by coming back to win their series against Washington after being down 3-1 in games.

Jaroslav Halak was hot in the final three games of the series, stopping 131 of 134 shots the Capitals fired at him. Halak must continue to play hot like he did against the Capitals, and the Habs must win one of the first two games of the series to set the tone.

Playing against the defending cup champions and Sidney Crosby, I’m not too positive it will happen.

Penguins in five.

(6) Boston vs. (7) Philadelphia

The re-match of the two teams who faced off in the Winter Classic, with two goalies on fire being the story. Brian Boucher of the Flyers went 1.75 in GAA against the Devils, and Tuukka Rask of Boston closed the doors on their divisional foes, the Sabres.

Goaltending will likely decide this series, with teams absent of scorers who can shoot out the lights.

Bruins in seven.

Western Conference

(1) San Jose vs. (5) Detroit

Here we have the best team in the west; the Sharks but they have never won a conference title, and have only been to the conference finals once in their history.

Detroit on the other hand, has been to the Stanley Cup finals twice in the past two seasons, and they would usually be the team with a higher ranking than the Sharks.

Jimmy Howard the young goalie of the Wings shined between the pipes, while Evgeni Nabokov of the Sharks went 1.76 in GAA in the first round.

Henrik Zetterberg had 11 points in the Wings series versus the Coyotes, while Joe Pavelski and Ryan Clowe of the Sharks shared the lead of their team with 8.

But if the Sharks need to get better performance out of their key scorers Dany Heatley (4 points), Patrick Marleau (3 points), and Joe Thornton (3 points) if they want to advance to the conference finals.

If the Sharks want redemption for their early playoff exits for the past few years, now will be the time.

Sharks in six.

(2) Chicago vs. (3) Vancouver

These two teams met in the second round last year, with Blackhawks topping the Canucks in six games.

Antti Niemi, the Hawks' young goalie, became a big contributor in Chicago’s first round victory over Nashville recording two shutouts, the most for a goalie so far in these playoffs.

On Vancouver’s side, the Sedin twins and Mikael Samuelsson were impressive against L.A., but the Canucks will be facing tougher real estate this time.

Hawks in five.