Biggest Strength and Weakness of Each NHL Conference Finalist

It appears the NHL has gotten it right.

The four teams playing in the conference finals are arguably the best four teams in the league, and also the last four Stanley Cup champions. The sport should have three more compelling series on its hands filled with entertaining story lines.

But the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins are not concerned with the dramatic end of it for the fans and media; they are only concerned with finding the formula that will allow them to lift the Stanley Cup.

That will be determined by how well each team deploys its strengths and covers up its weaknesses.

Boston Bruins

Biggest Strength

Defensive Presence: The Bruins are perhaps the most versatile team of those left in the competition, as they do nearly everything well.

Matched up against the explosive Penguins, the Bruins are going to have to depend on their best players to limit Pittsburgh's ability to create scoring opportunities. Center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Zdeno Chara will be the catalysts in shutting down the Penguins.

Bergeron will likely be matched with Sidney Crosby for significant stretches. Bergeron is a magnificent skater, but to keep Crosby in check, he will need to stay one step ahead of his opponent, planning his every next move.

Bergeron is also the best face-off man in the NHL, winning 63.5 percent of his draws in the postseason. That will help the Bruins take possession of the puck instead of chasing it down.

Chara's size, strength and intelligence will give him a chance to send a message with his big hits and ability to forklift opposing players out of the prime scoring areas. His ability to intimidate opposing forwards starts with his size—6'9" and 255 pounds—but his ability to deflect passes and break up rushes could be his greatest assets.

Biggest Weakness

Offensive Inconsistency: Much has been made of head coach Claude Julien's ability to "roll four lines," which should give Boston a bit more life in the game's late stages.

However, the Bruins' four lines don't always produce consistently. The top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton are the three plus-minus leaders in the postseason, but the other three lines have not been nearly as good.

Bergeron's line has had its moments. He scored the tying and winning goals in Game 7 of the first round against Toronto, while Brad Marchand scored two key goals versus the Rangers in the next round. That said, it has been far from dominant.

The third line of Chris Kelly, Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin has not been invisible, while the fourth line of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton has been about average.

Chicago Blackhawks

Biggest Strength

Puck possession: This may not be the most measurable of all strengths, but it has been the key to the Blackhawks' success since their Stanley Cup victory in the 2009-10 season. The Blackhawks have skill up and down their lineup, and it manifests itself in this element of the game.

When the Blackhawks are playing their best, players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are besting their opponents in puck possession.

The Blackhawks work the cycle game as well as any, and when they sense a hole in the opposing defense, they attack the net with speed, which often results in prime scoring opportunities.

During the regular season, the Blackhawks took advantage of this by scoring 3.1 goals per game, second only to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, that number has slipped to 2.75 goals per game in the postseason.

They will need to raise that number if they want to advance past the Los Angeles Kings.

Biggest Weakness

Physical play: The Blackhawks rarely engage in the more physical aspects of the game. They regularly get outhit by their opponents night-in and night-out. They delivered the fewest hits of any team in the league this season.

But don't think they lack toughness. They often get hit, maintain possession and then make a play that sets up a scoring opportunity.

In a series against a big, strong team like the Los Angeles Kings, though, the punishment of getting consistently outhit could cause a problem as the series progresses. If they get worn down, it could lead to more turnovers and scoring opportunities against goalie Corey Crawford.

Los Angeles Kings

Biggest Strength

Goaltending: Head coach Darryl Sutter doesn't smile very often, but he has inner peace in knowing that Jonathan Quick is in goal for him.

Quick leads the way among all playoff goalies with a 1.5 goals against average, a .948 save percentage and three shutouts. However, there's a lot more to his game than the numbers.

The 27-year-old comes out of the net to cut off angles as well as anyone in the league. While it may look like he is out of position when an opponent makes a side-to-side pass and the shooter appears to have room, Quick's leg strength allows him to push off the ice with great force and stifle scoring opportunities.

Playoff hockey is about giving up one fewer goal than your opponent allows, and te Kings have the greatest advantage in net of the teams left standing.

Biggest Weakness

Offensive Production: If there is any slippage in Quick's play, the Kings could be in big trouble. They are averaging 2.0 goals per game in the postseason and 24.8 shots. Those two figures are the worst of any of the four teams still vying for the title, and it's not close.

If the Kings are going to pick up their productivity, they need Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown to step it up. Kopitar is the Kings' best all-around offensive player, but he has been held to two goals and five assists in the postseason, leaving him in a tie for third on the team. Brown has fared even worse, scoring just four points in 13 playoff games.

Of course, there's also the curious case of center Jeff Carter. Traditionally, centers will set up their wingers first and score goals second.

Not Carter. During the regular season, he scored 26 goals and had seven assists. While the ratio has changed a bit in the postseason, he has continued with that style, notching five goals and three assists in the postseason.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Biggest Strength

Offensive Skill: In an era where teams can be successful scratching out just a goal or two per game, the Pittsburgh Penguins are a throwback to the explosive squads of the past like Guy Lafleur's Montreal Canadiens, Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers and Mario Lemieux's Penguins.

The Penguins are averaging 4.27 goals per game in the postseason, 1.10 goals per game better than the second-ranked Boston Bruins.

Those totals are manifested in the sensational skill players the Penguins have in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Not to mention the Penguins' second rank of offensive players—James Neal, Jarome Iginla, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz—is better than most teams' first.

Heck, even Kris Letang can make big plays on defense and then turn them into scoring opportunities at the other end.

Any time the Penguins have possession of the puck, they have the ability to light up the scoreboard like it's the 1980s.

Biggest Weakness

Goaltending: The stat sheet says that Tomas Vokoun has a .941 save percentage and a 1.85 goals against average, ranking him second and third in those categories, respectively.

However, Vokoun started the playoffs on the bench behind Marc-Andre Fleury, and he only got to play when Fleury couldn't stop the New York Islanders and his confidence was shot.

Vokoun turned things around for the Penguins against the Islanders, and the Senators did not have enough of an offensive game to challenge him.

But will Vokoun be up to the challenge against a deep team like the Bruins?

In addition to having depth on the four lines, the Bruins like their defensemen to join the attack. They have gotten 13 goals from that unit, and when Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk and rookie sensation Torey Krug start firing away, Volkoun is going to have to take his game to the next level.