2011 NHL Playoff Predictions: Final 4 Teams Vying for the Stanley Cup

I went 2-2 in the second round and I am 9-3 overall.  I don’t think anyone would have predicted that Tampa Bay would sweep Washington—that one really hurt all of my playoff pools. 

We are down to the final four.  The San Jose Sharks were that last team to move, as they were able to hold off the Detroit Red Wings from completing the full comeback in a great Game 7.  Let's take at the matchups for the conference finals. 

(*) Notes games if necessary

Boston (No. 3) vs. Tampa Bay (No. 5)

Games

Saturday (15), Tuesday (17), Thursday (19), Saturday (21), Monday* (23), Wednesday* (25) and Friday* (27)

Season Series

Boston won series 3-1 and outscored Tampa Bay 15-8

Season Home Records

Boston (22-13-6)

Tampa Bay (25-11-5)

Season Away Records

Boston (24-12-5)

Tampa Bay (21-14-6)

Playoff Power-Play Ranking

Boston (14th at 5.4 percent)

Tampa Bay (Third at 26.7 percent)

Playoff Penalty-Kill Ranking

Boston (10th at 80.5 percent)

Tampa Bay (Second at 94.4 percent)

Key Injuries

Trent Whitfield (out indefinitely), Marc Savard (miss playoffs), Patrice Bergeron (questionable), Adam McQuaid (probable), Matt Smaby (out indefinitely), Dana Tyrell (probable), Ryan Malone (probable), Simon Gagne (probable) and Pavel Kubina (questionable)

Boston Top Scorer First Round

Patrice Bergeron (seven points)

Tampa Bay Top Scorer First Round

Martin St. Louis (eight points)

Boston Top Scorer Second Round

David Krejci (nine points)

Tampa Bay Top Scorer Second Round

Vincent Lecavalier (six points)

Boston Player That Needs To Step Up

Tomas Kaberle (three points)

Tampa Bay Player That Needs To Step Up

Steven Stamkos (six points)

Prediction

Boston in seven

Vancouver (No. 1) vs. San Jose (No. 2)

Games

Sunday (15), Wednesday (18), Friday (20), Sunday (22), Tuesday* (24), Thursday* (26) and Saturday* (28)

Season Series

Vancouver won series 3-0-1 and outscored San Jose 16-10

Season Home Records

Vancouver (27-9-5)

San Jose (25-11-5)

Season Away Records

Vancouver (27-10-4)

San Jose (23-14-4)

Playoff Power-Play Ranking

Vancouver (Fifth at 22.2 percent)

San Jose (13th at 13.7 percent)

Playoff Penalty-Kill Rank:

Vancouver (Fifth at 86.0 percent)

San Jose (Seventh at 82.7 percent)

Key Injuries

Rick Rypien (out indefinitely), Manny Malhotra (miss playoffs), Mikael Samuelsson (questionable but could be out another week) and Kent Huskins (out indefinitely)

Vancouver Top Scorer First Round

Daniel Sedin (seven points)

San Jose Top Scorer First Round

Ryane Clowe (seven points)

Vancouver Top Scorer Second Round

Ryan Kesler (11 points)

San Jose Top Scorer Second Round

Dan Boyle (eight points)

Vancouver Player That Needs To Step Up

Daniel Sedin (three points in last series)

San Jose Player That Needs To Step Up

Patrick Marleau (six points)

Prediction

Vancouver in six

Aaron Brouwer is the co-creator of www.fantasyhockeycoach.com.  FHC is a free fantasy hockey service that developed a ranking system combining post-lockout statistics, current factors and our own hockey knowledge.  Brouwer writes about fantasy hockey on Bleacher Report. You can contact Coach Brouwer at [e-mail].