Conference Semifinals: #2 St. Louis Blues vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings

[JKidd]

Records:
St Louis: 49-22-11 (109 points) Home: 30-6-5 Away: 19-16-6
Los Angeles: 40-27-15 (95 points) Home: 22-14-5 Away: 18-13-10

How They Got Here:
Blues eliminated the #7 seed San Jose Sharks, 4-1
Kings eliminated the #1 seed Vancouver Canucks, 4-1

Head to Head:
Oct 18th: Kings 5 / Blues 0
Nov 22nd: Kings 3 / Blues 2
Feb 3rd: Blues 1 / Kings 0
Mar 22nd: Kings 1 / Blues 0 OT

Kings took season series, 3-1

Fights:
Nov 22, 2011: Scott Nichol vs. Colin Fraser
Mar 22, 2012: Chris Stewart vs. Kyle Clifford

Lineup:
Goaltending: Draw
Scoring: Edge St. Louis
Defense: Edge Los Angeles
Coaching: Edge St. Louis
Grit: Edge St. Louis

Schedule:
Sat, Apr 28th in St. Louis 7:30PM ET
Mon, Apr 30th in St. Louis 9PM ET
Thu, May 3rd in Los Angeles 10PM ET
Sun, May 6th in Los Angeles 3PM ET
*Tue, May 8th in St. Louis
*Thu, May 10th in Los Angeles
*Sat, May 12th in St. Louis

Prediction:
If you like goal scoring, turn away. Two of the most sting teams will face off in the semifinals. Of course that means we'll see 10 goals a game or more now. The Kings shocked the hockey world in sending the President's Trophy winning Canucks home in just five games, while the Blues did what most thought, and sent the Sharks home in the same five games. Both teams are known for their suffocating defense, and awesome goaltending. The big difference, special teams. The Blues PP is clicking at 33%, while the Kings are struggling - but scoring timely - at 11.5%. I also liked how Hitch was able to control his relatively young team when they needed it, and that could be huge this series given the defensive battle that could ensue. I'll take the Blues in all 7 games.

[bustoff]

I'm sure more than a few on here will be bored by the style of play but this should be a hard hitting series. Blues in six but probably 7.

[smashem]

Bluuuues. Quick should keep the Kings in it though.

[mikebflorida]

Originally Posted by bustoff

I'm sure more than a few on here will be bored by the style of play but this should be a hard hitting series. Blues in six but probably 7.

??

I think these are 2 of the most physical and exciting teams to watch, this should be a great series.

Smart money says the Blues but I kind of wonder if LA is that blessed team that gets the breaks and has the hot goalie, there is one every year, just not sure if it's Quick or Holtby or both.

[Ciccarelli]

I expect this to be the most exciting series. Two hard nosed teams with two oldies as coaches.

Very hard to vote here. I'm going with the Kings because they have more scoring depth IMO and more skill. Besides that Richards, Brown look like playoff performers to me and the Blues defense is too young.

[Broons66]

This has the makings to be one of the better series imo. Blues in 6,maybe 7. Can see a few OT games.

[NickDoh]

Kings in 5 or 6. This is the matchup I wanted going in to the playoffs. The Blues play right in to the Kings style (and vice versa) and I think of the two teams the Kings will have the offensive awakening. Carter/Richards line will pick up the pace to supplement the top line and we'll have a few 4-1, 4-0 type games in contrast to the expected 2-1 games. The Blues are too good for me to pick a sweep again, but I'd take that leap if I was pressed.

[thepolishkid88]

This was the hardest series for me to pick but I'm going with the Kings in 7 and I expect this to be the series of the playoffs. 2 incredible teams and I think the winner here goes on to win the cup as well.

[bupz91]

Quick is playing very well so far. Should be a great series, but LA in 7

[canuck2]

Kings are well balanced with great goaltending.

Kings in 6.

[Wadubbin]

I like a Blues/Rangers Cup final..So I'm going with St.Louis in 6.....

[HordiBrusk29]

Even though part of me fully expects the Blues will win, I'm going to pick the Kings in seven.

[Isles4life]

Definitely a tough one to call, and it should be a very close series. The Blues are really good, but Quick and the Kings are a very scary opponent for anyone right now. I thought the Blues were a team that could fall victim to some of the more postseason-experienced Western Conference teams, but with Detroit and Vancouver out, the road they face seems easier to me, if they can find a way to score enough goals against the Kings' suffocating defense and goaltending.

I always would be wary of teams that seemed to underachieve for stretches of the regular season and get hot in the playoffs. Even beyond Quick, the Kings have some very talented personnel who can do some really damage in the postseason. I'm predicting a Quick, Brown, and Richards-led series victory for the Kings in 7 games.

[PhlyerPhanatic]

Blues in 7

[LAKINGSNUT]

i'm going to say Kings in 6 for this series! its going to be one those edge of your seat series as both teams will probably have a hard time scoring. the Kings have slightly more depth in scoring and i like how they seem to have matured a bit in that Vancouver series!

Go Kings!