Conference Finals Preview 2008

Pittsburgh Penguins (2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (6)

Records

Pittsburgh: 47-27-8 (102 pts) Home: 26-10-5 Away: 21-16-3
Philadelphia: 42-29-11 (95 pts) Home: 20-14-6 Away: 21-15-5
Pittsburgh swept the Sens and beat New York in 5. Philadelphia eliminated Washington in 7 and Montreal in 5.

Head-to-Head

Nov 7, 2007 - PIT 1 PHI 3
Nov 10, 2007 - PIT 2 PHI 5
Dec 11, 2007 - PIT 2 PHI 8
Jan 24, 2008 - PIT 3 PHI 4
Feb 10, 2008 - PIT 4 PHI 3
Mar 16, 2008 - PIT 7 PHI 1
Apr 2, 2008 - PIT 4 PHI 2
Apr 6, 2008 - PIT 0 PHI 2
Philadelphia won season series 5-3.

Fighting (did they ever!)

Nov 7, 2007 - Brooks Orpik vs R.J. Umberger
Nov 10, 2007 - Ryan Malone vs Jason Smith
Nov 10, 2007 - Darryl Sydor vs Stefan Ruzicka
Dec 11, 2007 - Ryan Malone vs Jason Smith
Dec 11, 2007 - Gary Roberts vs Ben Eager
Dec 11, 2007 - Ryan Whitney vs Jeff Carter
Dec 11, 2007 - Colby Armstrong vs Scott Hartnell
Jan 24, 2008 - Georges Laraque vs Riley Cote
Jan 24, 2008 - Ryan Stone vs Steve Downie
Feb 10, 2008 - Jarkko Ruutu vs Steve Downie
Mar 16, 2008 - Ryan Malone vs Riley Cote
Apr 2, 2008 - Georges Laraque vs Riley Cote
Apr 2, 2008 - Brooks Orpik vs Joffrey Lupul

Lineup

Goaltending: DRAW
Scoring: EDGE Pittsburgh
Defense: EDGE Philadelphia
Coaching: EDGE Pittsburgh
Grit: EDGE Philadelphia

Schedule

Friday, May 9, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008

Key for Pittsburgh

Show discipline. It's no secret who Philadelphia will be after. The Rangers went for the "diver" angle and it didn't do a whole lot. Philadelphia won't be afraid to use every trick in the book and we'll really see what the young guns are really made of.

Key for Philadelphia

Marty Biron. Philadelphia is capable of matching Pittsburgh offensively... it's up to Marty to continue to shut the door. He's been the busiest goalie after two rounds facing an average of 33 shots, but boasts a solid .914 save percentage. Also, I'd enjoy a few sound bites of Biron yelling sweet nothings to Sidney Crosby.

My Prediction

Fans and writers love to talk about match-ups that are good for the league. Does it get any better than this? Two great fanbases, a nasty rivalry and a little bit of Cinderella... this has the makings to be a classic. I can't picture a scenario where Pittsburgh doesn't win. No slight to the Flyers, as you don't get to the Conference Finals for no reason, but I think the Pens will have an answer for everything Philadelphia has... Pens in 6. Still, I think we're in for an excellent series.

John's Pick

If the way the Flyers and Penguins went it at during the regular season is any indication, this series could end up being one of the most entertaining in recent memory. The Flyers gave it a good run but the loss of Kimmo Timonen will serve as a huge blow to any plans the Flyers had to shut down Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. Pens in 6.

David's Pick

It's so hard not to build this one up. I want to say best series since Islanders-Leafs of 2002, but anyone who believes in jinxes (99% of hockey fans it seems) will send in the hate mail if that doesn't happen. This just has entertaining written all over it, from the positional match-ups to the media jabs to the fans. Any hole the Flyers have, the Penguins seem to have plugged up. Like Jamie and John, I'm picking the Pens in 6.

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs Dallas Stars (5)

Records

Detroit: 54-21-7 (115 pts) Home: 29-9-3 Away: 25-12-4
Dallas: 45-30-7 (97 pts) Home: 23-16-2 Away: 22-14-5
Detroit eliminated Nashville in 6 then swept the Avalanche. Dallas needed 6 games to get by Anaheim and San Jose.

Head-to-Head

Jan 2, 2008 - DET 4 DAL 1
Jan 5, 2008 - DET 3 DAL 0
Feb 17, 2008 - DET 0 DAL 1
Mar 13, 2008 - DET 5 DAL 3
Detroit won season series 3-1.

Fighting

Jan 2, 2008 - Dallas Drake vs Steve Ott

Lineup

Goaltending: DRAW
Scoring: DRAW
Defense: EDGE Detroit
Coaching: DRAW
Grit: EDGE Dallas

Schedule

Thursday, May 8, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Key for Detroit

Johan Franzen. Since March, he's been lights out. He pitched in a few goals against Nashville, then exploded for 9 goals in 4 games against Colorado, setting a club record. It's expected the 1-2 punch of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will tally up the points, but they'll need Franzen to keep it up.

Key for Dallas

Brenden Morrow. This is the definition of being a great playoff captain. Leads the league in hits and OT goals, 11 points in 12 games and he'll try and knock you into the 10th row if you come out from behind the net trying tie your skates with your teeth.

My Prediction

When the playoffs began, there were a lot of people predicting either Anaheim or San Jose coming out of the West. Dallas is playing the role of giant killer, and doing it in convincing fashion. There's plenty of guys who'll put the puck in the net and Marty Turco has erased his "choker" label. Stars in 6.

John's Pick

The Stars dispatching of the heavily-favored Ducks and Sharks prove that they certainly have the tools to go all the way. The Red Wings could potentially blow the series wide open early on, but attempting to scare away the ghosts of recent playoff-failures might prove difficult against Marty Turco and company. Stars in 7.

David's Pick

The Stars do look great, and Turco has been on a mission, but the Wings have been dominant like no other team. Chris Osgood might be just as good as Turco so far, but it's hard to compare due to the Wings defense letting up so few shots. With two stellar goaltenders, the team that allows fewer shots wins. Wings in 6.