Well folks we are at it again. After nearly a year off from the blog I am back to give you year number three of Stanley Cup playoff coverage. And like last year it has been an interesting playoffs so far. Lets begin in the Eastern Conference. Our eight teams in the East were the Bruins, Lightning, Flyers, Penguins, Habs, Caps, Rangers, and the Sabres. So far the sleeper team has been the Lightning who has made it to the conference finals for the first time since they won the Cup in 2004. And for the second year in a row, the Washington Capitals made an early and unexpected playoff exit by being swept in round two by those Lighting. Here is a look at your Eastern Conference Finals


I’m personally rooting for the ‘Ning Dynasty in this series, Go BOLTS!
Now for the Western Conference. Your final eight in the west were: the Sharks, Kings, Canucks, Coyotes, Red Wings, Ducks, Blackhawks, and Predators.

First a big shout out to my favorite team in the NHL the Nashville Predators. This year they made it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in team history. This was their seventh time in the playoffs in eight straight years, and the pushed the no one seed to six games. Go Preds!
As for the rest of the Western Conference, there was not as much unexpected action, just a lot of hard fought series. The Canucks went to seven games with the defending Blackhawks, and the Red Wings and Sharks battled to seven games. Here is your west finals matchup


So for the second straight year, and third time ever the Sharks are back in the conference finals, and the Canucks are returning for the first time since their run to the finals in ’94. The Sharks, “Ever the bridesmaid, never the bride”, will have to knock off the no one seed to make it to the finals for the first time. I am not sure who to root for here. In some ways I am wanting the Sharks to win, but a Canadian team in the finals(with the chance of hoisting the cup) would be great for the NHL.