Round One is done, who are the new favorites to meet in the SCF?

[DChero]

With a few upsets and surprising performances, who are the new favorites to meet in the Cup Finals?

Before the first round I expected the Caps and Hawks to meet. After the first round, I wouldn't be surprised to see the usual Pens/Wings matchup.

Who do you expect to meet now that things have been shaken up?

 

[Larry N]

I expect the Pens to come out of the East. The West is tougher. I don't know who to expect out of that conference, because it wouldn't surprise me if any of the remaining four made it to the SCF.

 

[DChero]

I expect the Pens to come out of the East. The West is tougher. I don't know who to expect out of that conference, because it wouldn't surprise me if any of the remaining four made it to the SCF.

The reason I give the advantage to the Wings is that they have the talent everyone else does, but that have the experience that goes further. Game seven against the Coyotes really reinforced my feelings on the Wings.

I'm a Pens fan, so I'm much more pessimistic there. As great as they can be, they've been extremely streaky. Halak is no joke, but I do expect them to advance to the ECF. Boston and Philly really worry me though. They're both tough, gritty teams that can choke the life out of a game pretty quickly.

By the way, when are the Wings and Pens going to collapse from pure exhaustion? They don't seem to have any time off.

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

I think a Pens-Hawks series would be one for the ages.....what an amazing collection of young talent on both sides...and the Hossa side bar would be something too....

 

[DChero]

I think a Pens-Hawks series would be one for the ages.....what an amazing collection of young talent on both sides...and the Hossa side bar would be something too....

I'm ok facing Hossa. I think he sold his soul to the devil just to get to the Finals. Too bad it wasn't for the the Cup.

 

[Burns80y]

I am leaning towards the rubber match. Pens - Wings. It will be much harder for the Wings to get there with no home ice at all but as the Habs showed last night it won't be easy for any team to get there.

There is a long way yo go and i can't wait to watch.

 

[dash]

I think it's pretty cool that after the first round, you still have all four of the "Original Six" teams in the playoffs. I don't really care all that much about ratings, but we can't forget that this is a business, and each of those teams have a great following of fans throughout Canada and the US.

 

[DChero]

The teams outside of the six don't have shabby fan bases either.
The ratings should be great when the Finals roll around. There's isn't one team that made it this far that isn't exciting to watch.

 

[loki604]

I think it's pretty cool that after the first round, you still have all four of the "Original Six" teams in the playoffs. I don't really care all that much about ratings, but we can't forget that this is a business, and each of those teams have a great following of fans throughout Canada and the US.

Agreed. They were talking today on sportscenter how much it hurt losing OV, and I was thinking they still have the Wings, Hawks, Bruins, Flyers, and Penguins - five great US markets for hockey. Not too shabby from a US ratings standpoint. The two Canadian teams just make it more interesting/exciting, and add more fans to the mix.

Edit: And I didn't mention the Sharks because I really have no idea how they do from a ratings standpoint.

 

[The Q stache]

I'm biased, but I'm gonna go with a Hawks Pens final. A rematch from the 92' Finals. Hopefully not the same result though

 

[DChero]

I'm biased, but I'm gonna go with a Hawks Pens final. A rematch from the 92' Finals. Hopefully not the same result though

I'm ok with same result. It'll give the Hawks more motivation for next year.

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

I'm biased, but I'm gonna go with a Hawks Pens final. A rematch from the 92' Finals. Hopefully not the same result though:)

Sweeep.....Dirk Graham was the best Hawk in that series...

 

[Larry N]

The teams outside of the six don't have shabby fan bases either.
The ratings should be great when the Finals roll around. There's isn't one team that made it this far that isn't exciting to watch.

Agreed that all of the teams are worth watching for hockey fans. But if by some chance it becomes a Habs/Nucks final, that's going to be a ratings killer in the US. Chicago and Detroit would be best for ratings in the West, while Boston and Pittsburgh would be best for the East. Any combo of those four would work.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

At this point I would have to say the usual suspects. The Wings have a slightly unproven goalie but they have been winning with average goalies for years.

If I had to do power rankings, they would look like this:

WEST:

1. Detroit
2. Vancouver (only over Chicago because of Luongo)
3. Chicago
4. San Jose

EAST:

1. Pittsburgh





2. Montreal
3. Philly
4. Boston

 

[beantownmaniac]

I'll say the Canucks against the Bruins. Thats right, the Bruins :p

 

[quoipourquoi]

Pittsburgh or Philadelphia vs. San Jose or Detroit


I want the rubber match as much as anything, but the Flyers are a really, really good hockey team. If Pronger is on his game, they are better than the Penguins.

 

[loki604]

Pittsburgh or Philadelphia vs. San Jose or Detroit


I want the rubber match as much as anything, but the Flyers are a really, really good hockey team. If Pronger is on his game, they are better than the Penguins.

Crosby just absolutely destroys the Flyers though. Pronger would have to be huge.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here (though I understand that's what this thread is about)...

 

[Mintyp69]

if it's gonna be a 2 out of 3 I would love to see the wings get it all, just becasue I hate sid the kid that much, that and I have 2 friends that are extremely obnoxious pens fans and this woud take them down a few pegs...

But should that not occur I would LOVE to the see the Hawks win it.

 

[puckhead]

I'll say the Canucks against the Bruins. Thats right, the Bruins :p

I would fucking LOVE to see that one.
Looch comes home

 

[Comeds]

With all the upsets, I dont see any way that the Penguins do not come out of the east. In the west I am still unsure.