NHL Conference Finals

The only surprise is that Detroit is still in the mix after Calgary and San Jose. Datsyuk is firing on all cylinders, Hasek is playing great, and all appears to be well. Giguere is playing even better than he did in his 2003 playoff MVP year (1.28 GAA, 0.952 SV%) and the Ducks have Niedermayer/Pronger to counter the Lidstrom/Schneider complement Detroit has to offer. The Ducks are a young, big, fast team that should overwhelm the Red Wings. Hasek should see a lot more rubber in this series and traffic through the crease. I predict that the Ducks wrap up a Western Conference win in 7 games.

Out East, it's a match-up of two biggest offensive guns in NHL. The Sabres and Sens scored 308 and 288 goals for during the regular season - putting them first and second in offensive production respectively. Ottawa has that monster line option of Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson that's probably better than any of the Sabre lines. However, the Sabres can generate dangerous scoring opportunities from basically all four lines. The Sabres are faster but Ottawa is bigger. Goaltending may be a big factor. Miller was solid last round but so was Emery. I think the Sabres are just too good to not make the Cup finals and they will dispatch of the Senators in 6 games.

A random floor hockey action shot courtesy of Sheridan.