The Quest for the Cup: HoG's Conference Finals Preview

And then there were eight. It's kind of like March Madness going from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight, except it takes two weeks. And nobody -- myself excepted -- south of our northern border is watching. The great part is that, with Old No. 7 heading south of the border, no one is reading this. Common thread? I think so.

So, I'll break down the NHL's Conference Semi-Finals for myself, and tell myself, who I think will emerge victorious from each series. I must first, however, pat myself on the back for being relatively successful in my playoff hockey picks thus far. Making those bold selections was a task no man should challenge alone. Nevertheless, I venture into the chasm of puck predictions once more. Ready? Yes. Confident? Absolutely. Afraid? Maybe a little.

Eastern Conference

The puck drops in both EC series tonight. Lindy Ruff's Buffalo Sabres host Tom Renney's New York Rangers. Of my Conference Semi-Finals predictions, the Rangers were one of two (one per conference) picks I didn't get right. Make no mistake this time, however. Club Ranger will be sniped. The Sabres, my pick to skate with Lord Stanley's trophy, should dispose of this wishy-washy New York club in four straight. Should. But Jaromir Jagr, Marian Hossa and company proved to be pesky last round. So, we'll say six.

The other matchup pits the Ottawa Senators against the New Jersey Devils. This is the toughy of all four series. Ottawa handled the young Pittsburgh Penguin crew just as I imagined they would. They also played tougher than the previous game as the series wore on. New Jersey took one game more to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lighning than the Sens did the Pens, but the Devils all but dominated Ottawa in the regular season. Ultimately, the Devils have to withstand the toughness of the Senators, and the Senators have to find a way to put the puck in the twine behind the league's best goaltender. Martin Brodeur has had such a stellar year, that I don't think Ottawa will be able to withstand a series in which New Jersey has the home-ice advantage. It'll be a rubber match, the distance, one in which Sens netminder Ray Emery only remembers how well he played in the previous round. This time? Not so much. Devils in seven.

Western Conference

The Detroit Redwings host the San Jose Sharks, the latter of which I did not predict to still be around. Given that Calgary hassled the elderly as much as they did in the last round, I'm not sure Detroit has the edge to advance. Dominik Hasek is not the unbeatable machine he once was. The Sharks will feed off of the first-round momentum they acquired, and outskate, outshoot, and outcheck the Wings. No amount of Babcock or Chelios will help them here. Sharks in six.

The Anaheim Ducks take on the Vancouver Canucks. The Ducks, my pick to represent the West in the Cup Finals, will have more problems than I initially imagined the Vancouver squad could dish. At times, the Canucks dominated the Dallas Stars in round one; others they were flat. I imagine this matchup will be a give one, take one type of exchange, one in which Vancouverites get their hopes up, only to have them dashed in the late goings. Anaheim in six.

As the Conference Finals near, tune in for my nitty-gritty shakedown of how the Buffalo Sabres will not Scott Norwood themselves in the end.