I don’t have a crystal ball that shows what will happen at the end of June. I don’t have a flying Delorean to see who’ll be on the links earlier than expected. I do have, however, have gut feelings. Rarely are they incorrect, some of the time they could be just hunger, but most of the time they win me beers on bets of who will advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Pittsburgh Penguins
They wouldn’t have even needed Brendan Morrow or Jarome Iginla to continue on their current success. The Penguins only need two more wins to tie their 1992-1993 record of 17 straight victories. The new and improved Lemieux and Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, have combined for 82 points. Though this season with Malkin’s concussion, maybe it’s better to say Crosby and Kunitz? Crosby and Neal? The options are endless. The depth on this team is as deep as a deep-dish pizza from…
Chicago Blackhawks
24 games in a row to start the season with a point…you know it only takes 16 wins to get the Cup, right? Their goals against with the help of Corey Crawford and Ray Emery is second best in the league. Patrick Kane is having his best season since the Blackhawks won the big dance back in 2010, and is a front runner for the Hart. Coach Quenneville has said that the real success for the club this season hasn’t been only Patty Kane stepping up–though that has been a huge part–but everyone from second line wingers to fourth line grinders have been contributing. Hats off to Bowman, who lost most of the key members after the Cup victory, but has slowly rebuilt the team back.
To be honest, I could be completely wrong. We all know where the Kings finished in the regular season last year, and where they finished in the post-season. It could be a Blue Jackets-Islanders final (it won’t be). But the way these teams have been playing, it’ll be pretty hard to stop the powerhouses…just wait and see what happens if they meet in the finals.