From 16 teams, we are down to the Final Four. Only two teams will claim the Prince of Wales and Campbell trophies as champions of the East and West, respectively. Welcome to the Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Sadly, we won't see Pekka Rinne, Brian Elliott or Braden Holtby in the playoffs. Neither will we see Claude 'greatest player in the world' Giroux in this level. Still we'll definitely see a lot of goal protection from Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur, Mike Smith and Jonathan Quick and some high-end scoring, hits and dimes. Here are the two playoff matchups in the East and West.
(1) New York Rangers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils
Regular Season: Series tied 3-3
For the first time since 1994, the Hudson River rivals meet for the right to win the Prince of Wales trophy. They split the six-game regular season series, which makes the matchup hard to predict. New York may be the top seed, but got into trouble in both playoff series with Ottawa and Washington before winning Game 7 each time. New Jersey, on the other hand, enjoyed a week's rest after disposing Philadelphia in five games, in a series they initially trailed 0-1 after disposing Florida in Game 7.
Lundqvist and Brodeur have split two series against each other; Brodeur won in 2006, Lundqvist in 2008. This year will be the rubber series between Vezina-winning goalies, with both assured a place in the Hall of Fame soon. Youth vs. balance will play a role in the series. The Rangers' roster is generally young, with only a few of John Tortorella's troops have Cup rings (e.g. Brad Richards, Mike Rupp). Meanwhile the Devils still have remnants of past Stanley Cup-winning teams of 1995, 2000 and 2003 (e.g. Petr Sykora, Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur), and whose roster is stacked with both youth and experience. This despite Peter DeBoer enjoying just his first postseason appearance as coach. The Devils may have experience, but the Rangers have home ice, which will make the highly-touted regional rivalry interesting and dramatic similar to 1994.
(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings
Regular Season: Series tied 3-3
The Kings have taken care of first seed Vancouver and second seed St. Louis to become the first team to do the trick. Meanwhile, the Coyotes won two playoff series in a year for the first time in team history, and now have a chance to add a third. Surely, the series promises to be more intense and physical as both teams' calling cards were on defense.
Unlike the goalie matchup in the East, the West matchup will see two unproven goalies with a chance to break out. Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith were the anchors for their respective teams, and their performance will dictate how their teams will fare in the series. The Kings are a roster of the young and the hungry, and whose knack for scoring with a man down has been well-documented. Phoenix, meanwhile, have thrived with a man advantage, and if they keep Los Angeles' penalty kill in check, then they'll succeed. Both teams are riding a wave of momentum after disposing Cup contenders Nashville and St. Louis, and whoever wins will have a chance to hoist their franchise's first Stanley Cup.
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