(7) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs. (8) MONTREAL CANADIENS

Records
Philadelphia: 41-35-6 (88 points, 3rd in Atlantic, 7th in East)
Montreal: 39-33-10 (88 points, 4th in Northeast, 8th in East)

Forwards
When Philadelphia needed a hero, Daniel Briere stepped up, taking over the series after Philly fell 3-0 behind to Boston. Briere scored five goals in the series and has netted seven goals in his last nine playoff games. All Philly captain Mike Richards has done so far in his career is win a Memorial Cup, a world junior title, and a Calder Cup. He’s a true leader. On the first real playoff run of his NHL career, people are discovering the clinical finishing of Montreal’s Mike Cammalleri. It’s helped him pot a Stanley Cup-leading 12 goals, seven of which came in the second round against Pittsburgh, tying a club mark for a single series he now shares with Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Bonin.
Edge: Philadelphia

Defense
Just call them the Fantastic Four. Philadelphia defensemen Chris Pronger, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen each log between 26-29 minutes per game, as the Flyers basically go with a four defenseman rotation, spotting in Lukas Krajicek and Ryan Parent on shifts with one of the big four. In 2006, Montreal’s Jaroslav Space was part of an Edmonton Oilers club in 2006 that was the No. 8 seed and rolled all the way to the Stanley Cup final. He returned from illness to play the last two games of the Pittsburgh series, perfect timing after Andrei Markov went down with a knee injury. Hal Gill, quietly emerging as perhaps the NHL’s best shutdown defender, missed Game 6 with a sliced calf, but gamely suited up for Game 7 and once more stymied Pens captain Sidney Crosby, who garnered one goal all series.
Edge: Montreal

Goaltending
The crease carousel continued in Philadelphia when Brian Boucher, one of seven goalies employed by the club this season, went down with a knee injury in Game 5 against Boston. In stepped Michael Leighton for the first time since suffering a March 16 high ankle sprain. All he did was combine with Boucher to post the first shared shutout in Stanley Cup history since 1955. Leighton is solid positionally, but tends to be slow with his stick and vulnerable to five-hole goals. When you’ve silenced Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby and shunted their teams aside, what’s left to do for an encore? In Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak’s case, running for mayor of the city might not be unreasonable. His brilliant puckstopping is assembling another fairy-tale story that so many netminders save for this time of year. He’s virtually walled up the bottom half of his net and persistently battles to make second and third stops.
Edge: Montreal

Special teams
No team left in the playoffs scored more power-play goals during the regular season than Philadelphia (68), and it was the Flyers’ power play that was the hero in Game 7 against Boston, when Simon Gagne netted the series-winning goal during a third-period man-advantage situation. Chris Pronger and Claude Giroux each show three PPG, while Mike Richards has dished out seven assists while the Flyers owned the extra man. Montreal acquired defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron to be a power-play specialist. It’s what he’s done his entire career and he’s delivering in that role again in the playoffs, collecting 1-3-4 point totals, all while the Canadiens have enjoyed the man advantage. Mike Cammalleri has netted four of his Cup-leading 12 goals on the power play. P.K. Subban’s powerful point shot has helped alleviate the loss of injured Andrei Markov.
Edge: Philadelphia

Role players
James Van Riemsdyk has played 90 games, nearly double the total of any previous season of his career. He started the playoffs in a perhaps a fatigue-induced funk, but returned to form in Game 7 against Boston, scoring his first Stanley Cup goal and doing the things he needs to do to succeed - driving to the net and shooting the puck. It might be wrong to suggest that as Maxim Lapierre goes, so goes Montreal, but then again . . . Lapierre scored the game winner in Game 6 against Pittsburgh and the Habs are 9-0-1 when he scores this season. Lapierre’s physical presence below the goal line caused all sorts of headaches for Pittsburgh’s defense. Travis Moen, who won a Cup with Anaheim in 2007, brings grit to the Habs all-Stanley Cup winner line with Brian Gionta (New Jersey) and Scott Gomez (New Jersey).
Edge: Montreal

Coaching
Philadelphia’s Peter Laviolette replaced Paul Maurice in mid-season in 2004 and led the Carolina Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup. Laviolette took over for deposed John Stevens this season, and against Boston, became the third coach in Cup history to rally his team from a 3-0 series deficit. His timeout call when Philly trailed 3-0 in Game 7 calmed his troops, got them back on point and focused on the gameplan. For years, Montreal’s Jacques Martin was saddled in Ottawa with a skilled team that simply wasn’t capable of paying the price to win in the playoffs, and definitely wasn’t adept at playing his trapping style of game. Plus, the Senators never had what Martin has in Montreal - world-class goaltending from Jaroslav Halak. Martin’s gameplan is simple - get ahead, then sit back and pounce on the counter-attack.
Edge: Philadelphia

X-Factor
A healthy scratch for Philadelphia’s first four playoff games, left-winger Ville Leino got into action against Boston due to injury and seemed to catch fire around the same time as the rest of the team did. He produced 1-4-5 totals over Philly’s four wins and was a persistent presence on the cycle, displaying a knack for retrieving pucks to get the attack going. Since being recalled April 26 from Hamilton (AHL), Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban has grown into a large piece of the puzzle, alleviating injuries which cost the team Jaroslav Space, Andrei Markov and Hal Gill. A physical presence with an impressive skill set, Subban played 29:11 in Game 6 against the Penguins. Only Markov (29:32 April 21 against Washington) has logged more ice time for the Habs in the playoff game this spring.
Edge: Montreal

Outlook
This will be the fourth time that Montreal and Philadelphia have met in the Stanley Cup final four. No. 8 seed Montreal arrives at this stage with victories over the top two seeds in the East, while the seventh-seeded Flyers get here off just the third rally from a 3-0 deficit in Stanley Cup history. But Philly’s reliance on a shortened bench will prove its undoing.
Prediction: Canadiens in 6

(1) SAN JOSE SHARKS vs. (2) CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Records
San Jose: 51-20-11 (113 points, 1st in Pacific, 1st in West)
Chicago: 52-22-8 (112 points, 1st in Central, 2nd in West)

Forwards
They call him Jumbo Joe in San Jose, and suddenly, center Joe Thornton is living up to that billing. He’s already tied his career playoff high with 3 goals, is owning the faceoff dot and playing physically. Twice against Detroit, Thornton set up linemate Patrick Marleau for game winners. Beyond them, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi and Ryane Clowe are supplying a second-line scoring option, led by Pavelski’s 9 goals. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews won Olympic gold with Canada in Vancouver this year, and was golden there again in the second round against the Canucks. An assist in the clincher extended his point streak to 10 games, and he leads all scorers with 20 points.
Edge: San Jose

Defense
Dan Boyle set a San Jose franchise record for rearguards with 43 assists, and through two rounds, is the only Sharks defender among the top 15 scorers with 2-7-9 totals. Niclas Wallin, who won a Cup with Carolina in 2006, returned to the lineup for Game 6 against Detroit. He’d been nursing a lower-body injury since the playoff opener against Colorado. Duncan Keith is on fire for Chicago. He’s garnered 1-5-6 totals in his last 7 games, and leads all Western Conference rearguards in average ice time (27:07). Since the start of the season and including the Olympics, he’s logged more time on the ice than any NHL defenseman (over 2,650 minutes).
Edge: Chicago

Goaltending
Chased from Game 4 against Detroit after allowing 5 goals on 9 shots in the first period, San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov rebounded to hold the Wings to 1 goal in the series-clincher. Equipped with perhaps the fastest glove hand in hockey, he’s just the second goalie in NHL history to post 3 successive 40-win seasons. Chicago’s Antti Niemi could easily be remembered for the 50-foot backhander that hopped past him to lose his playoff debut, except for the fact that he’s gone 8-3 since that debacle. He outshone Olympic hero Roberto Luongo in the second round against Vancouver.
Edge: San Jose

Special teams
Joe Pavelski’s emergence as a goal-scoring threat in the playoffs for San Jose has a lot to do with his power-play success. Working the point, Pavelski has tallied a playoff-high 5 PPG with his powerful shot. The Sharks have killed off 84.2 percent of their penalties. Chicago’s PP is especially potent on the road, scoring 9 times away from the United Center. Jonathan Toews is the PP catalyst, with 4-6-10 totals, including 3 PPG in Game 4 vs. the Canucks. Patrick Kane has 5 assists with the man advantage. A Dave Bolland shorthanded goal helped put the final nail in Vancouver’s coffin in Game 6.
Edge: Chicago

Role players
San Jose is much more of a playoff-ready squad this spring, thanks to the addition of role players like Manny Malhotra, Scott Nicholl and Jed Ortmeyer. The former two are dominant at the faceoff dot, while Ortmeyer competes as hard as anyone on the ice. Hulking Dustin Byfuglien has proven a jack of all trades for Chicago, playing defense in the opening round, then returning to haunt Roberto Luongo from the edge of the goal crease in the second round, scoring 3 times. Troy Brouwer returned from the healthy scratch heap to tally the opening goal in the series-clincher at Vancouver.
Edge: San Jose

Coaching
San Jose was down 7-1 to Detroit in Game 4 of their second-round series, and players were still dropping to block shots. It’s a sign of just how much they’ve bought into second-year coach Todd McLellan’s system. He’s brought focus and structure to this team - and confidence that they can overcome their pitfalls. This is Chicago coach Joel Quenneville’s third trip to the Western Conference finals, and second in as many springs. He stressed discipline and initiating contact against the aggressive Canucks and it paid dividends, as Chicago’s power play punished retaliatory Vancouver.
Edge: Chicago

X-Factor
It all starts with who’s got the puck and San Jose is dominant at the faceoff dot. Manny Malhotra (61.7 percent), Joe Thornton (55.7), Joe Pavelski (53.3) ensure that a Sharks team that plays a puck-possession game more often than not will resume from each stoppage with the biscuit. He’s a sniper, an elite skill player, and in recent springs, Chicago’s Marian Hossa has been a good-luck charm. The last two springs, his team’s have reached the Cup finals - Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit in 2009. But he’s still looking for that elusive ring. An odd stat - 7 of his last 8 playoff goals have come in Game 4s.
Edge: San Jose

Outlook
These aren’t the Sharks of old. San Jose is a more playoff-ready, harder-to-play-against, built-for-the-post-season style of club. They showed it in not panicking against Colorado and again in their surgical dismantling of Detroit. This could finally be the spring that San Jose knows the way.
Prediction: San Jose in 7

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