NHL conference finals: How the final 4 stack up
Sens look to spoil Pens' repeat bid, Ducks hope to halt surging Preds
The Stanley Cup playoffs are down to the final four teams.
In the Eastern Conference, the Ottawa Senators — Canada's lone remaining representative — are looking to stop the Pittsburgh Penguins' quest to become the NHL's first repeat champions in nearly two decades.
Out West, the Anaheim Ducks will try to slow the surging Nashville Predators and return to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 2007, when they beat Ottawa to win the title.
Let's take a closer look at each conference final matchup.
Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa
Season series: Senators won 2-1-0 (Penguins 1-2-0)
- Dec. 5 @ Pittsburgh — Penguins 8-5
- Jan. 12 @ Ottawa — Senators 4-1
- Mar. 23 @ Ottawa — Senators 2-1
The skinny: This is the fifth time in 11 years Ottawa and Pittsburgh have met in the playoffs, with the Penguins having won the last three meetings … Of the four remaining teams, the Senators have the worst goal differential at plus-one and goalie Craig Anderson has the lowest save percentage at .914 … Ottawa, however, has won a league-high five games in overtime … Ottawa and Pittsburgh have been receiving contributions from their entire lineups. Each team has had 13 different players score at least one goal in the first two rounds … With Penguins goalie Matt Murray healthy again, expect Marc-Andre Fleury to continue to play well because he doesn't want to yield his No. 1 status to Murray … No NHL club has repeated as champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998 … The Penguins are only the fourth team since the 2004-05 lockout-cancelled season to reach the conference final the year after they won the Stanley Cup. They join the 2008-09 Red Wings, 2012-13 Los Angles Kings and 2013-14 Chicago Blackhawks ... Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin is from Ottawa and used to be on the staff of current Senators associate coach Marc Crawford with the 1995 Quebec Nordiques and 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche. Martin left the Avalanche midway through 1995-96 to become the Senators' head coach. Crawford and the Avalanche went on to win the Stanley Cup … Senators executive Bryan Murray coached the Penguins' 40-year-old veteran, Matt Cullen, early in his career with Anaheim.
Player to watch: Senators defenceman and captain Erik Karlsson has proved in the playoffs he's the best at his position. Now he must continue to shine and outplay the best forward in the world in Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Prediction: Penguins in six. Crosby already has won everything in his career and has been on quite a roll in the past 39 months, but he would love to add a repeat championship to his resumé. Besides, how can I start picking the Senators now? They beat the Boston Bruins and eliminated the New York Rangers after I picked against Ottawa in the first two rounds. Maybe that trend will continue.
Anaheim vs. Nashville
Season series: Ducks won 2-1-0 (Predators 1-1-1)
- Oct. 26 @ Anaheim — Ducks 6-1
- Nov. 12 @ Nashville — Predators 5-0
- Mar. 7 @ Anaheim — Ducks 4-3 (SO)
The skinny: Nashville is only the sixth eighth-seeded team since 1982 to reach a conference final, joining Montreal (1984, 2010), the Rangers (1986), Edmonton (2006) and Los Angeles (2012) … This is the first trip to the conference final in Predators franchise history … Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette makes his third trip to the conference final with three different teams after steering Carolina to the 2006 Stanley Cup championship and Philadelphia to the East final in 2010 … While the Ducks have a spectacular 19-3-3 record in their last 14 regular-season games and 11 playoff outings, Nashville has the best post-season record among the final four teams at 8-2 … Both the Predators and Ducks have outstanding blue-line depth … Nashville's defence has scored a league-best nine goals through two rounds … Look for the Predators' tandem of P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm to get the checking assignment of Anaheim's top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Nick Ritchie … Ducks shutdown centre Ryan Kesler's job doesn't get any easier after checking Edmonton captain Connor McDavid in the previous round. Now Kesler has to keep a watchful eye on Nashville's top trio of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson … A decade ago, Predators centre Mike Fisher played with Ottawa in the Stanley Cup final against Anaheim … With the Ducks advancing to the West final, they now have to surrender a first-round pick to the Dallas Stars for the deadline acquisition of forward Patrick Eaves … The Predators eliminated Anaheim in seven games in the first round a year ago … Do you believe in this sort of stuff? 77-year-old Jim Pappin, who scored the last Stanley Cup game-winning goal for Toronto 50 years ago, works for the Ducks as a pro scout.
Player to watch: Ducks captain Getzlaf has a Conn Smythe kind of playoffs going through two rounds. He has carried Anaheim with eight goals and 15 points in 11 games and has 37 goals and 114 points in 115 NHL post-season games.
Prediction: Predators in seven. This is an even-Steven, pick-'em type series. But goalie Pekka Rinne gives Nashville an edge, as does the Predators' rather smooth series victories against the Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.