East - West Mirror Image

[jonzr]

Top three seeds fall in the East and the top three seeds make it through in the West.  Gotta love the funky symmetry that allows the #4 Pens and the #5 Red Wings to make it through, keeping the rematch possibilities alive.

[JackSplat]

Of the four remaining I would rank in order of playing preference:

Hawks - Not just the Hossa grudge match, but Kane and Toews would be exciting hockey against Crosby and Malkin

Sharks - the commute would blow, but would be worth it for some open ice hockey.

Wagon wheels - Meh, screw the rubber match

Canooks - yea yea, they have the double mint twins, but thats about as boring as Seattle in the superbowl

[Merman1983]

Of the four remaining I would rank in order of playing preference:

Hawks - Not just the Hossa grudge match, but Kane and Toews would be exciting hockey against Crosby and Malkin

Sharks - the commute would blow, but would be worth it for some open ice hockey.

Wagon wheels - Meh, screw the rubber match

Canooks - yea yea, they have the double mint twins, but thats about as boring as Seattle in the superbowl

My order:

Hawks - agree. This would be the most exciting series. Young guns of the NHL, no bullshit trapping. Skill against skill, would be an awesome 7 game series IMO. Not sure their goaltending holds up to get them there (they should have been on the phone to get Vokuun at any price at the deadline)

Wings - the familiarity would really help us here, and I'm not sold on Howard. This is actually my prediction from the west, somehow these guys will find a way to make it back. The hockey gods want a grudgematch.

Canucks - I wouldn't like this matchup at all, Luongo has been more Jeckyl than Hyde, but he can flip a switch and they have a ton of offensive firepower.

San Jose - We've been historically bad out there.  I just really don't like the matchup

[pensodyssey]

Hawks
Wings
Sharks
Canucks

I'd rather play the Sharks than the Canookies because I don't think their best players are particularly good when the spotlight is on.  Thornton, Marleau, Nabokov, all have histories of disappearing during the crunch.

[jonzr]

I'd like to see Det/Chi and Pitt/Phi in the conference finals.  After that, a third straight Det/Pitt SCF would be cool, but any matchup would be interesting IMO.