Forman Faceoff 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Conference Finals

1st Round Series Scores:

East:

WC #2 Columbus Blue Jackets defeat #1 Tampa Bay Lighting (4-0)

WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes defeat #1 Washington Capitals (4-3)

#2 Boston Bruins defeat #3 Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3)

#2 New York Islanders defeat #3 Pittsburgh Penguins (4-0)

West:

WC #2 Colorado Avalanche defeat #1 Calgary Flames (4-1)

WC #1 Dallas Stars defeat #1 Nashville Predators (4-2)

#3 St. Louis Blues defeat #2 Winnipeg Jets (4-2)

#2 San Jose Sharks defeat #3 Vegas Golden Knights (4-3)

2nd Round Series Scores:

East:

#2 Boston Bruins defeat WC #2 Columbus Blue Jackets (4-2)

WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes defeat #2 New York Islanders (4-0)

West:

#2 San Jose Sharks defeat WC #2 Colorado Avalanche (4-3)

#3 St. Louis Blues defeat WC #1 Dallas Stars (4-3)

Eastern Conference Finals:

#2 Boston Bruins vs WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes

Season Series: Boston won the season series 2-1-0

October 30, 2018: Boston Bruins 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2
December 23, 2018: Carolina Hurricanes 5, Boston Bruins 3
March 5, 2019: Boston Bruins 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 (OT)

Players to Watch:

Boston: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug, Charlie Coyle

Carolina: Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Jaccob Slavin, Petr Mrazek, Justin Williams, Jordan Staal

X-Factor:

Boston: Tuukka Rask

Carolina: Jaccob Slavin

Playoff Leaders:

Goals: David Pastrnak (BOS) - 6, Teuvo Teravainen (CAR) - 6
Assists: Jaccob Slavin (CAR) - 11, Brad Marchand (BOS) - 8
Points: Brad Marchand (BOS) - 13, Jaccob Slavin (CAR) - 11
Wins: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 8, Petr Mrazek (CAR) - 5
Goals Against Average: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 2.02, Petr Mrazek (CAR) - 2.22
Save Percentage: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - .938, Petr Mrazek (CAR) - .913

Prediction: No one is taking the Bunch of Jerks from Carolina lightly after they dismantled the New York Islanders in a 4-game sweep, and the Bruins will certainly have their hands full in this series. While I am rooting for Rod Brind'Amour's group, I think the experience on the Boston side pays off and the Bruins head back to the Stanley Cup for the 1st time since 2013.

(BRUINS IN 5)

Western Conference Finals:

#2 San Jose Sharks vs #3 St. Louis Blues

Season Series: San Jose won the season series 2-1-0

November 9, 2018: St. Louis Blues 4, San Jose Sharks 0
November 17, 2018: San Jose Sharks 4, St. Louis Blues 0
March 9, 2019: San Jose Sharks 3, St. Louis Blues 2 (OT)

Players to Watch:

San Jose: Logan Couture, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier

St. Louis: Jordan Binnington, Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Colton Parayko

X-Factor:

San Jose: Brent Burns

St. Louis: Jordan Binnington

Playoff Leaders:

Goals: Logan Couture/Tomas Hertl (SJS) - 9, Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 8
Assists: Erik Karlsson (SJS) - 12, Alex Pietrangelo (STL) - 9
Points: Logan Couture//Brent Burns (SJS) - 14, Alex Pietrangelo/Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 11
Wins: Martin Jones (SJS) - 8, Jordan Binnington (STL) - 8
Goals Against Average: Jordan Binnington (STL) - 2.39, Martin Jones (SJS) - 2.72
Save Percentage: Jordan Binnington (STL) - .915, Martin Jones (SJS) - .910

Prediction: As an Avalanche fan I'm still very bitter over that botched video review in the Avs/Sharks game 7 last night, and let's not remember what happened to them vs Vegas in game 7 round 1 too. While I would be happy to see Joe Thornton get a chance at a Stanley Cup, I think the hockey gods return some karma in this series and the Blues march on to their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1970.

(BLUES IN 7)

This would have the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues advancing to the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, with Boston having home-ice advantage as the higher seed

#2 Boston Bruins vs #3 St. Louis Blues

Should be an interesting Conference Finals!

Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff