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NHL Analysis: Stanley Cup Finals Preview

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The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks begin the final leg of the championship journey on Wednesday night when the two Original Six franchises open the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s the first time a pair of NHL originals have met for the Cup since 1979, a year Montreal won its fourth straight title over the New York Rangers. TheSportsNotebook does its final series preview of the season, as we see if Chicago is worthy of their status as the 8-5 favorite to win it all.

NHL Analysis: Chicago Clinches The West

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One night after the Boston Bruins punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, the Chicago Blackhawks locked up their chance to hoist sport’s greatest trophy. Game 5 against the Los Angeles Kings looked like it would be an easy coronation, ended up as drawn-out confrontation, but still ended in celebration for Chicago.

NHL Analysis: Boston Sweeps Through Pittsburgh

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The Boston Bruins are going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in three years, and this time it’s on the back of Tuuka Raask. The Bruin goalie completed a series where he spearheaded a defensive effort that not only shut down the potent Pittsburgh attack, but in the final two games, Raask saved 77 of 78 shots. The kid from Finland came of age in this series, and he’s the biggest reason Boston is the champion of the Eastern Conference.

NHL Analysis: Los Angeles Back In It; Pittsburgh On The Brink

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The Los Angeles Kings got themselves back into the NHL’s Western Conference Finals with their clutch Game 3 win over Chicago while the Pittsburgh Penguins weren’t as fortunate in a gut-wrenching double-overtime loss in Boston last night. Los Angeles got another break when the league office stepped in and issued a key suspension for tonight’s crucial Game 4, so it’s this series that our NHL analysis will start.

NHL Analysis: Chicago & Boston Open Up In Game 2

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The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins may have drawn first blood in the opening games of their respective conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. But Game 2 saw Chicago and Boston simply open up the veins of their opponents and watch them bleed out, as each struck early and often for victories that put them in commanding 2-0 series leads.

NHL Analysis: Chicago & Boston Strike First

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One of the NHL’s conference finals went to form yesterday, and another saw the underdog strike first. The Chicago Blackhawks nipped the Los Angeles Kings, but the other favorite, the Pittsburgh Penguins, were outplayed at home by the Boston Bruins. Let’s rehash how Chicago and Boston drew first blood in their best-of-seven series and look ahead…

NHL Analysis: Conference Finals Previews

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The conference finals in the NHL playoffs begin with a Saturday doubleheader. It starts in the late afternoon from the Windy City, when Los Angeles visits Chicago (5 PM ET, NBC Sports Network). Then the action shifts to the Steel City for the prime-time battle between Pittsburgh and Boston (8 PM ET, NBC).

NHL Analysis: How Los Angeles & Chicago Survived

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The champs of 2012 and the favorite of 2013 were each pushed to the brink in the NHL’s Western Conference semi-finals, but in the end both the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks survived, each winning 2-1 battles in Game 7. We’ll close out our coverage of the second round with a look at how LA & Chicago did it.

NHL Analysis: Game 7s Ahead In The West

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The NHL playoffs hit a fever pitch over the next two nights, as both Western Conference semi-finals reach Game 7. It’s San Jose-Los Angeles from tonight, and Chicago was able to force a decisive game with their win last in Detroit. You have the defending champion on the ropes in one series and one of this season’s co-favorites on the ropes in another. Both will have the home crowd behind them in Game 7. Here’s a look ahead to the next two nights…

NHL Analysis: Detroit Pushes Chicago To The Brink

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Four teams are on the brink of moving into the conference finals of the NHL playoffs and to the surprise of everyone, one of them is not the Chicago Blackhawks. The Western Conference’s top seed, and co-favorite with Pittsburgh for the Stanley Cup, has been pushed to the brink of elimination by the Detroit Red Wings. It’s there that we’ll begin our review of all four second-round matchups.

NHL Analysis: Ottawa & Detroit Won’t Go Quietly

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The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings have served notice they won’t go quietly, nor passively accept their roles as sacrificial lambs for the heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. Each underdog got badly needed wins over the weekend, as TheSportsNotebook reviews all four second-round series…

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