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.
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.
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.
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…
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).