It's fair to say this is as close to a no - doubt HOF group as could be in any sport. Hull, third all-time in goals scored (741); Yzerman, who spearheaded the Red Wings to begin the standard of excellence in "Hockeytown" that continues with Datsyuk & Lindstrom today; Leetch a rock at defense who helped of Ranger fans to sleep peacefully after the 1994 Stanley Cup; and Robitaille, whose 668 goals makes him all - time goal scorer from the left wing.   
 
And the Popsicle Bros. will not front – this is the time where we would love TSN’s coverage to be in the mix feed wise so we can get that extra Maple flava on how Canada’s sport accentuates their positives.
Round One will be televised on Versus, so to the new crop of NHL players, all the best and we look forward to one day seeing you out on Centre Ice!
 
michaelingram@blackathlete.com
garyngray@blackathlete.com

Hockey contributor Heather Yunger and I made picks along the way, which were detailed in the blog and on the show. 

Heather and I both hit the jackpot in figuring the Penguins to win the whole shooting match.  I had the Pens in 7, improbable as it was to pick the road team in a Game 7, especially against the almost-dynastic Red Wings at the Joe.  I did not even realize that road teams in a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 were 2-12 going into that game and the two steely goalies in those two wins were Frank McCool (1945 Maple Leafs) and the inimitable Ken Dryden (1971 Canadiens).  Add the enigmatic Marc-Andre Fleury to the list.

Heather had more faith in the Penguins and had them winning at the Igloo in six games.

So, I got the last laugh by picking the correct amount of games.  Or, did I?  Here is how we did:

CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
#1E Boston vs. #8E Montreal: StatMan - BOS/6; Heather - BOS; Result: BOS/4
#2E Washington vs. #7E N.Y. Rangers: StatMan - WSH/7; Heather - WSH; Result: WSH/7
#3E New Jersey vs. #6E Carolina - StatMan - CAR/6; Heather - CAR; Result: CAR/7
#4E Pittsburgh vs. #5E Philadelphia - StatMan - PIT/5; Heather - PIT; Result: PIT/6
#1W San Jose vs. #8W Anaheim - StatMan - SJS/7; Heather - SJS; Result: ANA/6
#2W Detroit vs. #7W Columbus - StatMan - DET/5; Heather - DET; Result: DET/4
#3W Vancouver vs. #6W St. Louis - StatMan - VAN/5; Heather - VAN; Result: VAN/4
#4W Chicago vs. #5W Calgary - StatMan - CGY/6; Heather - CHI; Result: CHI/6
StatMan: 6-2 (1 was correct on winner and games (WSH))
Heather: 7-1 (Heather matched me on every pick, but disagreed with CGY-CHI)

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
#1E Boston vs. #6E Carolina - StatMan - BOS/6; Heather - BOS/6; Result: CAR/7
#2E Washington vs. #4E Pittsburgh - StatMan - WSH/7; Heather - PIT/7; Result: PIT/7
#2W Detroit vs. #8W Anaheim - StatMan - DET/5; Heather - DET/6; Result: DET/7
#3W Vancouver vs. #4W Chicago - StatMan - VAN/7; Heather - CHI/7; Result: CHI/6
StatMan: 1-3 (just wrong all over the place and the only time I was right, I thought Detroit

would have a much easier time against the Ducks)
Heather: 3-1 (1 was correct on winner and games (PIT))

CONFERENCE FINALS
#4E Pittsburgh vs. #6E Carolina - StatMan - PIT/6; Heather - PIT/6; Result: PIT/4
#2W Detroit vs. #4W Chicago - StatMan - DET/6; Heather - CHI/7; Result: DET/5
StatMan: 2-0 (big rebound)
Heather: 1-1 (going with your heart does not win Championships)

STANLEY CUP FINALS
#2W Detroit vs. #4E Pittsburgh - StatMan - PIT/7; Heather - PIT/6; Result: PIT/7
StatMan: 1-0 (on the mark on winner and games)
Heather: 1-0 (she must feel like having a full house and losing the hand)

Overall: Heather: 12-3 (1 right on the number); StatMan: 10-5 (2 right on the number)

Well, it looks like Heather laughed last and laughed best.  We'll see how she does picking the NHL Award winners.  I will be posting that later today.

The Conference Finals saw the Red Wings take on the upstart Chicago Blackhawks in the Western final while the Pittsburgh Penguins was trying to get past a pesky Carolina Hurricanes club in the Eastern final.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

Detroit vs. Chicago >>> DETROIT IN SIX

Chicago was too young to be scared and made it through to this point.  Well, they also used timely goal scoring and a great home crowd to propel them this far.  I want Chicago to keep moving on, so I'll do what I did in the first two rounds: pick against them.  Detroit is looking for a repeat win in the Stanley Cup and they have only gained momentum in this year's playoffs.  Detroit won an easy series in the first round against Columbus and won a rough-and-tough series with the rock-'em-sock-'em Ducks in the second round.  They can play (and beat you) any way you want.  1-0?  5-4?  2 PIM?  30 PIM?  They can do it.  And, they will this time, too.
Heather's prediction: CHICAGO IN SEVEN

Post-Mortem: Detroit won the series in five.  Detroit won it because of two reasons: Chicago realized where they were and Detroit sent a big message to the Hawks in the person of Niklas Kronwall pasting Martin Havlat in Game 3.  Kronwall was given the gate for the hit, which, in retrospect, may not have deserved even a minor penalty.  Havlat was clearly not the same after that.  He did not return in Game 3 after he was hit about 14 minutes into the first period.  Havlat played 7:59 in Game 4 and was noticeably absent in Game 5.  Meanwhile, Kronwall averaged over 25 minutes a game and chipped in with two assists and a plus-2 rating in Game 4.  However, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Kris Draper have been hampered by injuries and that can hurt them down the road.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
Pittsburgh vs. Carolina >>> PENGUINS IN SIX
The Carolina Hurricanes have been the type of team that seems to have destiny on its side.  The late-game, late-series heroics are quickly becoming the stuff of legend and Cam Ward and Eric Staal, their narrators.  Cam Ward enters the series with a 23-14 career playoff record and Eric Staal is 4-0 in Game Sevens.  The first two series for Carolina went the full boat, with the Canes prevailing on the road against New Jersey and Boston.  So, with Carolina, destiny could strike again.  Pittsburgh wants their destiny to be a repeat visit to the Stanley Cup Finals and perhaps a chance to right a wrong from last June.  Sidney Crosby and the emergence of Evgeni Malkin are at the fore-front, but the supporting cast is better this year with Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz.
Heather's pick: PENGUINS IN SIX

Post-Mortem: Pittsburgh swept the series in four games.  Either Carolina ran out of gas or Pittsburgh can taste the Cup.  It is probably both.  Pittsburgh outscored Carolina, 20-9, and suddenly, Cam Ward's playoff season stats look pedestrian: 8-10, 2.67 GAA.  But, the .915 save percentage tells more of the story of how Carolina got this far.  In this series, too much Crosby (2-5-7) and too much Malkin (3-6-9).  There are two sides to the Pittsburgh success story.  Yes, they scored 20 goals, but Marc-Andre Fleury stopped the puck from going into his net, saving 109 out of 118 shots (.924 save percentage) and had a goals against average of 2.25 for the series.

STANLEY CUP FINAL
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh >>> PITTSBURGH IN SEVEN
Detroit and Pittsburgh are at it again with everything on the line.  This is the first rematch between Stanley Cup finalists since 1983-84, when the New York Islanders' "Drive For Five" ended in defeat to the Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers lost to the Isles in the previous season to give the Islanders four Cups in four years.  Detroit is going for a repeat, trying to become the first team to win two in a row since the...Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.  Pittsburgh was the last team before Detroit to sip champagne from the Cup in consecutive seasons (1991, 1992).  The Islanders-Oilers matchup holds some water because the Oilers were the young team learning from the masters in the Islanders.  If this year's Final follows that blueprint, which I think it will, the upstarts will force a changing of the guard in the NHL.  The Penguins are the Oilers and the Red Wings are the Islanders.  Look for Crosby and Malkin & Co. to learn from last year and win it this year.  Around the league, Chris Osgood was just a good goaltender on a great team.  But, Detroit fans know better.  Since Ozzie took over for Dominik Hasek in Game 4 of last year's first round series against Nashville, Osgood has gone 26-8 with a 1.79 GAA, a .927 save percentage, and four shutouts.  Sounds like he's better than good.
Heather's pick: PITTSBURGH IN SIX

EASTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 Boston vs. #8 Montreal >>> BRUINS in SIX
Boston is very deep at forward and they are hungry, especially against its biggest rival in Montreal. The Habs have always dominated in their playoff history against the Bruins, so even though Boston has the better team, one team almost never dominates the other.

#2 Washington vs. #7 N.Y. Rangers >>> CAPITALS in SEVEN
The best pure goal-scorer in the world, Alexander Ovechkin, will be the best player on the ice just about every game. Meanwhile, the best player on the Rangers, goalie Henrik Lundqvist, has to be better than Ovechkin just about every game. This will come down to Washington's PP against the Rangers PK.

#3 New Jersey vs. #6 Carolina >>> HURRICANES in SEVEN
Carolina has had the Devils number in the last few seasons, but the Devils have had so much playoff success over the years with Martin Brodeur in net, how can you count the Devils out? The Hurricanes are on the better run and Carolina has done this in a 3-6 matchup before against New Jersey.

#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Philadelphia >>> PENGUINS in FIVE
Philadelphia had more 25-goal scorers than anyone (six, Carter, Gagne, Richards, Hartnell, Knuble, and Lupul), but they have had a rough go of it in the last month-and-a-half, going 11-10-1 to close the season. Pittsburgh made the best deadline deal for former Islanders captain Bill Guerin and has playoff-proven firepower in Crosby and Malkin.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 San Jose vs. #8 Anaheim >>> SHARKS in SEVEN
The Sharks have been the class of the league for most of the season. Their defense has been the story with Dan Boyle joining an already-impressive crew on the blueline this season. Evgeni Nabokov is an Ironman between the pipes. Anaheim has the playoff pedigree, and they still have Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, but the wild card is the Ducks netminding.

#2 Detroit vs. #7 Columbus >>> RED WINGS in FIVE
The Red Wings are the defending champions and they got better in the offseason when Marian Hossa signed with the winners after losing to them as a Penguin in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Wings eat rookies for breakfast. Enter Columbus. The franchise is a playoff rookie and their star goaltender, Steve Mason, is also a rookie.

#3 Vancouver vs. #6 St. Louis >>> CANUCKS in FIVE
Roberto Luongo is becoming a top playoff performer and could be the hot goalie that carries a team deep into the postseason. St. Louis tries to be the unstoppable force to Luongo's immovable object. The Blues had the best second-half record in the league, but a hot goalie can stop a surging team, especially a young team that was not expected to make the playoffs.

#4 Chicago vs. #5 Calgary >>> FLAMES in SIX
Will the Blackhawks be a team too young to be scared or were they just happy to break their six-year playoff drought? They have young leadership in Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Kris Versteeg, but the goaltending is much better in Calgary. The Flames have the second-best deadline deal in acquiring Olli Jokinen from the Coyotes. Their leadership is older and playoff tested (Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf, Miikka Kiprusoff).