Todd Cordell
Give me the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
For my money they've been the best team in hockey since Mike Sullivan took over as head coach and, on top of balanced scoring throughout their lineup, they're getting fantastic goaltending from Matt Murray.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won't be pushovers but I think they've had an easy road to the conference finals and that has made them look better than they are.
I expect the Lightning to put up a fight but I don't see any way they beat the Penguins; especially if Anton Stralman and/or Steven Stamkos aren't available for some (or all) of the series.
Peter Tessier The numbers favour Pittsburgh when looking at head-to-head matches over the last few years. In fact those numbers are pretty lopsided too but this is not your average Lightning storm. Some favoured Detroit in the first round, others felt the Islanders had the edge in round two but the Bolts proved them all wrong.
Pittsburgh may have dealt with the biggest challenge they could possibly face with Washington in the last round. It could liberate them from the scoring restraints that Crosby and Malkin have had.
That being said this should be a barn burner of a series between the two teams, fast, aggressive and filled with skilled players making scoring chances happen. After two rounds I won't sell Tampa short- it's a coin flip for me and the coin says Penguins.
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