The finals in each conference are set and in both we find teams that have been on the cusp of success in the past and teams that have been Cinderella stories so far. With the number of upsets we've seen so far, it's anyone's guess who will win advance to the Finals, but one thing is for certain: We will have a first-time winner of the WCHL Cup this season.


Calgary - Vancouver
Season Series: Tied 1-1 (6-5)

Calgary (2nd – 102 points)
Beat LA 4-2 and Colorado 4-1
Leading Scorer: Patrik Elias - 7-9-16
Goaltending: Tim Thomas – 5-1-1 2.22, 0.900
Special Teams: PP-21.43% (3rd), PK-79.63% (12th)
Vancouver (6th – 95 points)
Beat Dallas 4-3 and Anaheim 4-0
Leading Scorer: Valtteri Filppula – 4-7-11
Goaltending: Miikka Kiprusoff – 8-3-1, 2.02, 0.931
Special Teams: PP-12.24% (10th), PK-93.18% (3rd)

The Vancouver Canucks were the heavy underdogs going into their series against the Ducks but came out guns ablazin' and knocked out the defending champs with ease. They've now taken down the 3rd and 1st seeds in successive rounds and will now look to complete the trifecta. Third liner Valtteri Filppula is turning into a local folk hero and many kids around town are bleaching their hair to show their support for the Finn. Questions still abound about the play of Pavel Datsyuk who has been rather silent thus far with only 5 points in 12 games. He'll need to come up big in this series. Their opponent has looked extremely focused on getting to the finals and won't be easy to pushover. The Flames have had one of the most interesting goalie situations of these playoffs as Tim Thomas has started every game but has also been pulled 4 times (3 in the last series). The short leash is causing some pundits to question how much faith the team has in their unorthodox netminder and it'll be intriguing to see if this idea of Hiller as a "closer" will become a new fad in the league should the Flames continue their success. Up front, the line of Hossa, Richards and Elias have been dominant so far and will be leaned on to produce even more in this series. The other interesting point is that this is the first time that the winner of this matchup will be the first Canadian team to make the finals since the Leafs did it in the early days of the league.

Prediction: The Canucks get burned by the Flames in 6.

New York Rangers – Buffalo
Season Series: Rangers 3-1 (9-7)

New York Rangers (3rd – 117 points)
Beat NYI 4-1 and NJ 4-3
Leading Scorer: Tim Connolly – 6-8-14
Goaltending: Henrik Lundqvist – 9-3-1, 1.89, 0.916
Special Teams: PP-19.57% (4th), PK-97.67% (1st)
Buffalo (7th – 106 points)
Beat Pittsburgh 4-2 and Philly 4-3
Leading Scorer: Tobias Enstrom - 2-11-13
Goaltending: Jimmy Howard – 8-7-0, 2.38, 0.901
Special Teams: PP-9.84% (12th), PK-80.60% (10th)

The Battle of the Empire State features two clubs that almost didn't make it to this point. Buffalo was all but done, down 3-1 against a stronger Philly club but managed to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in WCHL history. Jamie Langenbrunner's late 3rd period goal in game 7 gave the team a 4-3 victory in a 4-3 series and now this team that no one thought would make it out of the 1st round finds themselves only a few games from a final. Buffalo's strength has been it's 5-on-5 play as it goes into this series with the worst special teams of the remaining clubs. The big question is how long can this club continue its poor special teams play and expect to win? Their opponent struggled against the far weaker New Jersey Devils and nearly blew a 3-1 lead to get to this point. Tim Connolly and Scott Niedermayer have been leading this team throughout the playoffs but GM Andrew DOn will certainly be looking for Kopitar, Gagne and Doan to have a strong series. The season series would suggest that the Rangers have an advantage in this one, but two of those wins came in OT/SO and you have to wonder if momentum is going to be a key factor here.

Prediction: Sabres can't stand the big city pressure in New York and falter to the Rangers in 5.