#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #4 Chicago Blackhawks Even though the Red Wings outplayed the Aneheim Ducks in virtually every game, the Ducks were able to push it to 7 games and as a result the Red Wings must be a little tired. With the physical play that the Ducks always play and the back and forth through two different time zones multiple times in the series the Wings are thankful for these two days off. The Chicago Blackhawks made fairly quick work of the Vancouver Canucks in 6 games but still had to travel out to Western Canada. You can be assured that the Blackhawks have seemed to really want to play the Red Wings (not many teams could say the same or would admit it) but one of the reasons why can certainly be concerned with the fact that Detroit is a mere 45 minutes away. Don't look for this to have much if any effect on this series. This is the NHL Playoffs and there are 26 other teams sitting at home wishing they were in the place of the 4 teams that are remaining. It's all-out effort on every shift from here on out. This series has everything (story lines and all) that any fan of these two teams or of the NHL could ever ask for. Original six match-up. Two big hockey markets and one of the biggest media markets in Chicago. The battle of I-94. And the veteran Red Wings team versus the young, up and coming ChicagoBlackhawks team. And that inevitably is what I think will decide this series. The 'Hawks have absolute studs in Patrick Kane (8 Goals, 4 Assists) and Jonathan Toews (4 Goals, 6 Assists) on the offensive side, and have solid defensemen in Brian Campbell (7 Assists and a +5 Rating) and Brent Seabrook (8 Assists, + 3 Rating) who can also bring the firepower. Nikolai Khabibulin has been solid in net with an 8-4 record with a G.A.A. of 2.76. He will have to bring his "A-Game" into this series against a Red Wings team who is sure to throw a considerable amount of shots at him every night. The Red Wings have incredible depth that allow them to roll out 4 lines on any team any night and have players on their 3rd and 4th lines that could be on other teams 1st and 2nd lines. To give you an example of this team's depth, star player Pavel Datsyuk is 10th in scoring ON HIS OWN TEAM. Not many other teams can say that they can make it to the conference finals with one or a couple of their star players not contributing at say a "Sidney Crosby" level. Johan Franzen has picked up right where he left off in last years playoffs and has simply looked unstoppable at times with 8 Goals and 7 Assists and a +/- rating of +7. Players like HenrikZetterberg and Marian Hossa are superstars but what makes the Red Wings so good is the high level of play from people like Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler. And of course the Wings still have one of the greatest defensemen of all time in Nick Lindstrom; paired up with Brian Rafalski who is now healthy. Chris Draper also came back at the end of the series against the Ducks and everything health wise is falling into place for Detroit at the right time. Chris Osgood hasn't been sparkling in net, but then again he's never had to be and he isn't asked to be. He is 8-3 with a G.A.A. of 2.06 and he just needs to continue to make the big saves at key moments in the game. Prediction The Chicago Blackhawks are back and relevant again in the NHL and will be for some time before they start running into cap trouble. Look for them to be a playoff contender for many years to come. But in the end, experience and depth will be too much for Chicago to overcome. Both the 'Hawks and the Red Wingsexcel on the Power Play and I expect many of these contests to be high scoring affairs. But you can't just depend on goals from the power play, especially when Detroit is a team that is so disciplined and stays out of the box. I believe the 5-on-5 play will decide the outcome of this series, and with the depth on the Detroit side, advantage Red Wings. Red Wings in Six Look for my prediction in the Eastern Conference Finals match-up between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes before Game 1 on Monday.