Four Teams Remain in NHL Playoffs

And then there were four left in the NHL, and one of those teams are an unfamiliar face.

We all expected to see the Red Wings and the Penguins, last season's Stanley Cup contenders, in the mix, but who saw the Blackhawks going this far? I know I certainly didn't.

The Blackhawks entered the playoffs as the fourth seed, but they're road to the Western Conference Finals hasn't been easy.

They started off with a 4-2 series win against a gritty Calgary Flames team that pushed the Blackhawks to the brink early on the series before fizzling out in games five and six.

The Blackhawks then took another series in six games, this time against the Canucks. They were down 2-1 and on the brink of going down 3-1 in the series before pulling out an overtime win in Game 4. The Blackhawks would go on to score 11 goals in the next two games to close out the series.

A Stanley Cup Finals rematch might be in the works, but the Bruins and the Blackhawks look to stop that scenario. Which team has the better chance?

Both teams won two-straight games to end the season series against their conference finals opponents, but the Blackhawks lost four times to the Red Wings.

As great as the Blackhawks have looked this postseason, I don't see them winning a seven-game series against the Red Wings. The Red Wings just have too much veteran leadership. Trust me, being a Predators fan, I know this personally.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, might have their own set of problems entering this series. Both of their playoff series have gone to seven games, so fatigue might set in during this series. It's going to be tough to stop the offensive firepower that the Penguins have with Crosby and Malkin, among others.

It looks like a Stanley Cup Final rematch is pretty likely, but if I had to pick on upset I would go with the Blackhawks. They've seen the Red Wings six times this season and we've already seen the Anaheim Ducks push the Red Wings to the brink.

West Finals Prediction: Red Wings over Blackhawks, 4-3
East Finals Prediction: Penguins over Hurricanes, 4-2
Upset Pick: Blackhawks over Red Wings, 4-3