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The final four teams are now set in each conference and are one step closer to going to the Stanley Cup finals.One thing all these teams have in common is they all have one at least one cup.
Let's break down each team in each conference starting in the East:
The Pittsburgh Penguins:
This team finished second in their division behind the Montreal Canadiens and quite possibly had finished first but since they did not want to face the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, some think they "tanked" the game.No Sidney Crosby, no win.Ironically, these two teams faced each other in the last game of the regular season.But be that as it may, the Penguins have shown they learned from the mistakes they made in last year's playoffs and were out to prove they mean business.A mix of veterans and youngsters have given the Penguins the ability to face any team.With veterans like Forwards Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque, along with Defenseman Sergei Gonnchar, whom all have had playoff experience and then you add the combination of Forwards Sidney Crosby,Evgeni Malkin and Jordon Staal this team was picked to go deep into the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Flyers:
This was a team that last year did not make the playoffs, in fact they were dead last by the Christmas break.A change in coaches and general managers was the starting point to get this team back to it's glory years.Trading Forward Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for Forwards Scott Hartnell and Scottie Upshall, the signing of Martin Biron at the trade deadline and the summer sighing of Forward Daniel Briere, along with another trade with the Edmonton Oilers to bring Defenseman Jason Smith and Joffery Lupul to the team proved to fans the team was back.The team started out in first place, but with a number of injuries and untimely suspensions , the team not only started to struggle but found themselves slowly dropping in the standings.Many thought this team would not make the playoffs.Recently signed players were struggling to find their scoring touch and goaltending became a hot issue.A trade at the deadline this year helped as Forward Vaclav Prospal was brought in and paired with Briere and goaltending soon righted the ship and the team made the playoffs.In the first two rounds the Flyers were not picked to go deep into the playoffs, but because they played teams with little or no experience, they found a way to win and have become the "sleeper team" of these playoffs.
The Western
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