2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Eastern Conference Final
(M1) New York Rangers vs (A2) Tampa Bay Lightning: This is a very fascinating matchup with great story lines. Martin St. Louis is facing his former team as well as Ryan Callahan (if he plays), Anton Stralman, and Brian Boyle. Callahan had to get his appendix taken out prior to game six against Montreal, and if he doesn't play, it's a big loss for Tampa. The Bolts "triplets" line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Nikita Kucherov was terrific last round and it should be interesting to see what they can do here against the Rangers, who for the second straight year came back to win a series after being down 3 games to 1 to win the series. For the majority of the series against Washington, the Rangers kept Alex Ovechkin off the score board. It would be interesting to see if they keep Steven Stamkos off the board and if Alain Vigneault has Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh defend Stamkos. Ben Bishop has been solid so far in the postseason as well as Henrik Lundqvist, who has made big save after big save in the Rangers comeback against Washington. You can make a case for either team to win this series, but the Rangers are a more complete team than Tampa Bay and expect them to return to the Stanley Cup finals for the second year in a row.
Prediction: Rangers in seven games.

Western Conference Final
(P1) Anaheim Ducks vs (C3) Chicago Blackhawks: This should be another great series in the west where two power house teams will take the ice. Bruce Boudreau is in the conference finals for the first time in his coaching career while Joel Quenneville is in the conference finals for the fifth time in seven years with the Hawks. There is superstardom all around with Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane among them. Both of these teams played great hockey throughout the second round. Frederik Anderson has been pretty solid in net for Anaheim, while Chicago's Corey Crawford rebounded from being benched in the first round against Nashville. Chicago has a slight edge in defense with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook leading the way, while Anaheim has a solid defense as well. Overall, Chicago is a deeper team than Anaheim and expect them to appear in the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in six years and it also sets up a dream matchup of two original six teams with finals or bust expectations.
Prediction: Blackhawks in six games.