After several long and exciting series in the first and second rounds, the NHL saw two teams breeze right through the Conference Finals. Pittsburgh completed their sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Last night the Detroit Red Wings finally did away with those pesky Blackhawks, winning game five in overtime despite a herculean effort from Cristobal Huet.
Last year, the Red Wings beat the young Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals 4-2. It will be interesting to see how much tougher a series this will be for Detroit, especially with Pittsburgh having another year of experience under their belt and riding an incredible wave of momentum throughout the playoffs.
Speaking of momentum, let's all step back and think about how incredible it is that Pittsburgh has made it this far. Just a few months ago, the Penguins were written off as a team with no direction and and a woefully underperforming group of star players. Yet a mid-season coaching switch completely changed the way the team approached their play and instantly turned around a incredibly disappointing season into second straight Stanley Cup berth.