AnySportAnyTime

Zdeno Chara (Sandra Huffman, Wikimedia Commons)

The NHL Eastern Conference Final goes tonight and the NHL Western Conference Final starts tomorrow evening.

The Tampa Bay Lightning play the Boston Bruins in the East and the Vancouver Canucks play the San Jose Sharks in the West.

In analyzing the two sides, I am predicting the Bruins and the Canucks for the same reason. Team defense.

The Bruins and the Canucks are simply better.

Boston is led by the towering Zdeno Chara, who was terrific against Philadelphia. At 6’9″, 255 pounds, he provides a menacing presence on the Bruins’ blueline. But the Bruin defenceman I have been most impressed with is Dennis Seidenberg, who has a goal, five assists and leads the Bruins with 31 blocked shots. Edmonton native Johnny Boychuk also deserves high praise for his playoff performance. Boychuk, who has two playoff goals, has 26 hits, 13 blocked shots and is an impressive +4.

Vancouver has a very European defense, but loaded with skill. German Christian Ehrhoff had 50 points in the regular season, and was a +19.  Swede Alexander Edler has 43 hits, 27 blocked shots, and has six playoff points. They’re joined on the Canuck blueline by Kevin Bieksa of Grimsby, Ontario, who has 45 hits and Dan Hamhuis, who has put his concussion issues behind him, to provide a steady presence on the Canuck blueline.

My picks– Boston in five, Vancouver in six.