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HOCKEYTALK'S EXPERT PICKS:
STANLEY CUP FINAL

STANLEY CUP FINAL SCORING:
1 POINT PER CORRECT PICK
BONUSES: +4 PTS FOR CORRECT # OF GAMES
+7 FOR TOP SCORER OF WINNING TEAM
(TIEBREAKER CLOSEST TO TOTAL PTS)

CHICAGO TOP SCORERS AS PICKED BY HT:
PATRICK KANE 3-5-8 / DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN 2-3-5 / TOEWS 0-3-3

Expert winner: Charles Smith 17 pts

CUP FINAL	JASON REED	KAREN FRANCIS	DENNIS BERNSTEIN	CHARLES SMITH	JOSH BREWSTER	CHRIS KOBER	IVO JASCHICK
Current score:	6	10	9	10	9	6	10
	IN 6	IN 7	IN 5	IN 7	IN 5	IN 6	IN 6
	PHI: Richards 3-5-8 CHI: Kane 4-6-10	PHI: Richards 4-3-7 CHI: Byfuglien 5-6-11	PHI: Briere 1-3-4 CHI: Toews 2-4-6	PHI: Carter 6-4-10 CHI: Kane 5-3-8	PHI:  Gagne 4-5-9 CHI: Toews 3-7-10	PHI: Carter 3-4-7 CHI: Toews 3-7-10	PHI: Richards: 2- 4-6 CHI: Kane 5-4-9
	1 PT PICK 4 PTS # GMS	1 PT PICK	1 PT PICK	7 PTS TOP SCORER BONUS	1 PT PICK	1 PT PICK 4 PTS # GMS	1 PT PICK 4 PTS # GMS
	11 TOTAL	11 TOTAL	10 TOTAL	17 TOTAL winner!	10 TOTAL	11 TOTAL	15 TOTAL

THE EXPERTS SPEAK:

DENNIS BERNSTEIN

While no one can question the heart of this Philadelphia Flyers team, they don't possess the tools to vanquish the Chicago Blackhawks. Coach Peter Laviolette deserves huge kudos for coming in during the season, calming a fractured, tension-filled locker room and getting the maximum out of this roster. Michael Leighton is the most unlikely Conn Smythe candidate in the history of the trophy and love him or hate him, Chris Pronger has now led three different teams to the Stanley Cup Finals in the past six years. This team will be forever etched in the annals of playoff history with their miraculous and stirring comeback against the Bruins. But the reality is that Chicago is a far superior team than any of the three Philadelphia has encountered on the path to the Finals. The Blackhawks are the deepest team in the league across the forward wall and Pronger will find that Dustin Byfuglien ain't Brian Gionta in front of the net. Antti Niemi, thought to be this team's Achilles' heel had two 40-plus save performances in the conference finals against San Jose and if he matches Leighton save for save, the Flyers have no advantage in any facet of the game. While many see a deep series, we don't see the logic.   (CHICAGO IN 5)

JOSH BREWSTER

I'll stick with my preseason prediction, and not just because it's nice to pick a winner every decade or so.  The Chicago Blackhawks are on a collision course with destiny.  Finished second in their conference, which has been a huge factor since the League went to East/West conferences in the early '90s.  Toppled tough clubs, including a very game divisional foe in Nashville, then dispensed with a Canucks team that was colossal in eliminating a good young Kings team.  After that, a five-game clinic against an oft-criticized but very strong Sharks team.  The collection of foes dispensed with by the Blackhawks impresses far more than Philly's conquests, with all due respect to their historic comeback against Boston. 

Chicago's depth in the forward ranks is impressive, with Dustin Byfuglien, Jon Toews and Pat Kane comprising its top line, and Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp ready to get back on the scoresheet from the second line in the Cup final.  Most intriguing is the combo of Dave Bolland, Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg, a checking line with 11 goals to its credit in the postseason.  Fresh off a shutdown of Joe Thornton's top line (aside from some heroics by Patrick Marleau), the Flyers should beware that whoever they put against this tight trio is in for a struggle.  John Madden chips in from the fourth line, which speaks volumes about their depth. 

The zombie-like revival of Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere, who came back from injuries that were thought to be fatal to their respective seasons, is a wild card that could push this whole thing to seven games.   As if it weren't enough to have Mike Richards, Daniel Briere, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell having good postseasons, the Flyers may have yet to peak considering  the return  of Carter, Gagne and Laperriere. 

Defensively, these teams are fairly evenly matched.  Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell get a lot of deserved attention, but Chris Pronger, Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle are awfully tough, too. 

Michael Leighton and Antti Niemi have proven many of our assumptions about the necessity of a "number one" goaltender wrong.  What a tight, evenly-matched series.

In the end, though, I like depth charges like Madden, Tomas Kopecky and Troy Brouwer's chances of contributing some surprise goals.  I see a tight series with big goaltending efforts that somehow, night after night, Chicago manages to win, often by just one goal.  I see the Flyers winning Game 3 in a desperate attempt to stay alive.  They'll play well, those Flyers, but will scratch their heads after losing one of the closest five-game series in history.  (CHICAGO IN 5)

CHARLES SMITH

Click here for Charles' expanded preview.  (PHILLY IN 7)

ROUND 3: CONFERENCE FINALS

ROUND 3 WINNERS: CHARLES SMITH & CHRIS KOBER / LEADERS AFTER 3 ROUNDS: KAREN, CHARLES, IVO

Click picks with links to read that author's round one preview

ROUND 2: CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

ROUND 2 WINNER: CHRIS KOBER / LEADER AFTER 2 ROUNDS: IVO JASCHICK

 ROUND 1: CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

 HOCKEYTALK EXPERT WINNER ROUND ONE: CHARLES SMITH

More:

Game 6 Audio Preview:
Listen Online

Likely Conn Smythe Trophy Candidates
by Gaby Martinez

Flyers surge, Hawks hope for home turnaround
by Charles Smith
So far, this series has had a little bit of everything.  Overtime goals, lead changes, late-period goals, rookies scoring game-tying and game-winning goals, rookies shrinking in the face of veteran greatness, and a goaltending battle with both netminders firing on all cylinders.

Stanley Cup Final Preview
by Charles Smith
Plus: Expert Picks

Chris Pronger's
Second Act
by Charles Smith
As the Philadelphia Flyers prepare for the apex of their most unlikely run to the Stanley Cup final, one impressive body of work in particular continues to grow.  Chris Pronger (left) has been in the Stanley Cup final three times in the last five seasons. 

How the Cup Finalists Were Built
by Chris Kober
On the surface the two teams seem quite similar. They each have three lines that can score through pure skill or relentless grit; each boasts a stable of stalwart defensemen and previously untested goaltending...however, the season has seen them take very different paths to the Final. (Photo: Marian Hossa, CHI)

What a Difference a Generation Makes
Bill, Rocky and the trip from '92 to '10
by Josh Brewster | NHL Quick Shots
(Bill Wirtz was a) Shakespearian figure, a stubborn old patriarch with loving children primed to succeed the old man...Like a modern-day King Lear, the Patriarch clings to his views and wanders alone, his empire operating at diminished capacity over the years, unable to achieve the success he craves. (Photo: The late Bill Wirtz)

Hockeytalk's Preseason Prediction: Blackhawks for Cup

Since 1994: Want the Cup? Finish 1-4 in Conference

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