Battle for Conference Supremacy: Round 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Much like the prior rounds, the suspense builds in the tournament for the Stanley Cup.  Water became a source of controversy when Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins squirted P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens from his spot on the bench and the New Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist used his water bottle against the persistent Pittsburgh Penguins squad at the end of the second period in game 6.  In addition to fines, the National Hockey League issued a two-game-suspension to Chicago Blackhawks’ Brandon Bollig after a boarding incident involving Keith Ballard of the Minnesota Wild during game 4 of their playoff series. Other in-game misbehavior included Matt Cooke (already suspended for Round 1 kneeing incident) boarding Chicago’s Johnny Oduya, an action that may have warranted punishment had Minnesota advanced. However, not all news was negative as heroes emerged when needed, such as Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson.

Round 3 decides who goes to the Finals. The best of the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions from the East square off as do the lone representatives of the Central and Pacific counterparts in the West.  These match-ups are entertaining and test the teams that have endured grueling series in prior rounds. The storylines to follow: 1. Kentucky Derby winning horse California Chrome may not be the only California-named newsmaker with title aspirations as the Los Angeles Kings of the Pacific Division set their sights on their opponents the Chicago Blackhawks; 2. This “Original 6” Eastern conference match-up is going to generate headlines as the Montreal Canadiens face off against the New York Rangers.

To recap the Western Conference:

The Central Division

Wild Card-Minnesota Wild

#3-Chicago Blackhawks-won series in 6 games

The Pacific Division

#1-Anaheim Ducks

#3-Los Angeles Kings- won series in 7 games

Here’s how the Eastern Conference fared:

The Atlantic Division

#1-Boston Bruins

#3-Montreal Canadiens- won series in 7 games

The Metropolitan Division

#1-Pittsburgh Penguins

#2-New York Rangers- won series in 7 games

Round 3 is underway

*Sources: www.nhl.com