Are Halak and Canadians Returning to Life?
As much as Canadians fans and hockey analysts would each like to believe that the Montreal Canadians are the favorites out of the east to win the Stanley Cup after knocking off Presidents trophy winner the Washington Capitals and 2009 Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins, everyone should remember the Canadians are still the eighth seed. When placing a bet on the Stanley Cup, no one aside from their fans could have expected the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadians to be battling for the rights to represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. Further after coming back from being down three games to zero in the second round to the Boston Bruins and after winning the first two games of the East final both by shutouts, it appears the Flyers have become the favorites as the Montreal goalie Halak and the Canadians seem to be returning to life. Whether they come back for a third straight series or not, give the Canadians and Halak especially all the credit in the world, as Halak has put the team on his back time and time again. The Flyers a much bigger and stronger team, base their attack around a crashing the net mentality, and as a result of swarming Halak, have found a way to defeat him.
Can San Jose Get Over the Hump this Year and Win the Cup?
The Chicago Blackhawks continue to prove to be the best road team in the playoffs, winning seven straight during the playoffs. When participating in Stanley Cup betting, fans had every right to assume that the Sharks would be getting stronger as the playoffs went on. Conversely however they seem to struggle against the Blackhawks dating back to the regular season which saw the Hawks take the season series three games to one. However although the Hawks have proven to be amazing on the road in this year's playoffs, they have had their struggles at home and if the Sharks hope to get over the hump this year and win the cup, they will have to do so by winning at the Madhouse on Madison.
