Well, that was anti-climactic, wasn't it?

So after a 2nd round which featured 3 Game 7's and another series going to 6, we enter the conference finals to find that the two clear-cut best teams really are the best teams.  Carolina and Chicago, while they have potential, just couldn't stop the bleeding, much less stop themselves from being beaten silly.  Both teams were quite simply embarassed by two teams that were miles ahead of them.  There's no shame in being beaten by a better team, but there is shame to be had in 1) looking scared of Malkin in an interview (Carolina) and 2) throwing a fit because of the refs, when your team has done nothing to try to win the game themselves (Chicago, but mostly Coach Q).  We had a hell of a second round, but the third round mostly turned into a formality, as the Penguins and Wings got their requisite 4 wins to move on, for the right to make Marian Hossa either a psychic or the biggest idiot ever.  

The Red Wings are hated by anyone who isn't a fan of the team specifically.  Apparently, pissing on everyone else's dreams for the last 15 years has kind of soured people on the Winged Wheel.  The Penguins are hated by a whole lot of people because of the Crosby-hype, and the attention they get, which exemplifies the east-coast bias that anyone west of the Mississippi can't stand.  This series will match what are quite likely the top teams in each conference, regular season stats aside, and they should put up a hell of a show for us, but it seems that mostly, everyone hates both sides.  It's like the Evil Empire versus the Little Empire That Could.  No matter who wins, everyone else ends up enslaved!

(If I could photoshop, or even insert pictures, this is where I would insert a picture of Lidstrom wearing a Darth Vader mask, facing off against Tux, muttering "I think I can, I think I can...")