The Red Wings won their conference final last night by beating the Blackhawks in overtime.  Although plagued with numerous injuries to key players, Detroit keeps finding a way to win.  They only have a few days to rest up and get healthy as the Stanley Cup Finals kick off on Saturday.

The Penguins are looking strong after winning 8 of their last 9 playoff games, including a sweep of the Hurricanes in the conference finals.  With  the playoff’s leading scorer at the helm, Pittsburgh looks to continue their outstanding play and do what they couldn’t do last season, bring home the Stanley Cup.

Who do you think will win the 2009 Stanley Cup?  Take our quick poll and let us know if you think we will see a repeat of  last year’s finals, or if a set of new names will go on the cup.

There’s still time this hockey season to stock up on Detroit Red Wings merchandise, Detroit Red Wings bedding, and Detroit Red Wings watches.  You can also select Pittsburgh Penguins merchandise, Pittsburgh Penguins watches, and Pittsburgh Penguins bedding.

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In the west, we have the Detroit Red Wings taking on the Chicago Blackhawks.  When these two teams met in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on New Year’s Day, the Red Wings easily took down the Blackhawks 6-4 after defeating them 4-0 the night before, thus proving that the Blackhawks still had a ways to go to play at the Red Wings level.

Now that they have knocked out Calgary and Vancouver in the first two rounds, the Blackhawks have shown that they have grown as a team and are a force to be reckoned with.  Can this relatively inexperienced playoff team pull off their biggest upset and take out the defending Stanley Cup Champions?

The east bring us the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Carolina Hurricanes.  This match-up gives us the opportunity to see more of  the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby in action, who has scored a league-best 12 goals in 13 playoff games.  We’ll also get to see two brothers going head to head at center in Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal and Carolina’s Eric Staal.

Both of these teams have just completed grueling 7 game series in round two.  Will we see exhaustion play a part in who emerges as the victor in the east and heads to the Stanley Cup Finals?

Who do you think will win these series and play for the Stanley Cup?  Will we see a rematch of last year’s finals, or will we get a surprise entry in the battle for hockey’s biggest prize?  Leave a comment below and tell us your picks.

Hockey fans, don’t forget to check out our selection of NHL watches.  These make great gifts for Father’s Day.  You can also visit the NHL Shop for some must-have NHL merchandise to decorate your home and office.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the surprise entries in round two, now taking on the Boston Bruins who swept their round one series.  The Bruins won all four meetings in the regular season, so the Hurricanes have their work cut out for them if they’re hoping to pull off another upset.

The most-talked about series of round two has to be the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Washington Capitals.  The Capitals pulled out game one of this series which is featuring several of the best players in the NHL.  Look for some high-scoring games in what will likely be a seven game battle.

The last two Stanley Cup winners are going head to head as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks take on the Detroit Red Wings in another conference semi-final.  Although the Red Wings won 3 of the 4 regular season match-ups, the Ducks took out the Presidents’ Trophy winners in the first round so another upset could be in the making.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks round out the semi-final match-ups.  Both these teams missed the playoffs last season and are excited to have the chance to reach the conference finals.  This series holds the possibility of becoming a goaltending battle and could turn into a long one.

It’s a great time of year to visit our NHL Shop to stock up on some NHL merchandise.  Keep in mind that NHL watches make great gifts for your hockey-loving dad for Father’s Day.

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There have been few surprises so far apart from Anaheim taking the first game against the #1 seed San Jose.  Even so, most NHL fans are expecting the west to come down to the Sharks and Red Wings, with the victors taking on the Bruins in the east.

Let us know your thoughts on who it will come down to in the Stanley Cup Finals by leaving a comment.

Here are the match-ups in round one:

• Boston Bruins vs.  Montreal Canadiens
• Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers
• New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
• San Jose Sharks vs. Anaheim Mighty Ducks
• Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
• Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues
• Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames

Support your favorite NHL playoff team with some NHL merchandise, including NHL bedding.  Don’t forget that NHL watches make great Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts for the NHL fans in your family.

Photo by rubyswoon, available under a Creative Commons Attribution license.