2013 NHL Playoffs - Eastern Conference Finals Preview

The Eastern Conference Finals have been established since Saturday. The Penguins and Bruins will face off for the right to represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals. Both teams have gotten some much needed rest, as they wait for the West Semis to finish up. Pittsburgh and Boston both got tougher than expected series' in the Conference Quarterfinals but blew through the Semis to reach the Conference Finals.

      
1 Pittsburgh (-210) vs. 4 Boston (+170)

The Boston Bruins are using the strength of their city as motivation, and are now appearing in their second Conference Finals in three years. The Bruins needed a miracle Game 7 comeback to get past Toronto in the opening round, and then dominated the Rangers to get here. Now they are on the brink of getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins have been the best team in the East all season. Now they have the chance to prove it once and for all. They battled through a surprising series with the Islanders, before thoroughly beating down Ottawa. Pittsburgh is a finesse team, while Boston likes to punish you. The team that plays their style of hockey should come out of this series. I think the Penguins have too much fire power for the Bruins to handle and Crosby and company will return to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2009.

Prediction - Pittsburgh over Boston 4-1