Jack Dempsey/Associated Press The Eastern Conference finals are set, but there is still much to be decided in the West. On Monday, the Boston Bruins finished off a series win over the Columbus Blue Jackets with a Game 6 victory. They advance to face the Carolina Hurricanes, who swept the New York Islanders in the second round. This will be the first time the Bruins and Hurricanes have faced off in the playoffs since 2009. Meanwhile, the Western Conference finals won't be decided until a pair of Game 7 matchups, one on Tuesday and another on Wednesday. The winner of the St. Louis Blues-Dallas Stars contest will advance to face the winner of the San Jose Sharks-Colorado Avalanche matchup. Remaining Second-Round Schedule (All Times ET) Tuesday, May 7 Video Play Button Videos you might like Game 7: Dallas at St. Louis, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network Wednesday, May 8 Game 7: Colorado at San Jose, 9 p.m., NBC Sports Network Game 7 Previews Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press The first team to advance to the Western Conference finals will be either the Blues or Stars. St. Louis won Game 6 on the road and now returns home to host Game 7. While the Blues are 5-1 in road games this postseason, they are only 2-4 at home. They've lost their last two home contests—Games 2 and 5 against the Stars. But it will be home-ice advantage nonetheless, even if St. Louis plays with a different mentality. "Treat it like a road game as much as we can," Blues coach Craig Berube said, according to NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "Play a simple brand of hockey and get to our game as quickly as possible. Just keep the noise out and focus on playing. Just put the noise behind us and play." The Avalanche also forced a Game 7 in their series with the Sharks, as they notched an overtime win in Game 6 at home. San Jose and Colorado have alternated wins in the series, meaning the Sharks would win Game 7 to advance if the pattern continues. "We didn't play good enough to win [Game 6]," San Jose right wing Timo Meier said, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "We've got to bring a better effort. It's a Game 7 now, we know what to do. It's going to be loud in our building, we're going to come out and we're going to bring our best hockey." This isn't anything the Sharks haven't already faced this postseason. They were down 3-1 in their first-round series before winning three straight games, including Game 7 at home, to advance. Eastern Conference Finals Preview Gerry Broome/Associated Press The Hurricanes have been one of the surprise teams of the postseason, and they'll look to keep that going against the Bruins. After outlasting the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in seven games in the first round, Carolina swept the New York Islanders in the second round. The Bruins also played a seven-game series in the opening round, taking down the Toronto Maple Leafs, before a six-game-series win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round. These two teams have met in the playoffs twice before since the Hurricanes' first season in 1997-98. Boston won a six-game first-round series in 1999, while Carolina won a seven-game second-round series in 2009. In 2009, the Hurricanes went on to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. They didn't make the postseason again until this year. Carolina will be looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, when it won its only Cup. Boston last reached the finals in 2013 and won its last Cup in 2011. "If you're playing this time of year, you're doing something right," Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said, according to NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. "You've built something great as a team. We're super happy that we're in the position. Trying to keep the train rolling."<doc-sep>The Western Conference finals pit two teams hankering for a Stanley Cup championship. It has been 27 years since the San Jose Sharks joined the NHL and 51 for the St. Louis Blues, and neither franchise has won one. In fact, only one player in this series has won a Stanley Cup: Sharks netminder Martin Jones, who was a member of the 2014 champion Los Angeles Kings. It wasn't an easy road for either team to get to this point. San Jose trailed three games to one in its opening series with Vegas, and both teams needed to win a Game 7 in the second round to advance. The Blues defeated the Dallas Stars and the Sharks bested the Colorado Avalanche. Let's not even start with where the Blues were on Jan 1. SN STAFF PREDICTIONS: Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup The last time these teams met in the Western Conference finals was in 2016, with the Sharks advancing in six. San Jose captain Joe Pavelski led all scorers in that series with nine points (four goals, five assists) and scored at least one point in every game. This year, Pavelski returned from a head injury to play in the Sharks' Game 7 victory over the Avalanche. He netted a goal and added an assist. While St. Louis is the Cinderella team in this year's playoffs, the Sharks are going all in for veteran Joe Thornton, who may or may not hang up his skates after the postseason. San Jose Sharks (-130) vs. St. Louis Blues (+110): Schedule, breakdown, prediction Date Matchup Time (TV channel) May 11 Game 1 at San Jose 8 p.m. ET (NBC, SN, CBC, TVA) May 13 Game 2 at San Jose 9 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA) May 15 Game 3 at St. Louis 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN360, CBC, TVA) May 17 Game 4 at St. Louis 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, TVA) *May 19 Game 5 at San Jose 3 p.m. ET (NBC, SN, CBC, TVA) *May 21 Game 6 at St. Louis 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, TVA) *May 23 Game 7 at San Jose 9 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN1, CBC, TVA) (*if necessary) Season series Three regular-season games, three games in which Blues goalie and Calder Trophy finalist Jordan Binnington did not start — granted, he was in the AHL for the first two meetings. Without Binnington between the pipes for St. Louis and Jones starting only the late-season matchup for San Jose, you can pretty much disregard the regular season. DATE AWAY HOME RESULT Nov. 9 Sharks Blues STL, 4-0 Nov. 17 Blues Sharks SJS, 4-0 March 9 Blues Sharks SJS, 3-2 (OT) Offense The Sharks' leading scorer in the regular season, defenseman Brent Burns, also led the way during their second-round series. Burns netted four goals and six assists in the seven games. The series, though, belonged to Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl (paired with Gustav Nyquist) and Timo Meier. The three chipped in six points apiece and were critical to the Sharks' offensive zone play. Couture and Hertl are tied for the postseason lead with nine goals each, and tied with Burns for points (14). Coach Pete DeBoer has a deep forward unit that persisted despite losing its leader, Pavelski. His return adds a net presence for San Jose, which should also have a healthier Erik Karlsson on the blue line. Likewise, the Blues have scoring depth. Top-liners Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko combined for nine points in the second round, but Tarasenko only has one goal in his last six games. He will need to turn it up to help St. Louis compete with San Jose's offensive firepower. Schwartz, meanwhile, is just three playoff goals away from tying his regular-season total. The play of St. Louis native Pat Maroon in the second round was a bright spot for the Blues. He scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime of Game 7 to cap an emotional night in his hometown. The Blues' defensive corps can jump into the play as well. Edge: San Jose, especially with Tarasenko not producing. (Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/31/b2/brent-burns-joe-pavelski-erik-karlsson-san-jose-sharks-040719-getty-ftrjpeg_m1yz8ickxip3123xiot6t1jma.jpg?t=-114429367&w=500&quality=80 Defense The Sharks have some of the best defensemen in the game in Burns, Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, but the defense lives and dies with Jones. Needless to say, if the Jones of the first round reappears, then everything will fall on the shoulders of the defense — a tall task when you take into consideration a possibly banged-up Karlsson. San Jose allowed 18 goals in the second round — the most of any team left standing — but it is 7-0 in the postseason when allowing two or fewer goals in a game. This series will hinge on which team can produce offense. Luckily for San Jose, its defense does just that. St. Louis has its own set of big-name defensemen in Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko; they and Jay Bouwmeester will need to step up. Edge: San Jose, because of the names on the blue line and what they can do when needed. Goaltending Jordan Binnington has ice water in his veins. Have you seen his reaction to the Blues winning a series? Exactly. There was none. Just another day in the office for the 25-year-old rookie netminder.​ In 13 games this postseason he is 8-5 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. He posted even better numbers in the second round with a 2.18 GAA and .922 save percentage. Binnington is steady in net and the backbone of this team — and has been since he took over in January. As for Martin Jones, well, he certainly turned his playoff, and season, around. After posting a 2.94 GAA and .896 save percentage in the regular season, he was pulled twice in the first four games of the first round. He then stepped up and had a 1.83 GAA and .946 save percentage in Games 5-7. Jones played well again in the second round with a 2.29 GAA and .916 save percentage — and was not pulled once.<doc-sep>After doing a rather poor job predicting the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, we here at Defending Big D tried to redeem ourselves with our second round picks. It did not go well. Except for Mark, that is: Collectively, we went 0-4 on predicting the second round winners. But we will not be deterred! We will succeed this time! Or at least break even. So here are our predictions for the Western and Eastern Conference Finals. As before, we’ll keep a tally for each series so you see what the consensus is. And if you don’t want to be spoiled, I would advise skipping Mark’s predictions. Taylor: I’m 100% here to watch the Jumbo Joe Rooster Trick in the playoffs. Sharks in 6. Robert: Sharks go up 3-0, Blues win three straight, then San Jose says yay. Sharks in 7 Logan: St. Louis rode hot goaltending through the second round and all the way through a gritty 2OT Game 7, while San Jose was aided by controversial goal calls in yet another Game 7. This one is going to go all the way. Blues in 7 (and possibly some OT). Derek: The Blues have been on an incredible run since the latter half of the regular season, but this Sharks team is more playoff-tested. They’ll also have the added motivation of getting Jumbo Joe his first Cup. Sharks in 7. Wes: The Sharks are Martin Jones’ team. During the regular season, that meant the league’s worst goaltending (.896 SV%) undercut an otherwise impressive contender. Skepticism heading into the playoffs was not just fair, but obligatory. Just ask Andrei Vasilevsky (.856 SV%) and the Tampa Bay Lightning how well arrangements like that turn out. Only, a funny thing happened on the way to the Western Conference Final. While it’s not going to threaten Ben Bishop, Jones has bumped his save percentage up to a very-winnable .910. With the goaltending box checked, San Jose’s true strength (puck possession) could flourish. St. Louis has done a tremendous job against a pair of very good teams. A big part of that success has been an ability to apply pressure on the forecheck, and to maintain unrelenting offensive zone pressure. Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are the marquee names atop a strong defensive unit. There are no Roman Polaks in San Jose. The Sharks (again assuming Jones remains as currently constituted) are the first complete team the Blues have faced this post-season, and that will make the difference. Sharks in 6 (unless Jones turns into a pumpkin, in which case Blues in 5) [Editor’s Note: What happened to “short and sweet”, Wes?] Ann: With bitterness in my heart I root for the Sharks to absolutely demolish the Blues in this round. Can Martin Jones actually turn up the heat to outlast Jordan Binnington? Probably not. But maybe if I believe hard enough. Sharks in 6. Tyler: Even though I picked San Jose to win the West before the season, I’m not the type of person who feels like they have to “stick with it.” That being said, San Jose is the better team. Sharks in 6. Rob M: I‘m petty and will pick San Jose out of nothing more than my current disdain for St. Louis sports. In all seriousness, San Jose has a certain vibe around them and Jumbo Joe deserves a shot at the Cup in the twilight of a HoF career. Sharks in 7. Mark: Contrasting styles will come down to goaltending. Martin Jones can’t keep up. Blues in 7. Cody: I’m bitter. Sharks in 4. Final Tally: Sharks 7, Blues 2 Taylor: The Bunch of Jerks was one of my favorite things to come out of the NHL regular season, and I can’t even imagine what storm surges in a Cup Final would do to Don Cherry (if you’re in the Final, you basically have to do them again, right?). Hurricanes in 6. Robert: Look, we all know how this works. Don’t make Mike Milbury come down there, refs. Bruins in 4. Logan: Can Boston utilize their aggressive style of play to edge the hot, determined Hurricanes? Or will the “Bunch of Jerks” be able to shut down the physical efforts of Boston’s top lines? I’m firmly sold on #WildCardChaosSquad, so this is a no-brainer for me. Hurricanes in 6. Derek: Much like the series in the Western Conference, we have a team on an incredible run taking on a grizzled veteran team that has been here before. That experience will help push them through, even though the Canes will put up a fight. Boston in 6. Wes: Is Petr Mrazek healthy? Is Curtis McElhinney really a .947 SV% / 1.56 GAA goaltender? Do a disjointed (and beat up) Washington Capitals squad and toothless New York Islanders group represent the same level of challenge as the Boston Bruins? The Storm might surge, but eventually, waves recede, you know? There’s also the small matter of stopping the Patrice Bergeron, David Pasternak, Brad Marchand unit over the course of a seven game series. The ride ends in round 3. Carolina’s stellar defense stands as good a chance as anyone, but the Bruins have too many tools in the toolbox. Boston in 6. Ann: If Don Cherry hates the Bunch of Jerks that’s good enough for me. I picked Islanders last round and through the egg on my face I’m going to choose against Brad Marchand’s elbows and go with the team that’s made me feel happy all spring. WILD CARD CHAOS SQUAD. Hurricanes in 6. Tyler: After sweeping a sweeper, the Hurricanes might as well get swept themselves. Plus a Thornton versus Boston Final always seemed inevitable at some point. Destiny still arrives. Bruins in 4. Rob M: In the year of the Wild Card, the wildest bunch of all will turn the Eastern Conference on its head and defeat Boston to go to the Stanley Cup Final. Plus, Brad Marchand deserves to be sent home by a bunch of jerks. Hurricanes in 6. Mark: A bunch of friendly jerks versus an old school jerk.<doc-sep>Our original predictions have been reduced to rubble by another chaotic playoffs. Who's the favorite to win it all now? SI's experts defend their new picks for the conference finals and beyond. We have reached the midway point of the Stanley Cup playoffs and so far it has gone exactly as no one expected. For the first time in playoffs history we saw all four wild cards in the second round, the Presidents’ Trophy team swept in the first round and some more chaos and carnage along the way. Nineteen overtime periods, five Game 7s and a couple of unexpected sweeps later, we’ve granted ourselves a do-over, which was probably warranted after the opening round when none of our original picks managed to escape. Like so many out there, we were very, very wrong. Now with the Sharks battling it out with the Blues in the west and the Bruins tasked with weathering the Hurricanes’ storm in the east, who do we think will emerge as the Stanley Cup champion? The SI staff makes its picks: Dan Falkenheim: Boston Bruins I don’t want this to be the case. I really don’t. But it’s the Bruins. Tuukka Rask is playing some of the best hockey of his career and there’s no better goalie left in the playoffs. General manager Don Sweeney made the right moves at the deadline and the additions of Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle have boosted Boston’s hard-to-find secondary scoring. The Bruins have had a staunch defense all season long and Brandon Carlo has thrived in his first postseason. This is all without Jake DeBrusk doing much of anything, yet. And, after all, they were the team best positioned to beat the Lightning before the craziness started, right? *Slowly walks away from prediction that the Flames would win the Cup* Jeremy Fuchs: Boston Bruins Rask is playing great. They are the most experienced team left. They have a great first line. Yes, they need more from some of their secondary stars, but they’ve shown enough depth in the forward lines thus far. Zdeno Charo is a cyborg, Charlie McAvoy is a stud, and having Brad Marchand to annoy people will help. If they can get even a little from DeBrusk or Danton Heinen, watch out. But the key, truly, is Rask. If he stays this hot, not sure there’s a goalie, on talent, that can match him. Eric Single: San Jose Sharks In a postseason where everyone has been wrong about everything, why not go with the team that has been whistling past the graveyard on a landmine-ridden sidewalk for four weeks? The Sharks’ seven-game triumphs over Vegas and Colorado have been far from convincing (and that’s an understatement), but all of a sudden Logan Couture is the playoffs’ leading point-getter, captain Joe Pavelski is back from injury and Martin Jones has kept pucks out of his net just when you thought he might be exposed as San Jose’s fatal flaw. With a battle-tested defense and a deep roster of offensive contributors, the Sharks are primed to finally break through. Kristen Nelson: San Jose Sharks San Jose and Boston are the only teams left that scored 100 points in the regular season. Logic tells me these experienced teams are the most likely to battle it out at the end, and logic also tells me it should be the Bruins who win, which is why I’m picking the Sharks. (It’s the 2019 playoffs and not much has made sense so stay with me here.) Jones seems to have gotten his playoff bubble guts settled and is becoming reliable in close games instead of waiting in his crease praying the Sharks generate enough offense to bail him out. Erik Karlsson didn’t have the most impressive start to the playoffs either—in fact he looked to be playing a smidge gingerly at first—but has noticeably stepped it up of late. The offense is clicking, the defense is coming up big and luck has noticeably been on their side when it matters.<doc-sep>
After a wild and upset-filled first two round of the NHL playoffs, the conference finals are set to begin Thursday night with the Bruins and Hurricanes (NBCSN, 8 p.m. ET). The Sharks and Blues will kick off Saturday (8 p.m. ET, NBCS). Here is who USA TODAY Sports' NHL staff predicts will advance to the Stanley Cup Final. EASTERN CONFERENCE: Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes Kevin Allen, Bruins in 7. This is the year of playoff upsets, but the Bruins had the third-best regular-season record and they are finding ways to get it done in the postseason. Tuukka Rask, with a .938 save percentage, might be playing the best hockey of his career. In Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and David Krejci, the Bruins have a collection of difference makers up front. It seems like the Hurricanes are significant underdogs, but they won only three fewer games in regulation than the Bruins in the regular season. Coach Rod Brind'Amour has the Hurricanes believing they are invincible. Jimmy Hascup, Hurricanes in 6. These "Bunch of Jerks" aren't ready to go home just yet. Carolina has knocked off the defending champion Washington Capitals, a physical team with some world-class offensive players, and it beat the New York Islanders, a defense-first team with Barry Trotz as coach. I look at the Bruins as a hybrid of those teams and think that the Hurricanes' mobile defense and relentless attack matches up well. The Hurricanes have been peaking despite missing several key players to injuries. Now they are close to full health and that will add another dimension to their game. Mike Brehm, Bruins in 7. The team coming off a sweep in the previous round has shown rust in Game 1, so that should help the Bruins overcome the suspension to Charlie McAvoy. After that, the Bruins' versatile top line, superior depth and rejuvenated Tuukka Rask will wear down the Hurricanes over time. Special teams will make a difference. The Bruins' playoff-best power play is connecting at a 28.6% rate while the Hurricanes are at 10.5% Jace Evans, Bruins in 6. I've been wrong about the Hurricanes every round so far, but I'm going to pick against them yet again. The heart and soul of the Bruins – Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci – are the only players left in these playoffs who have won a Stanley Cup together. They know what it takes, and they should be able to do something that no other team has done in these playoffs so far: win on Carolina ice. SCHEDULE:Results, dates, times, TV for NHL postseason OPINION:Bruins are standing firm during the year of the upset WESTERN CONFERENCE: San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues Kevin Allen, Blues in 6. Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington will be the key to the Blues ending their 49-year Stanley Cup Final absence. His poise and patience were the backbone of their transformation into a strong team in the second half of this season. The Sharks have the talent to win it all, but there's inconsistency to their game that will betray them. Their 3.07 playoff goals-against average is worst among the remaining teams. Look for defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to have a memorable series. Jimmy Hascup, Sharks in 6. Going to keep the run of winning Game 7s alive. While the Sharks seemed to have some trouble with the Avalanche's speed (and the Golden Knights', for that matter in Round 1) last series, the Blues won't turn the series into a track meet in the same way. Eventually, this experienced Sharks group will put a complete series together ... starting with goalie Martin Jones. Mike Brehm, Blues in 6. As much as I'd like to see Joe Thornton competing for his first Stanley Cup against the team that drafted him, I had the Blues reaching the Stanley Cup Final and will stick with that. St. Louis is solid on the road and has been pretty successful at shutting down opponents' top lines and getting clutch goals. Vladimir Tarasenko (one point in his last six games) will need to get going, though. Jace Evans, Sharks in 6. The Sharks have a real "team of destiny" feel with two straight Game 7 wins. While that's a lot of hockey to play, the Blues have actually played one fewer game.