The Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins are on the verge of finishing their series in the Eastern conference finals, as the team is now up 3-0 on the Penguins after winning Game 3 in overtime and in Game 4 on Friday night things could end to send the Bruins into the Stanley Cup finals.
On the other side of the bracket, the Chicago Blackhawks now have a commanding 3-1 lead in the series after winning Game 4 by the score of 3-2 and now as the series shifts back to Illinois, the number one seed in the West has the chance to advance to the finals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup a few years ago. The Kings won last year while being the eighth seed in the conference and now they will have to rally from behind to advance.
The Kings came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Blues to open the playoffs, while Chicago had to rally from 3-1 behind against the Red Wings in the last round, meaning they know what is at stake in Game 5 if they let La hang around. The Blackhawks got three goals in the game from three different players and scored one in each period, while the Kings added one goal in the first and second frames. Dustin Penner and Slava Voynov scored for the Kings, while Chicago got goals from Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell, who has been solid all playoffs and now has eight goals in the postseason.
The Blackhawks have been strong up front and on defense through the series and now they have the chance to win after Corey Crawford won by making 19 saves in the matchup. Jonathan Quick had 25 saves in the game and now he must get himself together to get the Kings back into the finals. The last four teams left are the last four teams to win the Cup and the Kings are hoping for a repeat.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been totally dominated this series and they need to step up for the Penguins to win on Friday. Tukka Rask has been excellent for the Bruins and if he plays well again it could mean a sweep in the East for Boston.
