Stanley Cup and Cheesecake - Western Conference Finals

Dallas and Detroit get rolling tonight out west, so I'll tackle that series today and save the main event (Pittsburgh v. Philly) for tomorrow...although, judging by my picks in the last round, you might want to just skip the following text altogether and just check out the illo!

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Dallas Stars

Underdog Dallas has outperformed everybody they've faced so far in these playoffs, handling the Ducks and Sharks pretty easily on their way to the conference final. Detroit has had a similar easy go of it, being taken to six games by Nashville and sweeping Colorado along the way. Difference is, the Red Wings were expected to play that well, while everyone ptetty much wrote the Stars off when the playoffs began. Well, something's got to give in this series, and I have a feeling it's going to be the Stars. Their captain, Brenden Morrow, and goaltender, Marty Turco, have been playing extremely well, but Detroit just has too much depth, and many of their stars, most notably Johan Franzen, are on fire right now. They kind of remind me of the 2001 Penguins, who won two very exciting series against the Caps and Sabres to reach the conference finals against New Jersey, only to lose in five games because they just seemed exhausted.

To be honest, I haven't watched many of the Red Wings' playoff games this year, because I find them kinda boring, and frankly, I'm sick of 'em. And something tells me I'm gonna be a lot more sick of them by the time these playoffs are over. Red Wings in five.