Though the Coyotes were the Western Conference's three seed, you'd have to consider both Phoenix and Los Angeles as big surprises to be vying for a bid into the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, two teams with reputations as playoff choke artists, face off. Someone's got to win, right? End sarcasm.
Back before the season started, very few pundits would have picked Tampa Bay to go this deep into the playoffs, if they picked them for the postseason at all. Can St. Louis, Lecavalier and Stamkos manage to take their turnaround all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals against Chara, Thomas and company?
NHL Playoffs, Conference Finals: Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning