Canes Country Playoff Pick-em: Conference Finals

Hey folks, I'm the messenger this week while Brian is away, and while I certainly won't try to replicate his rapier wit and irrepressible charm, I will bring you the current standings for the Canes Country Pick-em Challenge and open up the floor for the Conference Finals.

And what a round this should be. For the first time since 1945, the four previous Stanley Cup champions meet in the conference finals. In the Eastern Conference, the #1 seed and 2009 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins face the #4 seed and 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Representing out west, the #1 seed and 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks meet the #5 seed and defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. Double-header Game coverage begins Saturday at 5:00 pm with the Hawks versus the Kings, and the Pens and Bruins will follow at 8:00 pm.

Here are the Pick-em standings after Round Two:

Corey S: 25
Jamie: 25
Patrick Clarke: 22
mburgess00: 21
Shrilnixx: 21
eburges1: 20
Incipient_Senescence: 20
PackPride17: 19
anonymousJ: 19
Bgallen: 18
ltd2point0: 17
PittsburghCaniac: 16
CaniacChica: 15
Cory L: 15
GoCanes77: 15
b.axeman: 14
ctlentz: 14
keebler elf: 13
lsleblanc82: 13
formersaint: 11
Limelon: 11
rabidwolf123: 10
Kram170: 10
caniac97: 9
Bob: 9
Hockeydog: 9
Brian: 9
Cathye: 9
RobbinDollar: 7
Feast of Maximum Occupancy: 6
ASU-: 5
CruelIn10tions: 5
Sara James: 4
jbwhite99: 4
CoastalCane: 3
hotchipsnsalsa: 2

Now for the Conference Finals we up the ante as the points get bigger. So, no one is out of the running! For this round, picking a correct team will net you 4 points, with 8 bonus points if you guess the correct number of games. Your picks need to be in the comments section and time-stamped by 5:00 pm on Saturday in order to count.

Here are the bold predictions from the Canes Country brain trust.

Who ya got this round? Bring it on!