Picks: The Conference Finals

One night removed from Detroit's dismantling of the bigger, "badder" San Jose Sharks, and we're on to the Conference Finals.

In the East, it's Buffalo and Ottawa, in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference semifinal which Buffalo won in five games. Ottawa learned several a valuable lessons then - that you can't hope to beat Buffalo in a shootout; you have to battle for 60 minutes to stay close; that you need to have goal production throughout the lineup because the Sabres are the deepest team in the conference.

This year, the Sens got the message and got tougher on defense, tougher at forward, and every skilled player has mucked it up at some point. They've made it through two playoff rounds by mixing up run-and-gun with a punishing style curiously absent when Zdeno Chara patrolled the blue line. The only problem is, aside from the top line, there has been little production elsewhere.

Buffalo seems to be getting stronger, and more able to react to varying game situations since the first contest of the postseason. They didn't panic after the Rangers did an Operation Shutdown just to squeeze out a pair of wins at the Garden, didn't bat an eye when they needed 59 minutes, 52.3 seconds to tie the score in Game 5, and did an excellent job of building up a lead on Sunday in Game 6. Barring a freakish run of injury like the one that nearly crippled their second-half of the regular season, the Sabres have that steely gaze which tells me they will mow down everything in their path to the Cup.

Prediction: Buffalo in six. Alternate prediction: Lindy Ruff will dispute something in ALL six games, win or lose.

In the West, it's a battle of Old School and New School between Detroit and Anaheim. It's the oddest matchup in the conference since the 2003 Final pitted Anaheim against Minnesota.

Detroit really should have been here with Shanny and Stevie Y in 2004 and 2006, but this year's model actually has a verifiable blueprint for success: younger, speedy complemented by a veteran defense which has leadership and postseason savvy - ending with a goaltender who has proven himself to be a difference-maker when he wants to be. A healthy Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg really do make a big difference in the amount of space the Wings have to operate in all three zones.

Anaheim is a near-mirror image of Detroit: same batch of young, speedy forwards (Selanne excepted, but he's been playing like the beginning of his first tenure with the Ducks), with a defense that is skilled, punishing and carries postseason experience - with a goaltender that displays none of the mental quirks of his opponent, but has carried a team (the 2003 Ducks) on his back to a Cup Finals Game 7.

If both coaches don't see the similarities between their respective clubs as a way to play each game like a chess match, we should see some high scoring games punctuated by taut overtime thrillers. It's a toss-up and upon flipping a coin...Anaheim in six.