After failing to get past Atlanta in the Conference finals last year, Buffalo have finally overcome their opposition in the New York Rangers to progress to this year's cup finals. The Rangers gave the Sabres an early scare after winning games 1 and 2, the Sabres showed why they won the league and rattled off four straight wins to advance. Chicago swept Colorado after St Louis softened them up. Chicago regained their championship form once again and will battle to repeat as champions once more.

THE ROUTE TO THE FINALS

As each of these teams made it to the finals, the heroes are mentioned in orange, however had they lost the series, the scapegoat in blue would be the first player to be blamed.

BUFFALO

1st Round Matchup - Montreal - 7 games
Buffalo nearly went out in the first round in humiliating fashion to the 8th place team in the East. Though expected to have an easy time during this series, Montreal (who finished 54 points behind Buffalo in the regular season) jumped out to a 2-1 series lead. Although Crosby, Niedermayer and Brown all contributed 3 points in games 4 and 5 to put the Sabres in touching distance of the second round, a 6-1 win at home gave the Canadiens a chance at the upset. However, it was not to be as Buffalo dominated Game 7, outshooting the Canadiens 41-18 on route to a 4-1 win. A close series which ended up seeing the Canadiens outscoring the Sabres 22-21 throughout the seven game series which did sit well with the Buffalo coaching staff.

Hero of the Series: Jere Lehtinen - 3 goals, 4 assists, + 1
Scapegoat of the Series: Anze Kopitar - 0 goals, 2 assists, -1

2nd Round Matchup - Boston - 5 games
After hoping for a first round matchup against the Sabres, the Bruins got their wish in the second round. While the Bruins might have posed a threat to the Sabres in the first round, they came up against the Buffalo team which had not been given a day off by the coaching staff as punishment for their poor play in the first round series. Anze Kopitar, the scapegoat in round one turned in a masterful performance in games 1 and 2 to tally 8 points including scoring 4 goals in game 1 of the series The only win Boston got in the series came when GM Luke Wile decided to rest Martin Brodeur in game 3 after jumping ahead to a 2-0 series lead. Though winning handsomely in game 3, the Bruins could not muster any momentum from the win and 44 shots and 2 goals in games 4 and 5 saw the Bruins exit the playoffs and the Sabres march on.

Hero of the Series: Dustin Brown - 3GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3
Scapegoat of the Series: Scott Niedermayer - 0 goals, 0 assists, -2

3rd Round Matchup - New York Rangers - 6 games
Though expecting Atlanta in a repeat of the Conference Finals from last year, the Sabres had to think they were lucky to come up against the Rangers who had begun a minor rebuild at the trade deadline. However, it soon came quickly to haunt them as New York won the first two games in Buffalo by a combined scored of 10-3, culminating with the Buffalo crowd booing the team off the ice after the third ended in game 2. The Sabres responded shutting down the Rangers potent powerplay, which had been clicking at over 25% efficiency in the next four games. Allowing only 3 goals over that period and not conceding a powerplay goal in 17 attempts. The Rangers goal crop dried up and could not find a way past Brodeur and the Sabres booked a place in the cup finals against Chicago.

Hero of the Series: Sidney Crosby - 1 goal, 8 assists, +7
Scapegoat of the Series: Jeff Carter - 0 goals, 1 assist, - 3

CHICAGO

1st Round Matchup - Edmonton - 7 games
Just like the Buffalo Sabres, the Chicago Blackhawks could have seen themselves eliminated in the first round. After winning the first three games, outscoring the Oilers 13-3, the Hawks relaxed and let Edmonton back into the series. A two goal effort by David Steckel in game 4, including the overtime winner gave the Oilers life after Chicago had led twice during the game. Unlike Montreal, the Oilers were able to take advantage of the momentum from the win and used it in their comeback in game 5 before a solid win in game 6 sent it to a decider to see whether the 2008-09 BRHL2 Oilers could do what only two other teams in history have done. Come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series, however, a 6-2 thrashing from the Hawks ended the hopes of the Oilers and sent the Oilers to the greens while the Hawks went on to face the Stars in the second round.

Hero of the Series: Alexander Frolov - 4 goals, 5 assists, + 6
Scapegoat of the Series: Chris Chelios - 0 goals, 0 assists, - 4

2nd Round Matchup - Dallas - 6 games
The Dallas Stars had upset 3rd seed San Jose in 7 games and faced the Blackhawks in the second round. Although they surprised most by winning the opening game, the Stars could not capitalize on chances and saw their cup hopes wiped out by the Hawks. Although the Hawks won in 6, the series was tight enough that it could have gone either way. Dallas scored the winner in game 1 with less than 5 minutes to go, a goal that shocked the Hawks and nearly cost them game 2 before a rally led by the depth lines of Chicago fought back. Games 3 and 4 were nearly identical as Dallas and Chicago respectively left their comeback attempts too late to change the scoring. However, the turning point came in Game 5. After a Michael Cammalleri goal sent the game to overtime, Dallas failed to score on the powerplay after Dumont was sent to the box and less than 4 minutes later, Marian Gaborik gave the Hawks the win. Though Dallas made a quick start in Game 6, the team was tired and after Gaborik scored early in the second the energy was gone by the time Thornton scored shorthanded.

Hero of the Series: Vincent Lecavalier - 2 goals, 3 assists, +1
Scapegoat of the Series: Andrei Markov - 0 goals, 1 assist, -2

3rd Round Matchup - Colorado - 4 games
The Colorado Avalanche were the last team in the West that could challenge the Hawks for a place in the finals. However, the second place ranked Avalanche had just finished an emotional series with the Blues leaving them drained for the series against the Hawks. As a result, the Hawks quickly swept out who most thought would be their stiffest competition in the playoffs. Christobel Huet, who played amazing to get the Avalanche into the finals looked fallible as he allowed 18 goals in 4 games and the high-powered offense of the Avalanche couldn't match the power of the Hawks. The extra couple days of rest for the Hawks will allow any injuries to heal up and then the Hawks will be ready for the Sabres for game 1 of the cup finals.

Hero of the Series: Joe Thornton - 3 goals, 9 assists, +8
Scapegoat of the Series: Antoine Vermette - 0 goals, 0 assists, -1

The Offense - Winners - Chicago

During the regular season, Chicago and Buffalo scored nearly the same amount with Buffalo edging Chicago by 3. However, in the playoffs Chicago have scored 2 more than Buffalo with also a game in hand. The Chicago star forwards have been stepping up their play while Buffalo's have suffered. Though Crosby and Kopitar are 2nd and 3rd amongst active centers in the playoffs, Thornton and Lecavalier are 1st and 4th respectively. On the wing, Frolov and Dumont have vastly outscored Radulov and Zetterberg while Gaborik leads all active right wingers in scoring. Though the Sabres have the better offense on paper, the experience of the Hawk forwards have been showing through.

The Defense - Winners - Chicago

Buffalo have great puckmoving defensemen in Niedermayer, Bouwmeester, Wideman, Weber, Johnson and Letang. So who's leading the Buffalo defensemen in scoring? That's right, Derian Hatcher! When your shutdown defenseman is leading your blueline production, it's a sign that something needs to change. The production from the Buffalo blueline was a problem in the 1st round matchup against Montreal and was also seen in rounds 2 and 3. Although not picked out as the main problem for the Sabres, it could be a place where the series could be won or lost.

Chicago on the other hand have had consistent production from their blueline, Markov (13) and Streit (11) would be the leading point scorers on the Buffalo blueline roster but have helped Chicago through the tough times. Backed up by Mike Green and Lubomir Visnovsky, who have combined for 16 points, the Hawks have figured out an excellent strategy for bringing the defense in as an offensive threat. This possibility allows me to overlook how good Buffalo is on paper, as Chicago can prove that their system works.

The Goaltending - Winners - Honours Even

Martin Brodeur has been solid, but not spectacular. Though his 2.05 GAA and .904 SV% are decent, the Sabres need a lot more from the experienced goalie. Brodeur hasn't stolen a game for Buffalo all post-season but may need to do so against their toughest opponent yet. Though the Sabres have played backup Josh Harding three times in the previous series against Montreal and Boston, it's doubtful that he'll get a start in the cup finals. A gamble that worked against Montreal once has failed twice since and Brodeur was depended upon for all of round three's games against New York. His numbers are not like his during the season where he went undefeated, but a 4.94 GAA and .823 SV% do nothing to inspire confidence within the team.

Niklas Backstrom for the Hawks has been better than Brodeur, relied upon for the entire playoffs (Anderson playing only 12 minutes thus far). His 2.22 GAA and .918 SV% will have to be matched if the Hawks want to repeat for the cup. Backstrom has been here before so the pressure of a cup final will not be as heavy as it was last year. The Hawks do face their toughest offensive threat thus far, but have had practiced against the high powered Colorado offense in the previous round. The Hawks handled the Avalanche, but can they hold off Crosby and the Sabres?

Who wins the series?

This is a tough series to pick, the majority of sim leagues mean that President Trophy winners like Buffalo don't win both the title and the cup, but there is also the lack of a team repeating as cup champions in FHL history. Something has to give and I think it might be the repeat curse... going out on a limb and will say that Chicago will triumph in 6 games.