RealGM's executive editor Chris Reina posed a series of questions to Nick Obergan ahead of the Conference Finals of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs for an NHL edition of 'Talking Points'. ? CR: What advantages do the Sharks and Blackhawks each hold in their series? Who do you think ends up winning? Chicago holds a lot of advantages. Throughout the regular season, they were the NHL?s best defensive team from start to finish, allowing a league-low 25.1 shots per game (while also shooting a league-high 34.1 per game, +9). San Jose on the other hand, allowed 31.4 which was only 0.3 fewer than they gave up. The blue-lines themselves are similarly talented, but Chicago?s forwards are much better in the defensive zone than the Sharks forwards. Offensively, both teams are dynamic in their top-6. San Jose has the Gold Medal Line (Thornton, Marleau, Heatley) and the emergence of Joe ?The Big Pavelski?. Chicago is led by one of the best young leaders and talents in the game in Jonathon Toews; with him is Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Versteeg. Chicago is averaging 3.33 goals per game in the playoffs, best among teams still in play. Special teams also goes to Chicago, as their power play (21.6%) and penalty kill (88.7%) have been more productive than San Jose?s (19.3%, 84.3%). In the net is where the Sharks have the advantage. Nabokov?s numbers are better than Niemi?s in the playoffs, but not significantly. Nabokov has had a very good career up to this point, and performed better than almost everyone expected of him in the playoffs. His playoff past has been shady, but the veteran has been steady this year, especially against the Red Wings (apart from Game 4). Niemi on the other hand, is a rookie. Not only that, he never played in any of the 4 in-season meetings. Add it all up and I think Chicago is the better all-around team, and their experience last year in the Conference Finals will give them an added edge and allow them to overcome the obstacle of a rookie goalie. Chicago in 7, winning out on the road like they did in the first two rounds ? CR: What about the Flyers and Canadiens? First off, it has to be said that this is the first time EVER that the 7th and 8th seeded teams will meet in a Conference Finals. As a writer and a hockey fan, all you can think of is how historic this spring has been for the NHL. While they may be missing their two most marketable players, there are still some unbelievable storylines to follow. The Flyers showed remarkable character, not only coming back from down 0-3 in the series, but 0-3 in the 7th game, becoming only the third team in the history of the NHL playoffs to come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series. They certainly bring a great dose of momentum with them, but so too does Montreal after knocking out the defending champs. In net, the edge has to go to Montreal. Jaroslav Halak is playing out of his mind right now. Montreal has giving up more shots than any other team in the playoffs, yet he has stopped 93.3% of them and is allowing just 2.42 goals per game. Defensively, it?s a close race. While Montreal has Hal Gill and Josh Gorges who have blocked 54 and 44 shots respectively ? top 2 in the league ? they also have PK Subban who, despite only playing 2 regular season games in his career, is having a remarkable impact and is not showing any signs of nervousness. They may get Andrei Markov back, who is their best blue-liner, but even if he misses time they have showed the resiliency of overcoming injuries in these playoffs. Philly employs future Hall of Famer Chris Pronger who plays a ton and gets better when the games are more important. Behind him is a top-4 that is overworked and tired, with the last D-pairing playing 8 minutes per game or less. Have to go with the Habs here. Offensively, both teams rely on one or two guys night in and night out while looking for grinders to make an offensive impact in different games. Mike Cammalleri is having a fantastic playoff in Montreal and has been their horse with 12 goals in 14 games ? putting together one of the best playoff performances of any Habs sniper ever. Brian Gionta has come through with a bunch of very timely goals as well, while Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec have been rather silent. If those 2 get going then they could become real dangerous. Philly?s captain Mike Richards is fifth in playoff scoring with 17 points in 12 games and has been clutch. Getting Simon Gagne back from foot surgery was an absolute blessing that I don?t think anyone saw coming (at least not this soon). He had 4 goals and an assist and his team went 4-0 this series since his return, and two of those goals were game winners. Daniel Briere continues to come through in the clutch too, trying to make good on that obscene contract with 7 goals and 15 points in 12 games. Philadelphia has the offensive edge because they are deeper with offensive talent on the wing with guys like Giroux, Hartnell, and Leino. Too bad they don?t have Jeff Carter either. Both teams have similar special teams numbers, so I am going to ride the hot goalie in Montreal and pick the Habs to win in 7. After all, they are 5-0 in games they faced elimination so far, so who can put them away? ?CR: Have the Sharks killed their playoff demons regardless of what happens? As a team, I don?t think they have yet. Remember: They have only made it through the 2nd round. While they did dispose of the reigning Western Conference champs in Detroit, the Sharks finished with the most points in the conference in the regular season. Number one seeds are not supposed to surprise people by getting through the 2nd round. If this team makes it to the Stanley Cup Final, win or lose that would expel their demons. If they lose this series, but make it 7 hard-fought games, that may do it as well. But if they roll over in this series, the cries of doubt will still be there. Individually, several Sharks have expelled their playoff demons. Joe Thornton in particular has really impressed me. As a Canadian, it infuriated me to see him consistently shrink when the spotlight got brighter, specifically in the past two Olympic Games. Against Detroit, ?No Show? Joe (OK that?s just what I called him; his real nickname with the team is ?Jumbo Joe?) came up with very timely goals, used his large body to dominate down low, and set up a couple of big goals too. He played better in that series than he has in any of his prior playoffs. Dan Boyle expelled the demon of his ?own goal? in the Colorado series and played fantastic hockey on both ends of the ice against Detroit. Even Patrick Marleau picked up a couple of very important goals for San Jose, including an overtime winner. ? CR: Who is the leader right now for the Conn Smythe Trophy? Montreal?s goaltender Jaroslav Halak, no question. He doesn?t even have any competition right now. If Montreal makes it to the Finals, win or lose the trophy is his unless he completely implodes in the Finals. The way he is carrying his team is reminiscent of J.S. Giguere carrying the Ducks to the Finals in 2003. The Ducks lost that series to the Devils, but Giguere won the Conn Smythe. Oddly enough, I would almost cast a 2nd place vote for Halak?s teammate Mike Cammalleri. He has 12 goals and 18 points in 14 games, including 3 game winners. He is the lone member of Montreal?s offense that you can count on every single shift of every single game. The team as a whole doesn?t score a ton of goals, but he has been lethal. Behind the two Habs?, Toews has been outstanding, leading the playoffs with 20 points thus far in 12 games. More importantly, he played great defense against the top Canucks players and is a great leader. He also elevates his game, the more important it is. Pavelski in San Jose has 9 goals in 11 games, despite being shutout in the last couple games against Detroit. Mike Richards, like Toews, has been a dominant leader and has picked up his game as the playoffs progress and has 17 points in 12 games. ? CR: Which Cup Finals would be the best case scenario for the health of the NHL? Best case scenario would have been Pittsburgh/Detroit. Nowadays, with such parody in every major North American league you don?t see that. It was such a big story last year when the teams met for the second consecutive year, could you imagine the coverage if it happened for the third time in a row? Not only that, but Crosby gunning for his second Stanley Cup victory on the heels of his Golden Goals? It would have been incredible. With the teams remaining, the best matchup for the health of the NHL would be Montreal-Chicago. Montreal has the most storied history of any team in the league, along with the most Cups (24), and they haven?t passed the second round since they won it all in 1993. Not only that, they have the most ruckus and passionate fans in the league ? as seen by the riots after eliminating Pittsburgh. Chicago is also one of the Original Six franchises, and they haven?t won a Cup since 1962, one of the biggest droughts in any major sport and maybe the longest in the NHL right now. Their last Finals appearance was 1992 when they were swept by Lemieux?s Penguins. They also have an incredible fan base, maybe the second loudest arena (after Montreal), and are in one of the biggest North American markets. ? CR: Which team that has been eliminated will/should respond with the most significant changes this summer? A lot will believe Washington, but I don?t buy that. They will and should do some small tinkering, perhaps moving Semin, and trading one or two depth guys for a rugged defenseman. I think the team under the biggest microscope will be Vancouver. They have some serious questions to ask themselves after falling to Chicago for the second straight year despite being a better team than last year. I think they really need to address their defense ? Shane O?Brien should not be one of your top-3 in the playoffs, but he was. They need to be better there and eliminate a lot of the easy chances that they gave up compared to other contenders. I can definitely see Luongo losing his captaincy as well. I am sure he is great in the locker room, and he fares well with the media and is ready to take full responsibility when the team falters. But he seems to get pulled during games, or fail to deliver in big games, more often than most franchise goaltenders. As a player, how does it look/feel when your captain is getting pulled from the game? I see Ryan Kesler as the captain of the Canucks. He leads by example on the ice ? a very good two-way player ? plays hard each and every shift, takes on the other teams? top line, and is locked up with a long-term deal. Also, does GM Mike Gillis have the guts to fire his coach who is signed for three more years? Does he have the support of his owner to do so? Vigneault?s club has been ousted in the 2nd round in three of his four seasons, and failed to make the playoffs the other time. Is Vigneault the guy to take your team to that next level of being a contender? That is a big question that the organization needs answered. Aside from Vancouver, Buffalo desperately needs to get some help for Ryan Miller. They need a defender or two, and are in dire need of offensive help to alleviate the pressure on their all-world goalie. ? CR: What are the five single greatest moments of the first two rounds? When you think of the moments that stand out, Halak?s 53 save effort in Game 6 against Washington to force a 7th game has to be at the top. It set the stage for Montreal?s improbable upset, and goes down as one of the best playoff performances by a goalie in the history of the game. It put Halak?s name up there with past Canadiens? greats like Dryden and Roy. Many of those shots were quality chances late in a close game. On the back of Halak and their tight defense, watching the Habs put out the President?s Trophy winning Capitals (and Ovechkin), followed by eliminating the defending champion Pens (and Crosby) is a remarkable feat. The conclusion of those two Game 7s are lasting moments for this generation of Habs fans. In Game 4 versus San Jose, Johan Franzen made sure Detroit wasn?t going to be swept by pouring in 4 goals and 2 assists in that game; 3 of those goals were scored consecutively in less than three and a half minutes! Watching Marc Savard come back from his brutal concussion after almost 2 months away from the game and score the in a short yet thrilling overtime in Game 1 versus Philadelphia was a great moment. As was the overtime as a whole ? it was played at such a frenetic pace that neither team is accustomed to and produced a number of exciting chances. And you can?t discuss memorable moments without talking about the Flyers making history. Only the third team ever to come back from a 0-3 deficit in a series, and not only that but they spotted Boston a 3-0 lead in the first period. It was a story book ending almost made for a movie, right down the foreshadowing of the 3-0 lead and the comeback. It?s been a hell of a playoffs and should be fun to watch the rest of the way as a hockey fan. Nick can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter at @nickobergan