Yahoo Sports’ NHL Playoff Picks: Who wins the Conference Finals?

The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Louis Blues face the San Jose Sharks in the penultimate playoff round of the 2016 NHL postseason. 

Can Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin wake up and overcome the likes of Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov? Can Brian Elliott continue to be the backbone for the Blues? Are the Sharks actually going to do this thing this time?

Be sure to hang with Puck Daddy and Yahoo Sports throughout the conference finals for exclusive news and views as we journey on to the Stanley Cup. But first, here’s who we think will win in Round 3.

And here … we … go.

Greg Wyshynski, Puck Daddy Editor

Sharks in 6

It’s funny: The Sharks were hot garbage at home for much of the regular season, and now they look like they should already have their name on the Cup when they’re in the Shark Tank. Consider this: Their power play, rolling at over 30-percent overall? It’s 9-for-20 in six home games. That’s a 45-percent clip. That’s nuts.

But that’s the rub: The Sharks could dominate at home, and they will, but still need to take one on the road to win the series. Luckily, they’ve won five of their last seven visits to St. Louis and took both games there this season by a combined score of 9-4.

Concerns for the Sharks? Martin Jones. I can’t shake that Game 6 performance against the Predators from my mind, and I’m still not sold. But if he falters, then it falls to James Reimer. And James Reimer is a pretty damn good safety net.

The Blues have scored five more goals than have the Sharks at 5-on-5 (in two more games) but the Sharks have given up five fewer goals than the Blues at 5-on-5 (in two fewer games).

This is going to be a fun one. Physical. Nasty. Probably a couple of overtime affairs. But the pick here is the Sharks, because it’s difficult not to pick them when the Holy Quadrilogy of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and especially Brent Burns are at the top of their games at the most critical time of the season.

That said, this tends to happen when I pick the Sharks, so congrats, Blues.

Penguins in 7

If this series was a WrestleMania main event, the word we’d use is “overbooked.”

That’s the term for when a match has so many surprises and emotional twists that it leaves the viewer bewildered and exhausted. Which is what this series could end up being: The return of Anton Stralman; the return of Steven Stamkos, the return of Marc-Andre Fleury. All three moments could shift the dynamics of the series, along with the usual stunning moments on the ice. 

Putting that aside, I like the Penguins here because the continued solid play from the HBK Line (Hagelin, Bonino, Kessel) is going to present a matchup problem when Sidney Crosby and/or Evgeni Malkin get going. And they will.

Again, it’s a hard series to handicap because of how quickly emotions might change upon the return of the aforementioned players to the lineup. But I’ll take the Penguins’ aggressive speed game over the Lightning’s aggressive defense – but it goes the distance.

Sean Leahy, Puck Daddy Editor

Blues in 7

The battle of the teams that have exorcised some playoff demons should be the better of the two conference finals series. Both the Blues and Sharks have gotten good goaltending, solid special teams play and balanced scoring. That's what's going to make this a coin flip for the most part and probably come down to which team's power play is better.

Penguins in 6

The Penguins have been getting production from their depth and good enough goaltending that's helped them get to this point in the season. Tampa has been carried by the Triplets 2.0, Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop through two rounds. Something will have to give this round and it's probably going to be Pittsburgh rolling their four lines putting pressure on the Lightning offensively and defensively. Tampa may get Anton Stralman and possibly Steven Stamkos back this series, which would be a boost, but could be too little too late.

Jen Neale, Puck Daddy Editor

Sharks in 7

This is a really difficult series to pick because both teams are perennial playoff underachievers who appear to have cast out their demons of playoffs past. The Sharks offense is just way too good right now to be held back by the bone crunching Blues. Granted, Martin Jones is a wild card, but if the Sharks can play with the puck the way they did against Nashville in Game 7, he won't have to make many saves at all.

Lightning in 7

This is also a really close series. At some point, the Penguins are going to need Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin; who combined for a total of four points against Washington. Tampa managed to suppress John Tavares, and will try to do the same with those two. If they can't get going, Ben Bishop's job is going to get a lot easier. 

Josh Cooper, Puck Daddy Editor

Sharks in 6

I think the Sharks have been the best team in the Western Conference this playoff. They’ve lost four games this postseason, and three of them have come in overtime. The Blues have better goaltending and better depth and more size, but the Sharks are just playing better and more consistent hockey.  

Penguins in 5

The Lightning’s injuries will finally catch up to them this round. Unless Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman return – and play at a high level when they come back – Pittsburgh should prevail. The Penguins showed their depth when their role players carried them to a series win over the Washington Capitals. Tampa’s got speed and the best goaltender left in the playoffs, but Pittsburgh has too many weapons up and down their lineup.

Ryan Lambert, Puck Daddy Columnist

Sharks in 6

The Sharks just come across as a better, deeper team. Yeah it took them seven games to knock off the Predators, but at least Nashville was strong throughout the lineup. Meanwhile, St. Louis struggled to put away a team that couldn't even get AHL goaltending.

The Blues are a good team, no doubt, but San Jose just appears to be better basically everywhere. Every line is scoring, almost every D-pairing is effective, and if the last round is any indication, even if Martin Jones is adequate, that should be enough.

Penguins in 7

As for the Penguins, I see them as being slightly better than Tampa right now. But I wonder how much of that is skewed by recency bias (it feels like Tampa hasn't played in weeks) and the fact that the Bolts have been without Anton Stralman and Steven Stamkos. If either or both those players return in this series this becomes even more of a coin flip than it already is. That said, there is very little in this series that could surprise me, results-wise.

Darryl “Dobber” Dobbs, Puck Daddy Fantasy Columnist

Blues in 7

Do you think that after squeaking by Chicago and Dallas, St. Louis will let San Jose take them out? Not on your life. I would argue that St. Louis is a much better team than Nashville, which means the Sharks will have their hands full. I would also argue that San Jose is not a better team than Dallas - at least not by much. The Blues win this but the Sharks make it interesting.

Penguins in 6

I picked the Penguins a lot over the last couple of years, and I suffered for it. Last round I decided to finally learn my lesson and pick against them. Of course, that's when they put down the best team in hockey. Lesson learned. Pittsburgh is the hottest team in the NHL since Christmas and can now wear the 'best team in hockey' crown. Kudos to the Lightning for taking it this far despite the injuries - and they were my preseason Puck Daddy Stanley Cup pick - but the party is over.

Sam McCaig, Yahoo Sports NHL Editor 

Blues in 6

When the Sharks look good, man, they look really, really good. San Jose's power play is lethal, and when Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns get rolling...look out. Not to mention, Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Martin Jones and...well, you get the idea. There's a lot to like about San Jose. After all the years of playoff disappointment, this Sharks team has a completely different feel. They're clutch, confident and focused on getting to the Stanley Cup final and closing the deal.

The same can be said for St. Louis. The Blues also know all about playoff frustration and early exits. But, like San Jose's first-round win over rival L.A., St. Louis finally cleared a mental hurdle in ousting Chicago in Round 1. The Blues are ready to win, and win now. They're aching for it, and they've got the personnel all over the ice to make it happen. Vladimir Tarasenko is the game-breaker, but he has plenty of offensive support from linemates Jaden Schwartz and Alex Steen to captain David Backes and rookie Robby Fabbri, not to mention Paul Stastny, Patrik Berglund, Troy Brouwer and more. The defense corps is anchored by Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester, with Kevin Shattenkirk quarterbacking the power play. Brian Elliott has played big in goal.

The Blues are deep, talented and hungry. It's finally their time.

Penguins in 6

The Lightning has had the easiest time in the playoffs of the NHL's final four teams. Tampa Bay eliminated Detroit in five games, then bounced the Islanders in five. Ben Bishop, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman have been spectacular. The Bolts are as rested as it gets in the NHL postseason, and they'll probably get Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman back at some point against Pittsburgh. They're motivated to get back to the Stanley Cup final after losing out in the NHL's championship series last season.

The flip side is, the Lightning haven't faced a team like Pittsburgh. The Penguins are stacked with three potent scoring lines -- assuming that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get untracked after a quiet Round 2 -- and Kris Letang is a two-way defender who plays half the game and drives the team from the back end. Rookie goalie Matt Murray, in case you haven't heard, has been a playoff revelation, and if he falters the Pens can return to starter Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins' relentless offense is too much for the Lightning to withstand. After a six-game series, Crosby, Malkin & Co. make it back to the Cup Final for the first time since winning it all in 2009.

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