Top Scorers in the NHL Conference Finals

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The NHL Conference Finals in both the East and West head to hockey weekend with two teams with a 2-0 lead.

Out west the Blackhawks should change their name to the Chicago Road Warriors, as they swept both games in San Jose and tied a playoff record with seven consecutive road games.

In the East, the Canadiens failed to score in Philadelphia as Michel Leighton became the first Flyers goalie to record back-to-back shutouts since Bernie Parent.

In this weeks edition of the top shelf I will break down the scorers in both series and lastly look ahead to the upcoming Memorial Cup Finals weekend.

Sharks vs. Blackhawks:

Jonathan Toews has continued his march towards the Conn Smyth Trophy in the Western Conference Finals. The Blackhawks captain has added onto his league lead in points with three points (G, 2A) in the first two games. Also with three points for Chicago is Toews linemate Patrick Kane (3 assists) and top defenseman Duncan Keith (3 assist).

The Sharks captain, Patrick Marleau, has three points in the first two games (2G, A) and only Dan Boyle has more than a point in this series (2 assists).

The first game of the series was a shooting gallery that saw the teams combined for 85 shots but only three goals as both goalies stood tall. The second game in contrast was not as closely contested as the Blackhawks led by 3-0 and 4-1 en route to a 4-2 win. The Blackhawks have made a conscious effort to frustrate Joe Thornton in similar fashion to how they frustrated the Sedin twins.

In order for the Sharks to get back into this series, they need to focus on playing their game, not playing into the Blackhawks mind games. They have to continue to get good special teams (2 for 6 on the series). Once red hot, Joe Pavelski now has gone five games without a goal, and for the Sharks to have any chance of coming back in this series they will need their second line to wake up and produce like they did in the first two rounds.

Chicago would benefit by checking into a hotel and continue the success they feel when not playing at home. They would also like to see Marian Hossa start getting on the scoreboard as the sniper only has two goals this postseason but already has eight shots in this series. They do have a goal from each of their top three lines in this series, but would be more dangerous heading forward if Hossa wakes up and gives them two legitimate lines that strike fear in their opponent.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/394571-top-shelf-top-scorers-around-the-league

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