The Chicago Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. With all the glory and honor also comes the pressure. They know that all the teams left will be trying extra hard to eliminate them from the playoffs. The next best thing after winning a championship is knocking off the champs.

Two other teams remain in the Western Conference Stanley Cup race. The Ducks and Kings will face off in a series ending game seven on Friday night. The Anaheim Ducks will be playing at home and look to advance to the third round, but the Los Angeles Kings have different plans. Whichever team wins, hockey fans are in for a great showdown with the Blackhawks.

This season the Blackhawks and Ducks played each other three times, with the Blackhawks holding a 2-1 advantage.

The first game was played on Dec. 6, and went down to the wire. A goaltending battle saw a 2-2 tie go into the overtime. Goalies Anttii Raanta and Jonas Hiller helped their teams to the fullest. In overtime, the game remained scoreless and a shootout occurred with the Ducks scoring two goals to the Blackhawks' one. The Blackhawks would get revenge however, winning the next two games that they faced. In January, the Blackhawks would defeat the Ducks 4-2 and two weeks later shut them out by a score of 2-0. The Ducks are a good team that will have home ice advantage, and may give the Blackhawks some problems if they were to face off next round.

There's a good chance Chicago fans are pulling for the Kings to win game seven against the Ducks. Why? Simple- the Blackhawks were 3-0 against the Kings this season. Corey Crawford played terrific in the three games against the Kings. The Kings offense was only able to score four total goals in the three games against the Hawks. The combined score of the three games has the Blackhawks leading 9-4. There's always a chance, but it doesn't appear the Kings have a very good one when it comes to eliminating the Blackhawks.

Over in the East, two teams remain. The Montreal Canadiens just finished a grueling seven-game series with Boston Bruins. If the Canadiens and Blackhawks were to face each other, it would be in the Stanley Cup Finals. An interesting matchup, because they have played each other in the Stanley Cup before. The Canadiens and Blackhawks were evenly matched this season 1-1 in the two games played and both games went to overtime. The Canadiens won the first game 2-1 in overtime while the Blackhawks won the second game 3-2 in overtime. This would make for a great Stanley Cup Finals for hockey fans. Neither team has an advantage.

Then there's the New York Rangers, who also just completed a seven-game series. The Rangers eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in a thrilling series sending Sidney Crosby home packing. Now here's where they may be a problem for Blackhawks fans. The Rangers were 2-0 against the Blackhawks in the regular season and look hungrier than ever. Both games were decided by just one goal, but the Rangers are probably the biggest threat to stopping the Blackhawks from winning a third Stanley Cup in the last six seasons. A Rangers and Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals would be must-watch television.

The Blackhawks recent success has been extremely important and valuable to Chicago sports fans. The Bears can't beat the Packers; the Bulls can't have Derrick Rose healthy; and the Cubs 100 year World Series drought doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon.

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