Powers facing new blood in finals

The Western Conference produced six of the past eight Stanley Cup champions and the NHL appeared to be tilted decidedly to the left again when this season began.

Fast forward to April, and the West still looks powerful - but its recent hierarchy has gone through a bit of upheaval.

Half of the Western teams heading into the postseason this week missed the playoffs last year and much of the conference's momentum resides with the upstarts in an unpredictable slate of matchups.