I think Niemi is kind of getting a raw look from some of the people in this thread. He is maybe the best first save goalie in the league, and other than apparently having a weakness to weird backhand snipes from outer space, he is at least among the best in the league at making the initial stop. Rebound control, obviously, is the part of his game that's often shaky, but San Jose is a big, physical team that is typically very good at making it difficult for their opponent to actually get to those loose pucks Niemi allows, making him an awfully effective goalie for the team he's playing on. The San Jose defense is protecting some of his mistakes in the same way Chicago's defense did last year, but hockey is a team sport and Niemi is proving for the second year in a row that he plays a role that can work for a winning team. If San Jose manages to "want it" as much as Chicago did last year and fights for those loose picks, Niemi is plenty to win the cup again. Outside of some bizarre releases beating him, it's pretty rare for Niemi to allow goals that he really should have had when he's on top of his game, and I think that's more key than anything in the playoffs with how much of a momentum changer allowing bad goals typically is.
I still think the Boston/Tampa Bay winner wins the cup, but Niemi and the Sharks deserve more credit than people want to give them. Detroit was the better team in Game 3 and lost, San Jose was the better team in Game 5 and lost, and 3-3 going into Game 7 was exactly what the series should have been regardless of any "choking," with the home team being better in the first six games and Game 3 and 5 cancelling out. I think the Wings probably win Game 7 without that terrible Zetterberg turnover at the end of the first(and possibly without the bizarre Cleary and Bertuzzi injuries forcing terrible ass Hudler to get way too much ice time), but that's how Game 7s tend to work -- the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. Marleau and Heatley are kind of MIA but awfully great play from Sidney Sedin Joe Thornton, Ryan Clowe, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguichi, and especially Logan Couture, who could have about twice as many goals as he does with better bounces.
End up with two good series(which I think we might not have gotten from Detroit with now 5 of the top 6 injured, as much as Datsyuk wasn't playing like it) here. Not gonna wall of text this time but expecting Bruins over Lightning in 7 and Sharks over Canucks in 6. Former case I think the Bruins have a much better roster for playing the grinding game than either of the Southeastern playoff teams did and Tim Thomas is just as ridiculous as Rolly in the playoffs. I like the Sharks' depth at forward at lot more than the Canucks' and I think they have more people who can put the puck in the net reliably, though the defensive nod definitely goes to Vancouver in spite of Dan Boyle being the best defenseman in the series. Both series could easily go either way(and that's how it should be), it'll be fun.