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After Saturday night, NHL fans now know who will play in the Stanley Cup Finals. Representing the Western Conference are the Chicago Blackhawks and representing the Eastern Conference are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Not many people had Chicago winning game seven against Anaheim, and definitely not winning on the road in the dominant fashion that they did. The NHL is somewhat happy though as they won’t lose as much viewership based on TVs per household, with Chicago defeating Anaheim. An Anaheim and Tampa Bay Stanley Cup final would have been a bigger step toward expansion, which both NHL fans and executives have expressed positive feelings about. None the less, NHL fans are set up for an exciting Stanley Cup final as both teams have offenses and goaltending that are on fire, as both are coming off of huge game seven victories on the road.
I have to give the offensive edge to Chicago, even with Tampa’s top scoring line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay was able to get the job done behind absolutely outstanding goaltending in Ben Bishop. Chicago absolutely dominated Anaheim in every aspect of the game. Jonathan Toews was on fire, and scored when it mattered. I expect him and Patrick Kane to come out fast, and would not be surprised to see the majority clutch plays throughout the series by those two players. The experience that Chicago has as a whole will be a big difference in the later games of the series. The triplets of Tampa Bay will continue their scoring success against a susceptible Chicago defense, but it may not be enough to win games against a team with as much experience as Chicago has. Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan are going to have to really step their games up.
The goaltending edge goes to Chicago. Ben Bishop is absolutely on fire right now, and goals are going to be tough to come by. Corey Crawford had a huge game seven against Anaheim, and his playoff performance has been outstanding. Bishop is an absolute monster listed at 6’7’’ and 209lbs, who also has good butterfly for a goalie his size and is a lot quicker than he looks. He has let in some weak goals during the playoffs, but the majority of those were in the earlier series’. He has since tightened up his game, which showed in the game seven win against New York. Bishop has really become an elite goaltender, but Crawford is much more experienced. Expect Bishop to stand tall in his crease and play determined.
Expect this series to be fast-paced, and hard-hitting. Look for the series to go at least six games, but let’s all be honest in saying that we want a triple overtime game seven Stanley Cup Champion. Whatever the outcome, this series is going to be something you do not want to miss.
