Well folks, here we are. The Stanley Cup finals. The playoff round that every young player in Canada and the United States dreams of playing in. The greatest prize in hockey only 4 wins away from be reclaimed by either Boston or Vancouver. This matchup really is of the 2 best teams from both conferences. Vancouver of course finished 1st in the regular season standings and had already proven what force they were. And though Boston wasn't 1st in the east, they have a more balanced team than the offensive first Capitals and the goaltender less Flyers. Both teams have played a lot of playoff games to get here; 19 for Vancouver and 18 for Boston but all the adrenaline that comes with being so close to winning should keep these 2 teams as energized as they were in the 1st round.
It has been a long time since either of these teams played in the Stanley Cup and even longer since either team has won. Boston's last final was 1990 when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in a 5 game series. They also haven't won the cup in close to 40 years with their last championship coming in 1972. Vancouver has never won the Stanley Cup but they have played for it. Their last appearance was in 1994 where they lost to the NY Rangers in 7 games. Ironically, the last time both these teams lost in the final was against teams captained by the great Mark Messier. History will be made has been the playoff slogan all year and for 1 of these teams; it will be soon.
So let's break down the matchup as it stands now. In their only meeting of the season, the Bruins beat the Canucks 3-1 in Vancouver on February 26. Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron scored for Boston with Lucic also getting 2 assists. Manny Malholtra, a player that has been hurt all playoffs scored for Vancouver. Since then, both teams made some trades near the deadline to improve their roster. Vancouver added Chris Higgins and Max Lapiere who have both played their roles very effectively in these playoffs. Boston added Rich Peverley and Tomas Kaberle. While Peverley has played well, Kaberle has yet to meet the standards the Bruins expected when they gave a
1st round pick and a top prospect to Toronto in the trade. If he can start scoring like he is used to doing, the trade might pan out. Both goalies, Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas, have been nominated for the Vezina as best goaltender so which ever one of them has more good nights than bad ones could find themselves on top. Both teams also have strong defence with big Zdeno Chara leading the Bruins while Kevin Bieksa has really stepped up as a leader for the Canucks. And of course, offence will be the most studied part of these teams. Vancouver has to strong lines with the Sedin twins occupying one while star centre Ryan Kessler plays on the other. Boston also hase to strong centers with David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron each providing offence down the middle. These 2 teams are very well balance which should make for some great hockey.
Now it's time to make a prediction. As I mentioned above, both teams are well balance, but the one area Vancouver has the Bruins beat is speed and stamina. This will go along way as the slower Bruins may not be able to keep up with Vancouver, especially late in games. Tim Thomas is also older now, 37, and has yet to play this many games in his NHL career. He too could become tired. I'm sure he will steal some games for his team early but I am not sure how a 7 game series will affect his body. So with that in mind, I have to give the Canucks the upper hand. They are faster and younger and they will use that to their advantage especially if the series goes long. And so my prediction is:
Vancouver in 6
One other note. The St John's Sea Dogs are the new Memorial Cup champions after they beat the host team the Mississauga St Michael's Majors in the final 3-1. The CHL also announced their player of the year award and that player was Ryan Ellis of my home team the Windsor Spitfires. Ryan Nouget-Hopkins was named the CHL's top NHL prospect, but Jonathan Huberdeau of the Sea Dogs could give him a run for his money come draft day. But that's another story, which will be told once we crown an NHL champion.
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