It has arrived. The Stanley Cup Championships are set to begin in a couple of days on Wednesday June 1st in Vancouver, Canada. The Canucks will face off against the Boston Bruins, each of which have won their respective Conference Championships and earned the right to play for Lord Stanleys Cup.
It may seem like the Canucks have had an easy road to the finals, but lets not forget that they were 1 bounce from being eliminated in the first round. It could have all came down to one goal Chicago’s way and the media would have ripped into the Canucks and the Sedins saying how they just don’t have it in them. But the bounce goes there way, Luongo makes a big save on Patrick Sharp early into overtime and the Canucks have cruised to the Stanley Cup Finals defeating the Preds in 6 and the Sharks in 5. The Sedins truly found their game in the Conference Finals when they were able to outmatch a Sharks team that did not have top shutdown players like Duncan Keith and Dave Bolland on the ‘Hawks or Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and pretty much the entire defensive team on the Preds. The Sedins will have to continue to put up points this series, which may prove difficult against one of the top defensive d-men in the league, Zdeno Chara.
The Bruins haven’t had an easy trek to the finals. Their road included two game 7’s and just like the Canucks, one bounce goes the other way in game 7 of the first round and they are out, seeing as they beat the Habs in overtime in the 7th game, thanks to a Nathan Horton goal early into OT. Horton was also the hero in game 7 of the Conference Finals against the Lightning when he scored the lone goal of the game in the third period on a sweet pass by David Krejci. These two forwards have come to play, and they will need to continue producing to have a shot against the Canucks. Bergeron has also been playing well, but the team does need regular season scoring leader Milan Lucic to step up and really take his game to the next level against the Canucks. Lucic has only 9 points in the 18 Bruins games, but he has picked it up a little bit of late.
The main questions of the series are as follows:
Can Zdeno Chara contain the Sedins?
I think he can, at least as well as they were contained in the first two rounds. 12 of Henrik’s 21 playoff points and 6 of Daniel’s 16 came in their 5 games against the San Jose Sharks. This means that each player was hovering around the 0.7 points/game mark in the first two series, where they were contained much better. I believe that Chara must keep the pair to around 0.8 points per game or under for the Bruins to have a shot. I think this is doable, especially with the help of Patrice Bergeron, one of the elite shutdown centres in the league.
Roberto Luongo or Tim Thomas?
Two of the elite goaltenders of the past several years have finally made the finals. Which one will rise to the challenge and claim the Stanley Cup? I can’t give an edge in this category. Each goaltender has been playing fairly well, but not unbelievably. It’s not like either of these goaltenders has stolen games to get their team to this spot. Each has done his job and it’s been good enough not to lose games for their teams. I expect the same in the finals. The goaltenders won’t be who decide this series.
Can Kesler Keep It Up?
With the Sedin’s possibly being shut down by Chara and Bergeron, Kesler will have to keep his production high and also help shutdown the Krejci and Horton tandem that have been on fire this post season. Krejci is an underrated centre in this league, who sees the ice very well and makes things happen on offense. Meanwhile he is also very responsible defensively. The other factor is the Kesler may be hiding an injury. He returned to game 5 against the Sharks and scored the game tying goal late, but he wasn’t exactly himself and time will tell if he can maintain his level from the first three series’.
Will The Power Play Be A Factor?
The Canucks power play in the playoffs is 28.3%, while the Bruins is 8.2%. If this is maintained into this series, it could be the end of the Bruins chances. Even though the powerplay for the Bruins has not been clicking they have still managed to win, which shows they are a top 5 on 5 team. The Bruins will have to stay out of the box and capitalize on at least a few of their PP chances to have a shot against this Canucks team.
Best Series Odds
Boston Bruins +205
Vancouver Canucks -225
Prediction: Boston Bruins +205
Based on the odds the smart bet has to be the Boston Bruins. I give the Canucks a slight edge in the series, but the Bruins have a legit chance, especially with Chara and Bergeron likely shutting down the Sedin’s and Kesler possibly injured. The Bruins have the best shot in the NHL to beat the Canucks, and this should be a solid series that will go at least 6 games either way.
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Tagged with: Boston Bruins • NHL Championships • Prediction • Stanley Cup • Stanley Cup Finals • Vancouver Canucks