
A fantastic NHL season is culminating with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks. Two great teams have fought through a grueling Stanley Cup Playoffs to get to this point. Both of these teams are fast and like to get up and down the ice, so this series should be a blast to watch. Below are a couple of things to watch out for throughout the series, and a prediction as to who will win.
Things to watch in the series:
Matchups and Coaching
In the Anaheim vs. Chicago series, Coach Quenneville showed why he has carried his team this far in the past. For seven games, the Ducks tried to get Ryan Kessler and his line to matchup with Jonathan Toews and his line. Throughout the series, Coach Q exhibited his coaching prowess by getting his players on the ice when he wanted to. Jon Cooper, the Lightning head coach, presents a much different approach to the game. As a third-year NHL head coach, this is the furthest that Cooper has taken the Lightning. In fact, Cooper had not won an NHL Playoff game in his career up until this postseason. While Cooper has been a more-than-capable coach at other levels of hockey, Coach Q has been succeeding in the NHL for years. Coach Q knows how to get the job done in the playoffs. Cooper has won a championship at every level he has been at. He has clearly shown why he is a young and talented head coach who can motivate his players well. With all this being said, I still trust Coach Q, who will be coaching his 200th playoff game in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Advantage: Chicago
Goaltending
Ben Bishop and Corey Crawford are two goaltenders with different skill sets. Bishop is the young and unproven goaltender. Corey Crawford is a well-known name to hockey fans and a past Stanley Cup Champion in net. Most playoffs would lead you to take the experience in this situation. The statistics may tell an interesting story. Ben Bishop has had a .920 save percentage and a 2.15 goals allowed average all while playing over 1000 minutes of ice time this post season, the most in the NHL. Corey Crawford posted a .919 save percentage and 2.56 goals allowed average, all while playing nearly 300 fewer minutes than Bishop. These stats are fairly similar with the main difference being in ice time. Earlier in the playoffs, Crawford was pulled against Nashville in game one, and was benched for games three, four, and five. This bump in the road provided some much-needed rest for Crawford, who saw Scott Darling carry the Blackhawks through the first round. Crawford must avoid this if he wants his team to win a Stanley Cup. On the other hand, Ben Bishop has looked very steady throughout these playoffs. The Lightning have taken care of Detroit, Montreal, and New York to this point, and Bishop has been a big reason why. Bishop has demonstrated throughout these playoffs that he is not a weak-link on this team, although he struggled at times against the Rangers. Bishop’s late playoff struggles and Crawford’s early playoff struggles don’t inspire confidence in either goaltender. People aren’t watching this series for the goaltending matchup; they are interested in watching two teams skate up and down the ice at a frightening pace. Both goalies could face over 40 shots in each game, and in the Stanley Cup, it make sense to go with experience.
Advantage: Chicago
Depth
The Blackhawks are a team with a lot of talented players. They also have had a lot of injured players this year. With Michael Rozsival out for the playoffs, depth along the blue line is quite thin for the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks also constructed their roster throughout the season as numerous injuries occurred. The Lightning, on the other hand, have managed to stay relatively healthy. Tampa Bay is also one of the deepest teams in the NHL, and they plas a very fast game that requires skillful players to execute. Tampa Bay doesn’t compare with the forward depth that Chicago has (few teams in the NHL can), but their defense has superior depth to the Hawks right now. The Lightning have seven defensemen they feel confident throwing on the ice, while the Blackhawks only have four right now. And while the Blackhawks have an advantage in forward depth, the Lightning have a much more distinct advantage in defensemen depth.
Advantage: Tampa Bay
Prediction
If you look at the matchup on paper, it is hard not to pick the Lightning. Their team has faired better throughout the playoffs, their style of play is both fun to watch and effective, and they look like a team that’s playing some really good hockey right now. The star-power in this series is ridiculous. The Blackhawks have Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, Crawford, and more. The Lightning have Stamkos, the triplets (Palat, Johnson, and Kuchevov), Filppula, and Hedman. Both teams have had ups and downs on the way to the finals and it should be an incredibly fun series to watch. What it comes down to is experience, and that’s what Chicago has. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Lightning come out and play a great series against the Blackhawks; however, under the pressure of the Stanley Cup Finals, I am picking the team that has experience. The trio of Kane, Toews, and Quenneville is too tough to beat in a best-of-seven series.
Prediction: Chicago in 6
Schedule
STANLEY CUP FINAL | |||
SERIES O – A2 vs. C3 | TIME (ET) | NETWORKS | |
Wednesday, June 3 | 8 p.m. | Chicago at Tampa Bay | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports |
Saturday, June 6 | 7:15 p.m. | Chicago at Tampa Bay | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports |
Monday, June 8 | 8 p.m. | Tampa Bay at Chicago | NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports |
Wednesday, June 10 | 8 p.m. | Tampa Bay at Chicago | NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports |
*Saturday, June 13 | 8 p.m. | Chicago at Tampa Bay | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports |
*Monday, June 15 | 8 p.m. | Tampa Bay at Chicago | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports |
*Wednesday, June 17 | 8 p.m. | Chicago at Tampa Bay | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports |
* if necessary
Sources
ESPN.com
NHL.com
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/teams/depth-chart/TB/tampa-bay-lightning
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2481488-nhl-playoffs-2015-predictions-for-blackhawks-vs-lightning-in-stanley-cup-final
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25200861/nhl-expert-picks-2015-stanley-cup-final-selections
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=769113