The world's greatest trophy is up for grabs. On Wednesday, the Stanley Cup Finals will get underway with a very intriguing match up taking center stage. Two teams that haven't had a shot at the title (let alone brought home the trophy) in over 15 years. Vancouver will be the site of Game 1, between the Western Conference Champion Canucks and the Eastern Conference's Boston Bruins. While the Bruins haven't tasted a title in 37 years, the Canucks have never experienced the glory of winning it all. If you're the NHL, you couldn't ask for a more compelling series.
Here's how they got here. Vancouver came into the playoffs as the top seed, but needed seven games to take out the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. The next two meetings were much easier as the Canucks easily disposed of both Nashville and San Jose en route to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1994. This is the team I expected to come out of the West and I'm glad to see Vancouver get another chance for the first cup. It's also good when you get a Canada vs. America match up. After all, hockey is a Canadian sport. Representing the U.S. is one of the NHL's "Original Six" franchises. Boston is making their first visit to the title round since 1990. Like the Canucks, the Bruins went to the brink in their first round series before eliminating the 6th seeded Montreal Canadiens. They sandwiched a sweep of the Flyers with another seven game series win over Tampa Bay yesterday.
Looking ahead, this should be a highly entertaining match up. Offensively, the edge no doubt goes to Vancouver. They just have so many weapons to defend including the Sedin brothers, and Ryan Kesler. Plus, Conference Finals clincher Kevin Bieska. Balance is the name of the game for Vancouver as they've looked strong on all sides of the ice during their run. Still, they don't have the defensive efficiency of Boston. The Bruins, led by hard-hitting 6'9" veteran Zdeno Chara. The unit just took care of an impressive offensive team in Tampa. Steven Stamkos and company were simply stifled throughout the series, especially in the decisive game 7 loss. Both clubs feature stellar goaltending. Roberto Luongo has been his usual dominant self throughout the playoffs for the Canucks, but perhaps no goalie has been better than Tim Thomas for the Bruins. If Boston wants to have any shot of upsetting Vancouver, they'll need Thomas to bring his A-game every game. We've seen goalies take over series and almost singlehandedly winning cups, but I just don't think that Boston has enough pound-for-pound talent to stack up with the Canucks. Prediction: Canucks in 7.
by Andy Adamson
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