As hockey fans, we have been spoiled the last couple summers when it comes to the Stanley Cup Finals.
In 2008 we had Sidney Crosby make his 1st appearance in the finals only to watch the Detroit Red Wings win the 4th cup in 11 seasons.
In 2009 we had a rematch but this time with Crosby's Penguins winning Game 7 in Detroit to win their 3rd Stanley Cup. (And yes it still hurts to type it.)
In 2010 we saw the Chicago Blackhawks end their 49 year Stanley Cup drought by defeating Philadelphia in 6 games.
This years match-up is just as intriguing.
We have an original six franchise in the Boston Bruins who are trying to win their 1st Stanley Cup in 39 years. Standing in their way is the Vancouver Canucks who are celebrating their 40th season and would love to cap it off with a Stanley Cup celebration of their own.
So who do I like? Let's break it down to find out.
Forwards:
Boston is lead up front by David Krecji (10G, 7A) and Nathan Horton (8G, 9A) They have been the two best forwards for the Bruins during the playoffs.
Patrice Bergeron has been Boston's best forward all season and looks to be healthy after missing the 1st two games against Tampa. He is a great two way skater & a strong penalty killer. His main task will be to help keep the Sedin twins in check.
For Vancouver it's starts up front with the Sedin twins. Daniel leads the Canucks in goals scored this spring with 8 while his brother Henrik leads Vancouver with 19 assists.
If trying to stop the both of them isn't tough enough Boston will have to deal with Ryan Kesler on the 2nd line. Kesler has 7 goals & 11 assist and has been in my opinion the best two way forward in the playoffs. If Vancouver wins the Stanley Cup Kesler probably wins the Conn Smythe Award.
Both teams are very deep up front at forward but I like Vancouver's core of forwards a little better than Boston's.
Edge: Vancouver
Defense:
Both teams have been good defensively this post-season as Boston has only given up 45 goals while Vancouver has given up 46.
The Bruins are lead on the blueline by Zdeno Chara. Chara, a Norris Trophy candidate, has 2 goals, 3 assists this post-season and is a + 11 on the ice. He is a shutdown defenseman and will have the difficult task along with Dennis Seidenberg to try & stop the Sedin twins.
The rest of the Bruins defense will have the luxury of trying to stop the Ryan Kesler line. They should be up to the task as Tomas Kaberle (+7) Andrew Ference (+6) Adam McQuaid & Johnny Boychuk (+5) all have had great success keeping their opponents in check.
While the Canucks don't have a shutdown defenseman like Chara they do have a deep core of defenseman that is capable of stopping the Bruins forwards.
They are led by Kevin Bieksa who is a +10 this post-season. Dan Hamhuis (+5) has been everything the Canucks were hoping he would be after signing him as a free agent.
How deep is the Canucks blueline? Keith Ballard who would be a #4 defenseman on most teams in the NHL has been a healthy scratch most of the post-season. Injuries to Christian Ehrhoff & Aaron Rome have allowed him to finally see some playing time.
The depth of both these teams when healthy is similar but when you have a Norris Trophy candidate on one side why the other side is dealing with a couple injuries then the edge is pretty obvious.
Edge: Boston
Goaltending:
This position couldn't be more even if we tried.
Tim Thomas & Roberto Luongo have 12 wins this post-season. They also have a GAA of 2.29. Thomas has a save percentage of .929 while Luongo's is .922. It's no surprise that these two are also candidates for the Vezina Trophy.
This is expected of Luongo. Since being drafted 4th overall in 1997 Luongo has won two IIHF World Championships, A William Jennings Trophy and an Olympic Gold Medal. All that's left is for him is to win the Stanley Cup.
Thomas's path has not been as spectacular as Luongo's. After bouncing around Europe & North America Thomas joined the Bruins organization in 2002-2003.
He took over as the starter in 2008 and won the Vezina Trophy in 2009. Last season he lost his job in the playoffs to Tuukka Rask only to reclaim it this season when Rask struggled at the beginning of the season.
Both of these goalie have been great but if you had to ask me to pick one win a series I'd have to go with the one who has a gold medal.
Edge: Vancouver
Coaching:
Boston is lead by Claude Julien while Vancouver is lead by Alain Vigneault. Truth be told neither one of these two isn't going to be confused with Toe Blake but they have lead their teams here so they must be doing something right.
Vigneault has taken a very talented Canucks team and lead them to their 1st President's Trophy in franchise history. Because of that he is a candidate for the Jack Adams Award. The Canucks started clicking on all cylinders back in December with the only adversity they have had to face this season coming against Chicago in the 1st round.
As for Mr. Julien, last season after blowing a 3-0 series lead against Philadelphia I called for the Bruins to fire him. That's something I rarely do.
Boston didn't fire him and now they are in the Stanley Cup Finals. I think the Bruins have made it to the finals not because of him but in spite of him. When I watch him coach I'm not sure Julien is even aware there is a hockey game going on.
I have no faith in Claude Julien. I think you can tell who I believe has the edge in coaching.
Edge: Vancouver
Special Teams:
The Power Play for the Bruins has been abysmal in the playoffs. They are 5 for 61with the man advantage. Compare that to Vancouver who is 17 for 60 this post-season with the man advantage.
On the penalty kill both teams are pretty similar. Vancouver has given up 14 goals in 72 opportunities while Boston has given up 13 goals in 63 opportunities. Vancouver has allowed three short-handed goals in the playoffs while Boston has allowed only one.
As long as Boston's power play continues to struggle this remains a huge advantage for the Canucks.
Edge: Vancouver
X-Factors:
For Boston it's Tyler Seguin. The kid got his 1st taste of post-season action against Tampa Bay and he didn't disappoint scoring three goals and adding three assists.
Segun played so well that when Patrice Bergeron returned from his injury Claude Julien had no choice but to leave him in the lineup. I'm not sure what kind of impact Seguin will have against Vancouver be he bears worth watching.
For Vancouver it's Manny Malhotra, Malhotra was the center for the Canucks 3rd line this season until he took a puck to the eye in March against Colorado. Thought to be lost for the season Malhotra has been skating for the past couple weeks and has been cleared to play in the finals.
Whether Malhotra plays or not remains to be seen but if he does he makes a very good Vancouver team even better.
Prediction:
Out of the four teams remaining this was the best match-up the NHL could have hoped for.
You have a rabid fanbase in Boston that is hoping for their 1st Stanley Cup in 39 years going against another rabid fanbase in Vancouver hoping for their 1st Stanley Cup in franchise history.
I think Boston is good enough to put up a fight and challenge Vancouver but the Canucks have been the best team in the NHL all season. The last team to win the President's Trophy in a full NHL season and lose in the Finals were the 1990 Boston Bruins.
That fact will remain true after this series. Get ready Canada, for the 1st time in 18 years the Stanley Cup will be coming north of the border.
The pick: Canucks in seven.
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