Well folks, we have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals! This year we have the Montreal Canadiens facing the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canadiens are prohibitive underdogs in this one, but playoff hockey is unmatched in intensity, unpredictability and craziness. Will Tampa Bay be back to back champions?
Conference Finals Prediction Results:
In my Stanley Cup Conference Final blog, I went one for two on my picks. I took the Tampa Bay Lightning to win but did not predict the Montreal Canadiens, who in my opinion have had a fairy tale of a postseason to even make it this far. Hats off to you, Habs.
Montreal Canadiens:
The Habs have had a cinderella story series after series this postseason. The top four teams in each of the four NHL divisions made the playoffs and the Canadiens finished fourth to barely make it. Their 59 points upon entry into the playoffs was the least amount of any team in the postseason. With massive COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, the Canadiens did not have any fans in attendance during the regular season for the entire year. In the playoffs, they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs who choke every year with an extraordinary amount of talent. The Habs then proceeded to sweep the Winnipeg Jets in the Conference Semi-Final and beat the Vegas Golden Knights to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Tyler Toffoli and Nick Suzuki are both in double figures points wise for the Canadiens. Carey Price has been the bread and butter for these playoffs, with every game having well under 2.50 goals against average. The Canadiens will now face their toughest test yet all season, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Unlike Montreal, this team is flat out excellent and I expected Tampa Bay to be right back where they were last year. The Lightning have played 18 games this postseason and their record is 12-6. Tampa Bay had no problem with the Florida Panthers or Carolina Hurricanes in the first two rounds of the playoffs. But the New York Islanders, who I personally can’t stand did give the defending champions a run for their money, eventually falling after taking the series 7 games. The offensive statistics are exceptional for many players, it would feel like centuries to comprehensively write them down. Nikita Kucherov has a minuscule 30 points, he is struggling. Brayden Point has been unwatchable with only 23 points while also setting records by scoring goals in 9 consecutive games in the postseason. Andrei Vasilevskiy is abnormal, I will leave it there. The Lightning are very talented and there is no secret to it.
Prediction:
The Canadiens have had a magical run thus far in the postseason that will end here as I see the Lightning winning this series in 5 games and hoisting the Stanley Cup in back to back seasons. Tampa Bay is loaded with a core who have been together so long they will soon start thinking of themselves as a dynasty.
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