The Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning kick off the 2015 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Final begins on Thursday morning (Australian AEST), and ahead of puck drop in the best-of-seven game series, I’ve broken down the two teams, looking at forwards, defence and goaltending in an effort to pick a winner in what should be a tightly-fought series.
Both teams have goal-scoring ability in spades. It’s strength against strength up forward, with some of the league’s best scorers – Stamkos, Toews, Kane and Hossa – set to give opposition defencemen fits the entire series.
Chicago:
It’s hard to look past the Blackhawks, whose firepower is unquestioned. Forget the big three in Chicago for the moment, and delve deeper into Joel Quenneville’s line-up. The ‘Hawks have a bunch of scorers, and there’s been a fairly even spread of offensive output across the board. Brandon Saad scored a key goal in the deciding game of the Western Conference, and is a rising talent who’ll be talked about for years to come.
Patrick Sharp and Brad Richards are great players who often get forgotten in the well-deserved hysteria surrounding Kane, Toews and Hossa, and they know how to score big goals in big games. Sharp, who plays on the team’s third line because of such ridiculous offensive depth, went through a slump late in the regular season, but has rebounded nicely, and the entire season has been a rebound for Richards, who was well and truly on the outer with the New York Rangers, but has found a new lease of life on a one-year contract with Chicago. He’s a Stanley Cup champion – ironically, with Tampa Bay in 2004 – and he is a player likely to sneak up and score a timely goal.
Even fringe players on the Blackhawks roster have the ability to influence games. Take Antoine Vermette for example: the trade deadline acquisition from Arizona was a healthy scratch in Game Three of the Anaheim series ad bounced back in the best possible way, scoring the winning goal in double overtime in Game Four, which was a giant turning point in the series. Given that the Stanley Cup Final is often the playground of fringe guys, of lesser known names who come up with huge plays. Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell fit that mould nicely.
Another guy to keep your eye on is Andrew Shaw: the rugged forward isn’t the most skilful player on the ice, but what he lacks in that regard, he certainly makes up for in tenacity and sheer grittiness. So often, Shaw is the guy screening the goalie when the Blackhawks score a goal – we saw it with Chicago’s fifth goal on Saturday night against Anaheim – and he’s a rugged, tough player, beloved in Chicago for doing a lot of dirty work that doesn’t always show up on the stats sheet.
As much as we talk about other guys, there’s little doubt that Chicago goes as Kane and Toews (and Hossa, to a lesser extent) go, and if they are on song in the Cup Final as they were in the proceeding games, Tampa are going to struggle. Kane, particularly, back from a clavicle injury earlier than expected, is on fire, scoring ridiculous highlight reel goals seemingly every game.
Toews put the team on his back on Saturday night, and Hossa chimed in with a goal, as well. Hossa may be old, but he can still make a defenceman look pretty average.
Tampa’s Ben Bishop is going to have his hands full in goal this series against probably the best-equipped and dangerous team he’s yet seen.
Tampa Bay:
Steven Stamkos is their main guy, and what a lethal sniper he is! Give him so much as an inch of space at your own peril. There’s a reason Stamkos is on a giant contract in Tampa, and he’s shown throughout the playoffs that he’s worth every cent. If Chicago’s defenceman don’t fill the shooting lanes and block shots where necessary, Stamkos is going to have a field day, and if that happens, the Lightning are going to be hard to stop.
Former New York Ranger Ryan Callahan, coming off an emergency appendectomy, was quiet in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Callahan is a guy born for the trench warfare-type hockey that we’re likely going to see in this series. He’s made a living doing the hard things well, and should unquestionably be back to full fitness by the time Game One of the Final gets underway. I loved Callahan as a Ranger, and Lightning fans love him for the same reason now. He’ll give you 110% every time.
Pint-sized Tyler Johnson leads the dangerous Triples line with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, all three of whom have scored timely goals for the Lightning. Johnson leads all comers with 12 goals and 21 points, and is a fairly good chance at a Conn Smythe Trophy if the Lightning win. Kucherov trails him by two in total points scored, but has a team-high ten assists. Palat isn’t a stranger to the scoring sheet, either.
Veteran Valtteri Filppula usually centres the top line, with Stamkos on one side after struggling at centre early on in these playoffs, and it worked. He scored seven goals in his next twelve games, and scored in four straight against New York. Stamkos is a lot like Toews or Kane for Chicago: when his team needs a score, he generally delivers. The third man on the top line is the ever-improving Alex Killorn, who has two game winners so far, amongst seven goals.
The real key for Tampa is them getting scoring from their top six forwards, who’ve accounted for 45 of the 55 goals the Lightning have scored in the playoffs. The likes of Brian Boyle and Cedric Paquette are handy on the penalty kill.
Tampa’s speed gave the Rangers fits, and I see the ability of their fleet of fast-skating forwards as being the best opportunity to gain some advantage over Chicago.
Advantage: Chicago. So many lines can score. They’re deep and they’re dangerous.
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