Blackhawks vs. Lightning: Complete Guide to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final

Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks reached the 2015 Stanley Cup Final by exorcising some minor demons in the conference finals.

The Tampa Bay Lightning accomplished something no team had ever done previously—win a Game 7 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Four years earlier, the Lightning lost the conference final by dropping Game 7 to the Bruins in Boston.

The Chicago Blackhawks squandered a 2-0 lead in Game 7 against the eventual champion Los Angeles Kings last season and eventually lost the game in overtime. Staked to a 2-0 lead in Game 7 against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, the Blackhawks rolled to victory.

What are some of the questions and storylines surrounding these teams that will open this series Wednesday night in Tampa? There are several.

Can the Blackhawks win another series with only four defensemen?

Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya are perhaps the most formidable foursome on defense in the NHL. Hjalmarsson could be a top pairing on almost any other team, but with the Blackhawks, he acts primarily as a defense-first guy who rarely touches the power play.

Player	Goals	Assists	Points	TOI
Duncan Keith	2	16	18	31:35
Niklas Hjalmarsson	1	5	6	26:33
Brent Seabrook	6	4	10	26:21
Johnny Oduya	0	4	4	25:23
Kyle Cumiskey	0	0	0	11:14
Kimmo Timonen	0	0	0	9:25
David Rundblad	0	0	0	7:25

Keith is probably the Conn Smythe favorite if Chicago wins the Cup and Seabrook already has six playoff goals to his name. Oduya, meanwhile, is playing more than 25 minutes a game in the postseason after averaging around 20 minutes a night during the regular season.

Some of Oduya’s workload is due to the Blackhawks playing 11 overtimes to date in the postseason, but it also has a lot to do with the lack of depth beyond these four defensemen. 

Coach Joel Quenneville has used Kimmo Timonen, David Rundblad and Kyle Cumiskey sparingly since Michal Rozsival was lost for the season with an ankle injury at the end of the second round. It did not matter against the Ducks, as the punishing style did not wear down the Blackhawks, at least not enough for it to matter.

Will it matter against the Lightning? Probably not, and here’s why…

Can the Lightning win another series with only two lines scoring goals?

Coach Jon Cooper has used a lineup with 11 forwards and seven defensemen quite frequently in the playoffs, so the Lightning don’t have a “bottom six” up front like most teams. Quite frequently, a top-six forward will take an extra shift with the third or fourth line.

Yet even with a talented player joining those groups, the Lightning haven’t received an even-strength goal from their third or fourth lines since Game 2 of the second round.

Player	Goals	Assists	Points
Tyler Johnson	12	9	21
Nikita Kucherov	9	10	19
Steven Stamkos	7	10	17
Alex Killorn	7	9	16
Ondrej Palat	7	8	15
Valtteri Filppula	3	8	11
Eight other forwards	4	5	9

Cooper moved Valtteri Filppula to center on the top line with Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos and left his dynamic line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov together. It weakened the depth but fortified the top of the lineup, and that’s all the Lightning needed to beat the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.

The sledding for those players may be a little tougher because of the aforementioned top-four defensemen of the Blackhawks, who should see a lot of those Lightning stars. This may be the round the Lightning’s depth will have to come through and help win a series.

What can we expect from the goaltenders?

This is not a showdown between Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy.

Corey Crawford won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 but lost his job to Scott Darling for most of the first round. Since his disastrous showing against the Nashville Predators, Crawford has a .929 save percentage. 

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Ben Bishop of the Lightning is in his first postseason and has a respectable .920 but is coming off of a series that saw him post two shutouts on the road and allow 15 goals in three games at home. Regular season and playoffs combined, Bishop has played 82 games, 19 more than his career high set a year ago.

If Crawford doesn’t turn into a pumpkin again and Bishop avoids the fatigue that seemed to plague him last round, there shouldn’t be an issue.

Neither team used elite goaltending to reach the Stanley Cup Final, but if either Crawford or Bishop catch fire over the next two weeks, life will be extremely difficult for the other team.

Will experience play a role?

Everything about the Game 7 and playoff history of the Rangers said they should beat the Lightning in the ultimate contest of the conference final, yet here we are talking about the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Blackhawks are here for the third time in six years; Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Keith, Seabrook and Bryan Bickell can win their third championships with the team. Brad Richards is in his second straight Cup Final and won it all with the Lightning in 2004.

There are 12 players from the 2013 Blackhawks championship team on this roster.

Mike Carlson/Getty Images

The Lightning, on the other hand, don't have anything close to that level of seasoning.

Valtteri Filppula won a Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, making him the only current member of the Lightning with a ring. Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle reached the Final with the Rangers last season, and Brenden Morrow got there with the Dallas Stars in 2000. Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle were members of the 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers, who lost to the Blackhawks in the Final.

When it comes to talent, the matchup between these teams is very close. When it comes to experience, however, the Blackhawks have a huge edge.

Should we expect a high-scoring Final?

Yes.

The Lightning (3.16 goals per game) were the NHL's highest-scoring team in the regular season. Though the Blackhawks (2.68) were only 17th, opponents have struggled keeping both teams off the scoreboard during the playoffs.

The Blackhawks jumped to 3.29 goals per game in the postseason, while the Lightning are at 2.75, which ranks third and fourth, respectively. The 2.75 number is rather impressive when you consider the Lightning had to go through Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist to get here.

Throw in the fact that it's not out of the question for Crawford to try to assault an opponent in the middle of a play and for Bishop to just flat out fall asleep in the crease, and we could have a few 5-4 games waiting for us.

Stanley Cup Final Series Prediction:

Season series: Split two meetings

Outlook: It's just not the time for the Lightning yet. When the Blackhawks lost in the conference final to the Red Wings in 2009, it was the last drop of pain they needed for their championship chemistry, as they took that experience to a title the next year.

That's how this sets up for the Lightning, who are very good but have many players at this stage for the first time. They'll be back, but this will be the Blackhawks' third Stanley Cup in six years.

Prediction: Blackhawks in six games

All statistics via NHL.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @DaveLozo.