Blackhawks vs. Lightning: Stanley Cup 2015 Final Odds, TV Schedule, Predictions

Either the Chicago Blackhawks confirm their dynasty status or the Tampa Bay Lightning position themselves as the next dynasty in waiting. That's what's on the line in this year's Stanley Cup Final.

Both the Blackhawks and Lightning needed seven games in the conference finals, with Chicago knocking out the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night, while Tampa Bay eliminated the New York Rangers a night earlier.

Hockey fans couldn't have asked for a much better matchup. Neither the Blackhawks nor the Lightning own a major advantage in any one aspect. That should lead to a great series that goes at least six games. According to Odds Shark, the Blackhawks have 2-to-3 odds of taking the Stanley Cup.

Here's a brief preview for the clash.

Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info	Live Stream	Odds
1	Wed., June 3	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	Tampa Bay (-1.5)
2	Sat., June 6	7:15 p.m.	NBC, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	N/A
3	Mon., June 8	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	N/A
4	Wed., June 10	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	N/A
5*	Sat., June 13	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	N/A
6*	Mon., June 15	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	N/A
7*	Wed., June 17	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	N/A

Preview and Prediction

Simply put, no team is more experienced than the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup pressure cooker. Chicago is looking for its third title in six seasons. Guys like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have proved themselves time and again at professional hockey's grandest stage.

ESPN's John Buccigross is already putting this iteration of the Blackhawks into rarefied air:

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Willis wrote that there are parallels between this Lightning team and where Chicago was as it embarked on its Stanley Cup-winning 2009-10 season, particularly when it comes to the young core of talent in the attack:

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When the Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane Blackhawks won for the first time in 2010, the team had a young forward core leavened with some older players. Six of the club’s top-nine forwards were 25 years of age or younger. Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp provided experience on the top two lines, while young veteran Dustin Byfuglien (then a forward) did much the same further down the depth chart.

The Lightning could draw inspiration from that example. Six of Tampa Bay’s top-nine forwards are under the age of 25, with the youth brigade providing the bulk of the scoring. One line is built around Tyler Johnson and a second around Steven Stamkos, with that distribution creating matchup problems for opponents the same way that Toews and Kane have for years now.

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Nowhere does that young talent shine through more than in the Lightning's line of Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, all of whom are 24 years or younger. Those three players have been instrumental to Tampa Bay's success, as evidenced by this statistic from ESPN Stats & Info:

"It's so much fun to play with those two guys," Palat said of his fellow "Triplets," per NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "Hopefully we're just going to keep going. We read off each other. I know exactly where [Johnson] and [Kucherov] are going to be on the ice. It's just fun."

It might be too much to say that the Lightning's fortunes will be tied directly to the performances of Johnson, Kucherov and Palat, but those three will certainly have a big impact on Tampa Bay's success or failure.

Luckily for the Blackhawks, they have a strong defense anchored by Duncan Keith, who has been absolutely brilliant during the postseason, per NHL on NBC:

Brent Seabrook also added six goals and four assists of his own across the previous three rounds. Meanwhile, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya are third and fourth, respectively, in the playoffs in blocked shots, according to NHL.com.

The Blackhawks defensemen were really battered during the conference final and in the first two rounds as well. Still, they continued playing at a high level despite the punishment they received. Having a few days off before the Stanley Cup Final might allow them to get back to full strength.

A major question mark for the Lightning will be goaltender Ben Bishop. When he is good, he's very good. Only three goaltenders in NHL history have two Game 7 shutouts during a single postseason, per the NHL:

Interspersed between Bishop's great performances have been some rather shaky showings. Let's not forget that he allowed 15 goals on 78 shots across Games 3, 4 and 6 of the Eastern Conference Final. He also let in three goals on 14 shots to begin Game 4 of the conference semis.

Tampa Bay might own the attacking edge, but Chicago's forwards will smell blood in the water if Bishop looks a little unsteady between the pipes.

The Blackhawks made Frederik Andersen look unsure of himself after the Ducks netminder was pretty solid in the previous rounds.

It's easy to consider the Blackhawks favorites in this series given their postseason history. But Anaheim arguably had more than enough chances to knock Chicago out in the Western Conference Final. This is far from an unbeatable Blackhawks team.

With that said, the amount of playoff experience the Chicago players possess can't be discounted. The Blackhawks don't get rattled no matter the situation, and you can never count them out of a game. Toews scored two goals in the final two minutes of regulation in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final to overcome a 5-3 deficit.

This series should be extremely close, but the edge goes to the Blackhawks.

Prediction: Chicago wins, 4-2

Note: Game 1 odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.