2010 Stanley Cup Finals: Experts Say Series Is More Even Than You Think

There are favorites, and then there are overwhelming favorites.

With the odds-makers in Vegas giving them a 3-to-1 shot at winning the Cup, you can consider the Chicago Blackhawks to be the latter.

However, NHL analysts Don Cherry, Mike Milbury, and Pierre McGuire say "not so fast" when considering the Blackhawks as merely Stanley Cup champs in waiting.

The three men participated in a conference call with Bleacher Report on Thursday as part of the NHL's Media Day.

"When you take a look at the forwards, if you say 'Toews,' I might say 'Richards,'" explained NBC analyst Mike Milbury. "If you say 'Kane,' I might say 'Briere' [etc.]. When you go down the list like that and you start to match things up, this is going to be a longer series, I think, than people realize."

"This series is going to go a lot longer than people think," said NBC analyst Pierre McGuire. "There hasn't been enough credit being given to the Philadelphia Flyers."

McGuire explained that, though seeing the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals is something most would have expected at the beginning of the season, the Flyers unexpected emergence from an overlooked seventh seed to Eastern Conference champions has been the result of their best players stepping up just at the right time.

"For Philadelphia, their best players are just starting to round into form," McGuire said. "You look at Simon Gagne and the effect he's had on the lineup. The return of Jeff Carter and the effect he's had, the return of Ian Laperriere...this is a much better team than people are giving them credit for."

While Chicago's team speed and depth down the middle are factors both Milbury and McGuire agreed gave the Hawks an edge over the Flyers, CBC analyst Don Cherry said that Philadelphia's toughness is something the Blackhawks had yet to encounter so far in the playoffs and will be a factor.

"Richards takes no prisoners," Cherry explained. "[The Blackhawks] have never played a guy that hits like that, they're a mean club. This [series] is going to go a lot longer than people think because, on one side, Philly has not played anybody with the speed or talent [of Chicago].

"But on the other side, Chicago has never played anybody that takes no prisoners, like Philly. So, it's going to be interesting to see who survives."

While it's true that, with the possible exception of Nashville, the Blackhawks have not encountered a predominantly physical opponent in these playoffs, like most highly skilled teams, Chicago's toughness might be going under-appreciated here.

Players such as Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, Kris Versteeg, and Brent Seabrook are anything but shy when it comes to laying on big hits and playing hard in the corners.

And though superstars such as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane aren't exactly physical forces, their elite status has meant they've endured their fare share of physical attention from opponents and have managed to succeed despite it.

Though Chicago, as a team, may have what it takes to stand up to Philadelphia when it comes to the physical matchups, it is the impending battle between Philadelphia defenseman (6'6", 215 lbs) and Chicago power-forward Dustin Byfuglien (6'3", 257 lbs) that has analyst Pierre McGuire excited.

"I'm really looking forward to [that] matchup," he said. "Byfuglien has yet to play against a player like Chris Pronger, and Chris is going to lean on him and cause problems. Don Cherry is absolutely right when he talks about the savage hitting of Philadelphia [being a factor]."

Mike Milbury offered a slightly different take on this anticipated battle: "I wish [the Byfuglien/Pronger matchup] were in 1975, so I could really watch that matchup! It's going to be interesting to see if Pronger can do anything about Byfuglien because, the way the rules are, you're not allowed to touch the damn guy anymore!"

The other matchup that could determine the outcome of the series is between the two, heretofore, backup goalies for Philadelphia and Chicago, Michael Leighton and Antti Niemi, respectively.

"It's funny," Don Cherry said, "here you've got two guys that are supposedly [their team's] weak spot and here they are in the finals! I think it's going to be [determined by] which one falters, and boy, it's gonna be something."

Cherry then revealed his famous, if not borderline-racist, bias for Canadian players when he said, "Everybody's waiting for 'Namia' [Niemi] or whatever his name is to falter, and he hasn't. [But] I'm voting for Leighton [to win]. He's my guy."

While a cynical person could look at the stated opinions of Milbury, McGuire, and Cherry as simply trying to drum up interest in a series that many feel is over, already before it has begun, there's truth to what they're saying.

Despite their favored status, Chicago is not unbeatable, and Philadelphia is not so inferior a team as to be written off completely.

My personal opinion is that this series will go six games.

However, and, as a Red Wings fan, this hurts to say, I see no outcome other than the Chicago Blackhawks becoming the 2010 Stanley Cup champions.

Though my support is fully behind Philadelphia (again, I'm a Detroit fan and therefore wish nothing but failure upon the Blackhawks), the speed, talent, intelligence, and yes, even the Finnish goal tending, of the Chicago Blackhawks has helped them to become one of the best teams in the world and certainly the best of these playoffs.

None of that is going to disappear over the next two weeks.

While I agree with the experts that this series isn't exactly "David versus Goliath," as a Red Wings fan for the better part of two decades, I know a winner when I see one, and that's just what Chicago is.

Man, that hurts to say.