NHL Stanley Cup Finals: Series Prediction

Well folks, here we are (finally).

After witnessing a half-dozen Game Sevens, stunning near-comebacks in Detroit and Chicago, offensive showdowns, defensive struggles and unfathomable goaltending performances, we have finally reached the pinnacle of NHL playoff action: the Stanley Cup Finals.

NBC and Versus couldn't have scripted this sequence of events any better than the way they unfolded. This was, without a doubt, the most intense postseason in years.

If hockey has gained a larger following by next season, you can thank the 16 teams that participated in these playoffs. They've put on one heck of a show.

Now, the dust has settled.

Two teams are left standing, in the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins.

Vancouver hasn't been to the finals since 1994. Boston's last Cup appearance came four years before their opponent's. Neither team was successful in capturing Lord Stanley: the Bruins were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers and the Canucks fell at the hands of the New York Rangers.

It's been 39 years since the Bruins last won it all. The Canucks have never won it at all.

Over the last handful of seasons, the Canucks fared well in the regular season, but were never able to translate those accomplishments into postseason success. 

After blowing a 3-0 series lead in the Quarterfinals against Chicago, we were certain that these playoffs would end no differently, and when Jonathan Toews tied Game Seven with the clock winding down, it had to be the nail in the coffin.

But that was never to be. Alex Burrows would slap the game-winner past Blackhawk goaltender Corey Crawford, seemingly packing all of the frustration of years past into that shot. Since that goal, Vancouver hasn't looked back.

It took them a while, but the Sedins have finally woken up, having been targeted and shut down in the first two rounds. They've, once again, become a major factor for this Vancouver offense.   

Boston has also fought hard to get here, and, though you'd never put this team in the "choker" category (with the exception of the 3-0 series lead they blew against Philadelphia last season), you might say they've underachieved these last few years. 

They're here too, largely due to the, often mind-boggling, stellar play of Tim Thomas, the Bruin goaltender who's nearly impossible to beat these days. 

Boston has also benefited from strong defense (Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Tomas Kaberle) and incredibly clutch offensive performances from players like Tyler Seguin, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic, to name a few. 

A lot of people have been quick to the trigger, saying that Vancouver will win this series in four, maybe five games. I think this series is going seven, and I'll explain why. 

When you look at the Canucks, it's very easy to see the amount of depth they have and conclude that, there's simply no team that can match-up with them, shift after shift. You're probably correct in doing so, but that does not mean Vancouver is invincible. 

As we saw in the first two-rounds, if the opposing team has the right defensive strategy, and the players to pull it off, the Sedins can be contained. 

Zdeno Chara is no slouch, thank you very much, and you can bet he'll be glued to one of the Sedins.

Daniel and Henrik are yet to face a defenseman like Chara, something that will make for an intriguing match-up in this series.

Likewise, Tim Thomas has shown that he can steal a game, and do so in pressure situations. He always rises to the occasion, and there's nothing more intense than the Stanley Cup Finals. If Thomas is on top of his game, the Canucks' offensive prowess should be neutralized. 

Should that be the case, Boston has the clutch scoring to respond on the scoreboard, so long as they're not trailing heavily in the hockey game.

Meanwhile, the Canucks are deep on both offense and defense, but I give Boston the edge in physical play. I'd sooner battle along the boards with a Canuck than a Bruin.

Roberto Luongo also happens to be a pretty good 'tender in his own right, and that should give Boston some trouble. He does have a tendency to make mistakes at the most unforgiving moments in a game, while Boston has shooters that take advantage of key situations, especially those.  

These are the reasons why I believe this series will end in seven games. Vancouver has depth, but Boston has intangibles that you can't ignore.

I do think that the Vancouver Canucks will emerge victorious, when all is said and done.

Ultimately, Boston may have the effort and heart to push this series to the brink, but, at the end of the day, when everything's on the line, the Canucks have all the right weapons to win that decisive seventh game.

I will say this: If the Sedins are M.I.A. and Roberto Luongo doesn't play as well as he has thus far, the Bruins can and will, likely, defeat the Canucks.

My bet is on Vancouver, but Boston absolutely has the means to take this series, and, if they do, I won't be shocked. 

A little surprised? Yes.

Shocked? Definitely not. 

Comments are welcome.

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