The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks open the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday evening at the United Center in Chicago. The first team to pull of four victories gets to win its second Stanley Cup in the last few years.
The Boston Bruins have undergone a complete transformation throughout this postseason. They struggled throughout the end of the regular season and were a minute away from elimination in Game 7 of the first round. Since pulling off that clutch victory the team has been virtually unbeatable. Here are a few reasons why Boston will win this year's Stanley Cup.
Getting Better With Every Series
The team has been terrific since almost being blown out by Toronto in Game 7 of the first round. The team allowed 16 goals in that series while scoring 22. In the second round, Boston ran out to a 3-0 series lead against the New York Rangers before pulling off a five game series victory. In those five matches the Bruins conceded 10 goals and scored 16 times. Against the Penguins the Bruins pulled off a four game sweep with 12 goals scored and only two conceded. All four lines are clicking at opportune moments. The David Krejci line was dominant against Toronto but got shut down for long stretches against the Rangers. The combination of Krejci, Nathan Horton, and Milan Lucic bounced back with a dominant performance against the Penguins.
Special Teams
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered their series against the Bruins with a game changing powerplay. Their superstar lineup on the power play had destroyed the New York Islanders and dismantled the Ottawa Senators. However, the man-advantage did not click once for the Penguins in the four games against Boston. The Bruins improved their penalty kill in the last two series as the New York Rangers were unable to muster much on the man advantage. Chicago depends on its powerplay for offense but could find itself in a similar position as Pittsburgh.
Tuuka Rask
Rask allowed two goals against the juggernaut Penguins offense. More impressive of all was the fact that he never looked nervous or tentative as he did at times against Toronto or in Game 4 against the Rangers. The rebounds were controlled and the positioning was impeccable. Chicago has a similar offensive style as the Penguins and Rask should have the same kind of success he had in the previous series if he maintains the same level of play.
2011 Squad Virtually Intact
The current Bruins squad boasts 17 players that led the team to the Cup two years ago. The biggest change comes in goal; Tim Thomas had a heroic postseason to lead the team back then. Despite some of his shortcomings early in the playoffs, Rask has been just as good as Thomas was in that run and possibly even better at times. Top players such as Krejci, Lucic, Horton, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron are arguably better than they were during the 2011 run.
Zdeno Chara
No defenseman has achieved more this postseason that Zdeno Chara. The Bruins captain has not only contributed offensively but put up a defining performance in the Eastern Conference finals when he nullified the Penguins superstar duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. In the second round he shut down the Rangers' Rick Nash with little difficulty. If he continues to play this way then he should have no problems quieting Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane as both players have been wildly inconsistent in the postseason.