Congratulations to the Boston Bruins: 2011 Stanley Cup Champions!

In a seven game series that changed momentum from game to game, the Boston Bruins proved that they had more nerve and more determination by overcoming the Canucks 4-0 in the deciding game in Vancouver. No easy feat.

They also proved that they had made the right choices during the trade deadline, being one of the more active teams during that time and picking up talents such as Rich Peverley and Tomas Kaberle.

Vancouver will be kicking themselves for not taking their chances early on in the game but more than that, they will be worried at the disappearing act of their biggest stars; the Sedin twins. Henrik and Daniel barely showed up throughout the playoffs, with only the former contributing in a big way at any time. Ryan Kesler faded as the final series went on and Vancouver's best man in the faceoff circle (Manny Malhotra) posted some fairly terrible percentages.

Canuck fans and the media will no doubt be pointing the finger of blame at Roberto Luongo but you cannot lay all the blame at his feet. Yes he had a couple of bad games in Boston, but when the League's best offensive side can't score one goal at home in game seven of the Stanley Cup final, you have more problems that just bad goaltending.

Tim Thomas proved to us all that the regular season had been no fluke as he posted some amazing figures in the final series against Vancouver and throughout the playoffs, winning himself the Con Smythe trophy. Brad Marchand was fantastic for Boston too in his rookie year. He was a pest to Vancouver's better players and he got goals and assists too. Even Tyler Seguin played his part when he was called upon. Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton, Rich Peverley...the list goes on. I can't say the same for the Canucks and that was the difference.

Well done to Boston! Commiserations to Vancouver.

Who will lift Lord Stanley's Cup next year? 

Chara lifts the cup for Boston

Game Seven Awaits Us - NHL Stanley Cup Final

Well, here we are, game seven of franchise Hockey's greatest prize. I have been correct up to this point with the Stanley Cup Final going seven games. I also still (sort of) hope that Vancouver will win their first Cup but I'm not really too concerned about the winner, I just want to see amazing Hockey.

So far we have been treated to a fairly schizophrenic series with every game in Vancouver being a closely fought, one-goal-in-it contest in favour of the Canucks and every game in Boston being a complete blowout in favour of the Bruins. It looks like neither team can get the job done away from home but I think game seven will be very different. We will see the Bruins offense turn up but I think Vancouver will match it.

Whoever wins it, this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs will produce a winner not seen in my generation. With that in mind, I look forward to what should be a scintillating final game.

Vancouver or Boston? What do you think?

Vancouver Canucks vs Boston Bruins: The Stanley Cup Final

The Conference Finals are over and we have finally reached the Stanley Cup Final. What a series this promises to be as well with the Boston Bruins taking on the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver defeated the San Jose Sharks in five games and looked very comfortable all over the ice. San Jose, especially Joe Thornton, put in a lot of effort, but they could not compete with Vancouver's determination to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since '94.

The Bruins overcame the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in one of the best series' of the Playoffs so far. Tampa Bay exploded offensively, like we know they can, several times throughout the series and scored plenty of goals. Their special teams were excellent as always and they were more than a match for the Bruins who probably went into the series as favourites. However, I think the fact that the Bruins are a better 5-on-5 team than the Bolts was the big decider in the end. The size advantage started to tell as the series went on too.

It was almost a fairytale story for 41 year-old Bolts' goalie Dwayne Roloson who put in some fantastic performances throughout these playoffs, perhaps none better than in the last game. Unfortunately for Roloson, another wily veteran in Tim Thomas sat between the pipes for Boston and played just as well.

How do the two teams stack up going into the final?

Well, I would say that Boston are the bigger team, but Vancouver have some heavy hitters too in Raffi Torres and Kevin Bieksa. Vancouver probably have the better (and deeper) defence and have more of a scoring threat from their defence too with Ehrhoff and Edler. Going forward you would also give Vancouver the edge now that the Sedin twins have decided to show up. Horton and Krejci have been fantastic for Boston and I would be surprised not to see them step up again. Kaberle, Seidenberg and Chara have also been as solid as ever and Patrice Bergeron has shown his quality in the faceoff circle too.

I think the one area that Boston are ahead on for sure is goaltending but that isn't to say that Luongo isn't an outstanding goalie on his day. Thomas just has added experience and comes off the back of a particularly amazing season.

It should be a great series and I can see it being a very close one. Both teams have been solid at home and I would not be surprised to see both teams win all of their home games, with the Canucks taking home their first ever Stanley Cup in seven.

My Prediction: Canucks 4 – 3 Bruins

Will it be Vancouver's time?

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2

Prediction time! The second round of the playoffs starts tonight, so I hope you're all looking forward to it as much as I am.

Western Conference

Semi-Finals:

Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators

I think the Canucks are going to go forward and get better and better after putting out their biggest rivals. However, the Preds have already shown they can deal with the flair teams. This one could be close but I think the Canucks will take it.

My Prediction: 4-2 Canucks

Detroit Red Wings vs San Jose Sharks

This one should be a fantastic series. The Red Wings dominated the Coyotes in the opening round and San Jose made fairly simple work of Los Angeles. Two sides with plenty of size, strength and skill are going to collide here and I can see this one going on longer than it did last year when San Jose beat Detroit in five. I believe the Red Wings will take this one in seven games.

My Prediction: 4-3 Red Wings

Eastern Conference

Semi-Finals:

Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning

The Capitals look very strong this year and should take this series. They out-played and out-fought the New York Rangers in the last round and I think they will do it again against a Tampa side that are just beginning to find their feet in these playoffs.

My Prediction: 4-2 Caps 

Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers

The Bruins are going to want to forget what happened last year against the Flyers at this same stage. Leading the series 3-0 they failed in each of the next three games to go forward. In Game 7 the Bruins were leading 3-0 only to see their lead vanish along with their Stanley Cup hopes as Philly went on to win the game and the series. This year I think the Bruins are better suited to going through and have the excellent Tim Thomas in net. In contrast, the Flyers are currently having major goalie issues. 

My Prediction: 4-2 Bruins

What do you think? Let's hear your predictions!

NHL Stanley Cup 1st Round

The first round threw up only a couple of surprises as most of the teams I expected to progress went on to the second round. Below you can see all the final scores and how they matched up to my earlier predictions.

Western Conference:

Detroit beat Phoenix 4 - 0

My Prediction: 3 - 4 (Phoenix win)

Well I was miles off with this one. I thought that Phoenix would be able to push Detroit just as far this year as they did last but, when their best player (Bryzgalov) doesn't play well, the Coyotes don't win, despite the brilliance of Shane Doan throughout the series and the emergence of Kyle Turris from his season-long slumber. Detroit were by far the better side and deserved to go through.

San Jose beat Los Angeles 4 - 2

My Prediction: 4 – 1

I wasn't too far off with this one. San Jose proved to be too much for LA, as we all thought they would. The Kings played some great hockey and, had they defended their 4-0 lead in Game 3 of the series, things might have turned out differently. Thornton, Marleau and Heatley were fairly non-existent to begin with but they are building up a head of steam right now and march on.

Nashville beat Anaheim 4 – 2

My Prediction: 1 – 4 (Ducks win)

Again, my predictive powers failed me. Despite a great series for Ryan, Getzlaf, Perry and Selanne, the hardworking Nashville Predators had too much grit and determination for the highly skilled Anaheim Ducks. Despite being knocked out, Bobby Ryan can find some solace in having scored one of the best goals in Stanley Cup history.

Vancouver beat Chicago 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 3

Spot on for this one. Probably the best series out of them all. Vancouver went 3-0 up and the Blackhawks came right back to tie it. Vancouver had goalie issues and even let in a short-handed goal at the end of Game 7 to take the game into overtime before they finally overcame the team that has put them out of the last two Stanley Cup playoffs. Vancouver have shown they have more about them this year and I fancy them to go far.

Eastern Conference:

Washington beat New York 4 – 1

My Prediction: 4 – 2

Washington proved to be too much for the Rangers who simply could not match the speed and power of the Capital's forwards. The Rangers did push Washington hard and, had a couple of bounces gone their way in overtime, we could have been looking at a much closer series. However, the better team did go through. Washington look dangerous.

Tampa Bay beat Pittsburgh 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 2

At one point I thought that the Bolts were on their way out. They were 3 – 1 down to the Pittsburgh Penguins after four games and that usually means only one thing. However, Steven Stamkos finally found his game in his first NHL playoffs and sparked a remarkable turnaround that ended with Tampa going through after a 1 – 0 win in Game 7. Pittsburgh will be wondering how this series got away from them.

Boston beat Montreal 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 3

Nailed this one. With the history between these two sides, how could this series not have gone seven games? It would have been a travesty. It was another memorable seven games in the Bruins/Canadiens saga and, in the end, the better team went through for sure. The Bruins, now they have put out their biggest rivals, look very well placed to reach the Conference Final and even the Stanley Cup Final.

Philadelphia beat Buffalo 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 0

I was way off with the series score, but not with the eventual winner. Philadelphia were without Chris Pronger for the early part of this series and it showed. However, on his return, the Flyers found their game and ground out some hugely important wins including a pivotal overtime win in Game 6 that allows them to move on. They will have to resolve their goaltending issues if they are to go as far as they did last year. Buffalo will be kicking themselves for letting this opportunity to progress to round 2 slip away.

I'll be back later to preview the next round!

NHL Playoff Match-ups.

It took all 82 games, but we finally have the 16 teams that have qualified for this season's Stanley Cup playoffs. As per usual, the first round has thrown up some juicy ties so read on, find out who plays who and then give me your opinion on who will beat who.

Eastern Conference:

Washington Capitals (1) vs (8) New York Rangers

It is hard to look beyond the Washington Capitals in this series, especially considering the quality of players they have on their roster coupled with the fact that the Rangers recently lost Ryan Callahan to injury. However, The Caps threw away a 3-0 series lead against the 8^th placed Montreal Canadiens last year proving that anything can happen.

Prediction: Caps 4 – 2 Rangers

Philadelphia Flyers (2) vs (7) Buffalo Sabres

Philly have been very strong this year and the Sabres have not. Philly are bigger and more skilled than Buffalo so I can see this being a very one-sided series. Ryan Miller is going to have to be as good as he ever has been to get the Sabres through this one.

Prediction: Flyers 4 – 0 Sabres

Boston Bruins (3) vs (6) Montreal Canadiens

One of the most heated rivalries in Hockey comes to the fore here with probably the best first round match-up. Boston will be the favourites going into this one but that rarely matters when it comes to rivalries. Both teams will be pumped up for this one and I can't wait.

Prediction: Bruins 4 – 3 Habs

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs (5) Tampa Bay Lightning

There still is no set date for Crosby's return so it looks like Pittsburgh might have to play one or two more games without their star player. However, they have been doing just fine without both Crosby and Malkin in recent weeks so they should be ok. Tampa will be looking to secure as many wins as they can before Crosby returns and, with Lecavalier, St. Louis and Stamkos in the team, there is no reason why they can't knock the Penguins out in the first round.

Prediction: Penguins 2 – 4 Bolts

Western Conference:

Vancouver Canucks (1) vs (8) Chicago Blackhawks

Vancouver have simply dominated this year, even with all the injuries to their blue-line. Led by Kesler and the Sedins, Vancouver stormed their way to the President's Trophy and look set to finally destroy their reputation as perennial under-achievers in the playoffs. Luongo looks solid in net and the Canucks have a great back-up in Cory Schneider. Despite all that, the Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champs and they have dumped the Canucks out of the playoffs in the last two years so this will not be easy.

Prediction: Canucks 4 -3 Hawks

San Jose Sharks (2) vs (7) LA Kings

The San Jose Sharks will want to go one step further than they did last year and reach the Stanley Cup final. They are up against a tough first round opponent but they definitely have the edge. The Sharks' top line will be key in this series and I can't see how LA can match them offensively without Kopitar.

Prediction: Sharks 4 – 1 Kings

Detroit Red Wings (3) vs (6) Phoenix Coyotes

A rematch from last year's first round sees the Red Wings go up against the Coyotes again. Last year the series went seven games (with Detroit prevailing) and I see no reason why this year won't be the same. The Red Wings and the Coyotes shared two wins each against each other this year during the regular season and every game they play is a close one. The Coyotes will be out for revenge for sure and, as a fan, I have to believe they can do it.

Prediction: Red Wings 3 – 4 Coyotes

Anaheim Ducks (4) vs (5) Nashville Predators

The class and skill of the Ducks' top line will go up against the hard working Nashville Predators and I can't see past a series win for Anaheim. With Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan in such great form, the Ducks should progress to the second round despite the fact that Nashville took three of the four games between the two this year.

Prediction: Ducks 4 – 1 Preds

Agree?

Disagree?

Give me your opinions.

Comment below!

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