With the Conference Finals already underway, the playoff picture has become clearer. Everyone is now placing their bets on who will make the Stanley Cup Finals, myself included. After an exciting first and second round of playoff hockey, I believe that the Blackhawks and the Rangers will be battling it out for hockey’s most precious prize. Here are a few reasons on why…
First we have the New York Rangers, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. They have one of the best goalies in the NHL playoffs, Henrik Lundqvist, between the pipes. This postseason he has a 1.99 GAA and a .931 save percent. Those are good enough for second and tied for first among playoff goalies.The Rangers have also been stellar on special teams. During the Pittsburgh series, the Penguins were one for twenty on powerplays. Great defense and special teams are the recipe for any team trying to make a deep playoff run, but the Rangers also possess a very well balanced and potent offensive attack. The Rangers second line (Richards, St.Louis, and Hagelin) and third line (Brassard, Zuccarello, and Pouliot) have scored twenty-four and twenty-three points, respectively. That is great offensive production for a team playing such good defense. If they can shut down the Canadiens and P.K. Subban, who is playing like a man possessed, like they shut down the Penguins, then Rangers’ fans can start buying their finals tickets ASAP.
Then there are the Chicago Blackhawks. They finished third in the Central Divison in the Western Conference. If the Rangers have one of best goalies in the playoffs, then the Blawkhawks have the other. Corey Crawford has a .197 GAA and a .931 save percentage, which ranks first and tied for first among goalies still in the playoffs. But that’s not all – the Blackhawks lead the league with a +/- 6 and a 91.7 percent on the penalty kill in this years playoffs. The hawks are just as stingy as the Rangers when it comes to defense and special-teams. The Blackhawks are also great in close games, they have a 5-2 record in games decided by one goal. With grit, tough defense, and a potent offense attack lead by their first line and first defensive paring (46pts by Toews, Sharp, Hossa, Keith, and Seabrook) the Blackhawks have a chance to make their second straight trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
Both these teams excel in the facets of hockey that lead teams to the finals: Defense and Special Teams. They also have veteran players who have been there before. The Blackhawks are the reigning Stanley Cup champions and the Rangers have two players (Richards and St.Louis) that won with the Tampa Bay Lighting in 2003. With all these facts working for the Blackhawks and Rangers, how can you think they won’t make it to the Stanley Cup finals?
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