For these Bruins’ followers residing vicariously by way of unfamiliar laundry, the Stanley Cup Last comes all the way down to Brad Marchand versus Trent Frederic.
However there isn’t any scarcity of storylines on this rematch of final season’s SCF between the Edmonton Oilers and defending champion Florida Panthers, each of whom rampaged by way of their respective convention finals in five-game gentleman sweeps.
Essentially the most intriguing one is whether or not the elegant Connor McDavid and fellow perennial Hart Trophy candidate Leon Draisaitl can battle by way of the massive, dangerous Panthers and change into the primary Canadian-based workforce to safe the Cup since Patrick Roy and Montreal Canadiens did it in 1993, when mullets had been nonetheless a factor.
McDavid is essentially the most entertaining and explosive ahead of this era. To those eyes, he can be so if he performed within the period of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, too. His breakaway objective in Sport 5 that went a great distance towards ending the Dallas Stars season was a Picasso – full tilt, with pace service provider Roope Hintz on his tail. Overmatched goalie Casey DeSmith went for the poke examine and was sliding midway to the faceoff circle as McDavid calmly guided the puck into the web.
Draisaitl has additionally carried out his factor in these playoffs, scoring power-play objectives from the same old absurd angles.
The distinction between this yr and previous playoff seasons is the Oilers haven’t wanted to depend on simply McDavid and Draisaitl, although they’re 1-2 in playoff scoring (26 and 25 factors, respectively). They’ve gotten depth contributions all through the lineup. Whereas the lack of Zach Hyman is doubtlessly a giant one, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (5-13-18), Evander Kane (5-6-11), defenseman Evan Bouchard (6-11-17) and 40-year-old warhorse Corey Perry (7-3-10) have all been within the thick of issues.
In addition they acquired again D-man Mattias Ekholm at finish of the Dallas collection. This observer thought the absence of Ekholm earlier within the playoffs would doom – he had modified the Edmonton dynamic that a lot final yr. However the Oilers not solely survived it, they’ve thrived, sweeping the Kings after recognizing them a two-game lead, then beating an excellent Vegas workforce in 5 earlier than shortly dispatching the Stars, a number of prognosticators’ attractive choose for the Cup.
And up to now, Edmonton’s greatest bugaboo, goaltending, has held regular. After dropping the job within the Kings’ collection, Stuart Skinner got here again to interchange an injured Calvin Pickard and has made all the mandatory saves.
Now comes Skinner’s and/or Pickard’s greatest problem. The Panthers won’t cede the slot space to Edmonton defenders because the Stars had, they usually received’t be attempting to toe-drag the puck by way of excessive visitors areas, one other sin the Dallas forwards dedicated of their loss. They are going to go to had been the objectives are scored.
Sam Bennett seems to be on a mission. He leads the playoff objective scoring race with 10 and his elbows have remained sharp (expertly disguised, after all). There may be little doubt that the UFA-to-be goes to earn himself a wholesome payday on July 1.
However typical of Florida’s three-year run to the ultimate, the Panthers are additionally getting contributions up and down the lineup, from anticipated and sudden sources. Sasha Barkov, who little question will probably be seeing a number of No. 97 over the subsequent fortnight, is proving to be a really worthy centerman to take over for Patrice Bergeron as a yearly Selke frontrunner. Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the final chunk of the common season, is getting extra up to the mark because the postseason has gone on. Carter Verhaeghe simply scores huge objectives within the playoffs.
On the again finish, Gustav Forsling and Aaron Eckblad have been good however they’ve gotten a lift from the stork-like Niko Mikkola in addition to a reborn Seth Jones. In internet, Sergei Bobrovsky has been his finest self.
After which there’s the Bruin issue. Marchand, after all, leads the way in which, offering all types of vitality and chipping in from his third line spot, which has regarded positively releasing for the previous Boston captain. However the Panthers are getting stable backside—six assist from a number of Black and Gold castoffs in AJ Greer, Jesper Boqvist and Tomas Nosek, who will give Barkov an occasional breather with shifts in opposition to high strains.
So which approach will this collection go? Like final yr’s epic showdown that noticed Edmonton almost come again from a 3-0 deficit, this guarantees to be a fantastic one. However get able to social gathering, Canada. Oilers in seven.
