Jun 12, 2013
The Stanley Cup Final is finally here. It’s the first Original Six match-up since 1979 when the Montreal Canadians and New York Rangers clashed. The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins both stormed through their conference finals series against the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins respectively.
There have been some terrific series in recent seasons, but this truly has the makings of a classic between two teams who entered the season among the favorites, both fell to the brink at points during the postseason, but both ultimately enter this series playing some of their best hockey of 2013. Here are the five keys to the series:
1. Jonathan Toews
Toews has done well to shrug off discussions about his poor form in the 2013 NHL playoffs, but the Blackhawks need their captain to step up in this match-up. Toews entered this year’s playoffs with 50 career points in 52 playoff games. He has scored just one goal and has just nine points through 17 games in 2013.
In a series against a Bruins’ team that can dominate at the center position led by Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci; Chicago will lean heavily upon their team’s top two-way forward to step up at both ends of the ice. Toews definitely has the experience, quality and leadership to do so.
2. Young Goaltenders
Corey Crawford and Tuukka Rask have both been in the Stanley Cup Final before, but only as back-up goaltenders. Both have gone through the trials and tribulations of developing as young goaltenders. However, they’ve both been remarkably impressive in the postseason so far. Crawford has posted a 1.74 GAA and .935 save percentage, while Rask possesses a .943 save percentage and 1.75 GAA.
It’s no surprise that the teams with the top two goaltenders in the playoffs statistically are the two teams battling it out for the 2013 Stanley Cup. However, the next two weeks will be serious new experiences both men.
3. Face-off Circle
The face-off circle competition could hardly be more of a mismatch for these two teams. The Bruins dominated all three of their opponents in the playoffs so far owning a 56% average success rate between the dots. The Blackhawks have made it through to the Stanley Cup Final in spite of a poor performance on the draws. They’ve won only 48% of their draws.
If Chicago can match that 48% average against Boston, then it probably won’t be too much of a problem. However, they have to hold their own to be competitive.
4. Game speed
Chicago and Boston are both teams that have been able to be successful and dominate because they can control the tempo and flow of a game. The Blackhawks want to exploit their superior speed and they want to play an up tempo game that forces the Bruins’ defense onto its heels and disrupts Claude Julien’s defensive structure.
Meanwhile, Boston wants and needs to be a puck possession team. If they keep the puck then that in turn will take Chicago’s high-skilled forwards out of the equation. The Bruins want to play a cycle game and create chances by controlling the puck and spending large amounts of time in the offensive zone.
5. Tyler Seguin
Jaromir Jagr played a strong series against the Penguins. His contributions really helped the Bergeron line support the Krejci line offensively. The loss of Gregory Campbell on the fourth line puts pressure on the third line to step up. The key to that stepping up is Seguin. The dynamic young forward has had a difficult season. He has just one goal and four points in 16 playoff games. However, he might benefit from playing in a fast skating series and he could be crucial for the third line also featuring Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley stepping up.
