LOS ANGELES – The Stanley Cup Final is here and it will not disappoint. The best teams in the NHL since Christmas will go at it for the greatest trophy in sports. Two great teams, superstars and clutch role players, classy coaches and young goaltenders, no one to hate but the man between the benches Pierre McGuire. If you love action not mucking, scoring not clutching and grabbing this is the series for you and not Ken Hitchcock or Jacques Lemaire.
EASTERN CONFERENCE RECAP
The epic rollercoaster ride that is the NHL Playoffs was on full display in the Eastern Conference Finals. Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay were both up in the series. Both teams won in OT. Pittsburgh blew a lead going into the 3rd period for the first time all year in the series. To say this series was entertaining is an understatement. The first period of Game 1 had enough drama for a full series. Tampa ‘s Ryan Callahan tried to decapitate Pittsburgh’s best defenseman Kris Letang with an evil, illegal hit. Tampa’s Vezina finalist goalie Ben Bishop fell wrong and got carried out on a stretcher. Letang returned almost immediately Bishop never did. Although it’s hard to imagine Bishop playing any better than his back up Andrei Vasilevskiy did. Vasilevskiy faced almost 100 more shots than Penguin rookie goaltender Matt Murray and former Franchise net minder Marc-Andre Fleury. Andrei’s save on Chris Kunitz in Game % will be remembered by Fleury because it eventually knocked him from the series. Everyone else will remember the squeaker in Game 7 that lost Tampa the series. We may never have even got to Game 7 if not for a Tampa goal called back in Game 6. The biggest save of the series was from Penguins video coach who noticed the Lightning offsides. Callahan did knock the Penguins 2nd best defenseman out for the series Trevor Dailey but Ollie Maatta found his game and foiled in admirably. Lightning Captain and best player Steven Stamkos risked his life and returned in Game 7. Penguins Captain and best player Sidney 
Crosby had 3 game winning goals in the series but it was a guy named Rust (Bryan) from the Steel City who was the hero for Pittsburgh in Game 7. Even though Pittsburgh dominated most of the series, Tampa’s scorers made the most of their limited opportunities and after a clearing attempt hit Ben Lovejoy’s glove on the bench they were a shot away from OT in Game 7.
WESTERN CONFERENCE RECAP
The West was a series of good vs evil, or at least fun vs boring. The St. Louis Blues tried to bludgeon the San Jose Sharks into submission. The Sharks never came close to submitting. In fact, they pinned the Blues in their own end most of the series. They 
exposed the Blues’ overrated defense first system and slow moving defensemen. The Blues in turn then did what they always do, led by Coach Ken Hitchcock they lost their composure. Few Blues competed hard like their Captain David Backes even fewer showed any positive tangible results on the scoresheet like he did. The Sharks had none of those problems. Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski scored clutch goals. The Sharks other big guns Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Brent Burns also lit the lamp consistently. Joel Ward was his usual playoff beast in the blue paint. Blues superstar Vlad Tarasenko only scored 2 meaningless goals to make Game 6 look close. It wasn’t. The Sharks goalie Martin Jones made all the save he had to. The Blues 2 goalies were forced to make to make a ton of saves but in the end didn’t make enough.
FINAL PREDICTION
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a tougher road to get to the Finals. They had to beat their personal boogey men, the NY Rangers, the President’s Trophy winners Washington Capitals and last year’s Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The San Jose Sharks exorcised their ghosts the LA Kings but then beat the feisty yet inferior Nashville Predators and then the overmatched St. Louis Blues.
Pittsburgh and San Jose both roll four lines and are filled with superstars and great role players. The Penguins have sure fire Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and the HBK line led by Phil Kessel. The Sharks may actually have more scoring up front. San Jose has the skill with Joe Pavelski, Joe Thorton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau to score the pretty way but those guys play gritty too. The Sharks Joel Ward live in Pittsburgh’s crease. Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist will do the same in San Jose’s. The Penguins are the fastest team in the NHL but the Sharks are not slow and they are bigger and more physical.
The Penguins lost defenseman Trevor Dailey in the Eastern Finals and it looked like it was going to be a devastating loss but Ollie Maatta appears to have found his game again while Brian Dumoulin and Ben Lovejoy are playing the best hockey of their careers. Kris Letang can be great and awful in the same shift. The Sharks back enders are all steady and Brent Burns is magnificent. Burns defense partner, former Penguin Paul Martin is rock solid allowing Burns to turn into an offensive machine.
While both teams have young goaltenders, I give an edge to Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray who has faced more shots and drama this post season than the Sharks’ Martin Jones.
These two teams are pretty even on paper. The Sharks with a slight edge because of depth on defense. If the Sharks play their game, consistently go to the net, they probably win in six. That is what my mind says. BUT I write these columns from the heart. It feels like Pittsburgh’s year. The Penguins can win if they stay out of the box and their defensemen stay healthy. Pittsburgh’s old Conn Smythe himself Geno Malkin and the Captain Sidney Crosby know four more wins and seven years of would a, could a, should as are replaced with another Cup and immortality. Expect big things from the two-headed monster.
Penguins in 7
Images from skates and media day by Briana.Omara@prohockeynews.com
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