NHL Stanley Cup Finals

Well boys and girls I am proud to say that I was right about who would be in the Stanley Cup Finals. I got how many games it would take for each team to win their series (Vegas won in 6 games when I said it'd take 7 and Washington won in 7 games when I said it'd take 6), but I'm happy to say I was right in that the Stanley Cup Finals will feature the Vegas Golden Knights vs. the Washington Capitals. So who will win? Well that's not as simple as it may seem, but I'll do my best to answer that question. Let's compare each team and see if we can come up with an answer.


Goalies
Vegas - Marc-Andre Fleury
Washington - Braden Holtby

Between these two goalies, it's a close one but I think the edge goes to Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury has won three Stanley Cups, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. This year he went 29-13-4 with a 2.24 GAA. In the playoffs Fleury is 12-36 with a 1.68 GAA, which explains why the Golden Knights are in the Finals. His best performance of the Western Conference Finals game in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals when he made 35 saves in a 3-2 Vegas win over the Winnipeg Jets. Fleury has experience, knows what it takes to win in the playoffs and knows what it takes to be able to hoist the Cup. Washington's Braden Holtby is not slouch. Holtby went 34-16-4 with a 2.99 GAA. In the playoffs, Holtby is 12-6 with a 2.04 GAA. Holtby saved his best for the playoffs, which is why Washington is in the Finals. His best playoff performance game in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference against Tampa Bay when he stopped all 29 shots he faced in a 4-0 win that sent the Capitals to the Finals. Both teams have extremely talented goalies, but the edge goes to Vegas.

Star Players

Vegas - Jonathan Marchessault
Washington - Alex Ovechkin

Both of these players have been tremendous for their respective teams, but I believe the edge goes to the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin is probably the best player the NHL has seen since Wayne Gretzky. He led the NHL with 49 goals in the regular season and has 12 so far in the playoffs. Ovechkin has speed and shot that looks like a Nolan Ryan fastball. Vegas' Jonathan Marchessault is pretty good himself. He finished the regular season with 27 goals and 75 points, just 3 behind team leader William Karlsson. He leads the Golden Knights with 8 goals and 18 points in the playoffs. Both players have carried their teams through the playoffs into the Stanley Cup Finals, but the edge goes to Washington.

Defense

This is where I think both teams are pretty equal. Maybe Washington has a slight edge, but overall they are pretty even. For Vegas, Fleury has been the difference maker on defense while Brayden McNabb has been an enforcer during the regular season. McNabb led Vegas with 64 hits and 38 blocked shots. For Washington it's not been goaltending so much as it has been mostly the work of Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen, and Brooks Orpik. Orlov had 128 hits and 116 blocked shot. Niskanen had 117 hits and 98 blocked shots. Finally, Orpik led Washington with 218 hits and 168 blocked shots. Now you might be reading this saying "It looks like Washington has the edge." But when you watch Vegas they may not have as many hits or blocked shots as Washington, but they are quick to the puck and quick to clear the puck out of their zone. So defensively both teams are even.


So my prediction is that we are in for one of the best Stanley Cup Finals in NHL history. An expansion team versus the best player in the NHL in 25 years. I believe that the Cinderella story of the Vegas Golden Knights will strike midnight and be over. The Washington Capitals will win the Stanley Cup and will do it in 7 games.

NHL Conference Finals

Well...I'll be the first to admit that I was pretty far off on what teams would get to the Conference Finals of the NHL Playoffs. I did correctly predict that the Vegas Golden Knights would knock off the San Jose Sharks in six games. That I was correct on. But the other three series...way off.

Now yes I predicted correctly pick Tampa Bay over Boston, but I said in six games and they dominated the series, knocking off the Bruins in five games. So that leaves us with our Conference Finals. In the Western Conference, it's the Vegas Golden Knights (an expansion team) going up against the Winnipeg Jets (who won a playoff series this year for the first time in team history). In the Eastern Conference, it's the Washington Capitals (notorious for not being able to win in the playoffs) going up against the Tampa Bay Lightning (the only team in the conference finals that has experience and a Stanley Cup championship under their belts). Now I know the series have already started (I have a regular full time job so I wasn't able to write this blog before the two series started). As of the writing of this blog, the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets are tied at a game a piece while the Washington Capitals have a 2-0 series lead over Tampa Bay. So what are my predictions for the rest of these series?

Western Conference: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Winnipeg Jets - Vegas wins in 7 games.
I'll be honest...I didn't expect much from the Jets when the playoffs started. I mean I thought they might get out of the first round, but knowing their history it's kind of understandable that I wouldn't pick them to beat the defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators. But they have surprised me in every aspect of their game in these playoffs. Despite all of that, I still believe the Vegas Golden Knights will continue their unbelievable first year in the league and will become the first ever expansion team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year. Every aspect of the Golden Knights is extremely good. Scoring, goaltending, defense...it's all VERY good. This series is already showing that it's going to be extremely good. But I think Vegas will take the series in seven games.

Eastern Conference: Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - Washington wins in 6 games.
Over the years, the Capitals always seem to have one of the best teams during the regular season, but can't seem to put it together in the playoffs. You can't say that about this year's Capitals team. Not at all. Had I been able to write this article before the series began, I would have picked Tampa Bay. But for the Capitals to go into central Florida and take both games on Tampa Bay's home ice has shown me otherwise. I think Tampa Bay will get a couple wins in these playoffs, but Washington has been too dominate in the series and I think will take the series in six games.

Stanley Cup Finals prediction: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Washington Capitals.