Battle For The Cup

The Stanley Cup is set to begin on Saturday night..novel idea I know! After a long layoff things are getting set to begin, and better yet, all the games are slated to be played at 8pm Eastern - no afternoon games!

Philadelphia will take on Chicago in a battle that on paper looks to be a very good match up. Throw out the fact that the Flyers are a 7th seed the teams seem to stack up well versus each other. Both are deep teams but Chicago looks like they may have just a little deeper skilled bench. What the Flyers may not have in speed they make up for in tough physical play. The Blackhawks have a lot of skill and speed and will need every bit of it to get away from the bruising attack from Philly. The showdown between the two young star captains Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews should be epic. One of these guys is going to complete a good year captaining their team to a championship and going home to polish the Olympic Gold Medal that they both have from the Vancouver Games...not too bad for 2 guys in their early 20’s.

There will be plenty to watch with all the little battles between players and lines. There will be some great match ups on the ice and the team that does better in those situations will likely take the Cup.

I am looking for Chicago to take it in 5 or 6 very close games. After 2 years of game 7’s I don’t think that we will see that again and despite both teams having questions in net, I think the Chicago bench may be a little more talented 1 thru 6.

Also in a less important factor but one that needs to be mentioned It would be best for Chicago to win as an original 6 team, a team that has not won since 1961 and most importantly the team with probably the best Ice Crew in the game. I think that those lovely ladies should get the chance to celebrate a championship!