An argument can be made that the Nucks have yet to put it all together despite making the finals. They survived their kryptonite (Chicago) in the first round. Kesler absolutely carried them vs Nashville in the 2nd round, while the Sedin's dominated in the WCF. The twins scoring explosion was needed because of the uncharacteristic very poor PK vs San Jose. Malhotra's probable return can do nothing but improve the PK. He will take some pressure off of Kesler on the PK and just as importantly, the faceoff dot. He might be eased into the lineup strictly as a penalty killer and to take some defensive zone faceoffs until he gets fully acclimated. Assuming he is inserted into the lineup, he should be good to go for more ice time if the series goes deep (6 or 7 games).
As we had talked about in a previous thread before the WCF the Sedin's had plenty of time and room in the offensive zone vs the Sharks to work their magic. Murray looked like a pylon on that left side vs the twins. It had to feel too easy for the Sedin's after playing against 4 of the top defensemen in the league (Keith, Seabrook, Suter, and Weber ) in the first two rounds. Chara will be given the task to slow down the boys in the finals.
The Nucks should have the big advantage on the special teams because the B's have a terrible PP, while Vancouver's is great. The Bruins must adjust to the Nicks speed and stay out of the box with holding and/or interference calls. How tight are the refs going to call the series? If they follow the rule book, it will be a huge advantage for the Nucks.
Luongo has played decently to pretty good since game 7 in the first round except for some glaring giveaways for easy goals. He has yet to be outstanding though, but he might not have to because of the overall depth of the skaters on his team. It seems that even though they haven't gotten consistent scoring at the same time from the top two lines, it hasn't been needed because one of the lines has been on fire in the last two rounds. If Luongo plays great, it will be a short series regardless of how well Thomas plays for the B's. If Luongo is only decent to pretty good, the series could go 6 or 7 and at that point a few plays here are there make the difference. The B's were literally a few inches away from elimination by the Habs in OT of game 7 on a mix-up between Thomas and a defenseman. That is what you call a fine line.
The one constant for Vancouver has been their great play and production from their d-men. They have contributed 14 goals and 40 points in 18 games. They have tremendous depth that allows them to flourish even if a player or two is injured. Salo showed off his rocket of a shot twice on those 5 on 3's. He was kind of the forgotten guy back there before those two bombs. Bieksa has been a nasty stud that has contributed plenty of offense as well! He will certainly cash in as an UFA in the summer. Edler is a top notch player, while Ehrhoff is another dynamite d-man. Hamhuis can also play in any situation and has gone his whole career playing in the shadows of other teammates.
The Bruins have also relied on their defensemen for production as well. Even though they haven't scored as many goals (8) as Vancouver, they have produced 38 points in 18 games. Seidenberg has always been a very underrated player and has opened the eyes of many casual observers with his overall good play and the amount of time he is given by his coach. It is obvious that Julien doesn't trust Kaberle in his own zone and it appears the limited ice time he receives has hurt his offensive acumen as well. He isn't even in their top 4, but it would help Boston immensely if he contributed on the PP. Ference and Boychuk get a lot of minutes and will be counted on to keep the Kesler line from taking over if the Sedin's are held relatively in check. I really think it will be fun to watch the fiercely competitive Kesler and Ference jousting throughout the series.
For the Bruins to win the Cup they must get the following four things to happen:
* 4-5 great games out of Thomas
* More scoring from Lucic
* Production from their PP
* Great penalty killing
I find it hard to believe that all four of those things will happen and also hard to believe that the Bruins can win without all four of those scenarios playing out..
Boston does get a huge break (rest) that this series doesn't start until Wednesday night. In the old days, you were "penalized" for playing in a 7 game series by starting the next series two nights later. Not this time around.
The price is too high for me to take Vancouver in a series bet so I'll see how it plays out. Keep in mind that Vancouver has a very nice streak of game one victories, so if you like Boston in this series, you will get a huge price if the B's lose game one.
The bottom line is that it should be "Oh Canada" for the first time in 18 years since the days of John LeClair's timely goal scoring and Patrick Roy's finest hour.