Pucks of a Feather Round Table: Predictions for the Stanley Cup Finals
By Ciara Durant
Kahlid Hart— St. Louis Blues in 6
My prediction is that the Blues will win the Stanley Cup in 6 games. They’re more war-torn throughout these playoffs, having faced the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, and the San Jose Sharks. They’ve had a hard road to travel compared to the Bruins who have faced the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Bruins were the heavy favorite to win all of those series’ and they did. The difference will be who can stay out of the box and when. The Blues have mightily struggled on the power play for the majority of the postseason but recently came alive against the Sharks.
The Bruins have been deadly on the power play, being around 75% efficient on the man advantage. Looking at goaltending, Rask has been fire for a majority of the playoffs, at worst, he’s only allowed 4-5 goals. But, when he keeps the opposition to 1-2 goals, the Bruins usually secure the win. On the Blues side, Binnington has sharp. We haven’t seen this kind of rookie playoffs performance since Matt Murray 3 seasons ago with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If Binnington can maintain his cool under the bright lights and the big stage, the Blues will come out on top. My players to watch for the Blues are Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Jordan Binnington. For the Bruins, watch out for Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and David Pastrnak. Some of this Bruins team is left from the 2011 and 2013 Stanley Cup Finals Bruins teams, so that experience will be key in this matchup.