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2020 Stanley Cup Final Preview: What Do the Writers Think?

2020 Stanley Cup Final Preview: What Do the Writers Think?
Matthew Page Editorials

After a month and a half of battles in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles, the NHL is down to the final two teams in the quest for the Stanley Cup. The Western Conference champion Dallas Stars are facing off against the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning for a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. Currently, the series is tied at one.

The teams each have had long journeys to get to this point. The Stars finished the round robin as the number three seed, and they faced the Calgary Flames in round one. In a back-and-forth series, the Stars took down the Flames in six games to move on to face the Colorado Avalanche in the second round. It seemed the Stars would have their way early in the series, going up 3-1 with several convincing victories. However, Colorado wouldn’t go away quietly, forcing a game seven and pulling ahead late in the do-or-die game.

Even with the deficit, Dallas rallied back to tie and win in overtime on a hat trick by Joel Kiviranta. In the Conference Final, Dallas faced the number one seeded Vegas Golden Knights. Even though they weren’t the favorite, the Stars’ defense stymied the high powered offense of the Knights and knock them out in five games.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay finished as the number two seed in their round robin and faced the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round. Although Columbus was eager to pull off another first round shocker against the Bolts, the Lightning held their own and won in five games, including a thrilling five overtime win in the opener. Their next opponent was the Boston Bruins, who they were facing in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Although Boston beat them up in Game 1, Tampa regrouped and rallied off four straight wins, including a pair of OT wins, to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

They faced the New York Islanders in the series, and New York gave them a run for their money. In a physically contested series, Tampa came out swinging early to take a 3-1 series lead. Even with a double overtime loss in game five, Tampa regrouped and took Game 6 in the extra session to finish the series.

With each team’s circumstances established, the question is now who is the favorite? Who will be the guy to step up and will his team to a championship? With this in mind, we polled three writers for their Stanley Cup Final predictions and Conn Smythe winners and here they are:

Matt:

With Tampa and Dallas each looking to win their second title, it should be an interesting matchup and a test of wills. Dallas has found a way to thrive off structure and magnificent goaltending by Anton Khudobin, but Tampa has a much more talented lineup and just as good a goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, Dallas has proven its ability to shut down any challenger, and that will be their edge in the series. Their structure is a key reason for their success, and it will be here as I believe they will win in six games. For the Conn Smythe, there is a very clear choice in Khudobin. He has been a very solid goaltender ever since he joined the Stars, and he is enjoying the postseason of his life to this point. In the 19 games he’s played these playoffs, he has a 12-6 record with a 2.62 goals against average and .920 save percentage. He has shut down several potent offenses, and his dedication and play this postseason is worthy of being awarded the playoff MVP award.

Ethan:

For this year’s Stanley Cup Final, I think the fans are in for a great series between two very talented teams. Both  the Tampa Bay Lighting and Dallas Stars have their share of firepower and depth. I think it is going to be a long, grueling series. I can see either team winning the series, but my gut tells me Tampa will ultimately prevail. If Tampa does win, the unanimous devisor for the Conn Symthe trophy is Victor Hedman. Victor Hedman has been playing out of his mind this playoffs. If the Stars, do in fact win, which I do not think will happen, I think star studded defenseman Miro Heiskanen should take him the Conn Smythe. The way in which Heiskanen can effortlessly move the puck up and down the ice, and the role he has been playing for Dallas is tremendous.

David:

The Dallas Stars are very similar to the New York Islanders. They are structured, disciplined and defense-first. The Tampa Bay Lightning just handled the Islanders in six games and I think they will handle the Stars in six games too. This is Tampa Bay’s year. They finally addressed their bottom-six forwards, adding Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the Trade Deadline. Andrei Vasilevskiy is playing some of the best hockey of his career, as is Brayden Point, who I believe will won the Conn Smythe Trophy, if healthy. Jon Cooper has addressed mistakes in the past and is ready to give it his all the next two weeks. As a result, Dallas is a good team, but Tampa Bay is better. Lightning in six.

Ben:

My pick to win the Conn Smythe trophy is Miro Heiskanen. First of all, the Dallas Stars have just beat the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, two of the best teams in the league, so they’ve proven they have what it takes to keep the ball rolling and defeat the Lightning. Secondly, the 21-year-old Finnish youngster Miro Heiskanen is on his way to being one of the league’s best defenseman, possibly THE best someday. Heiskanen leads all defenseman in points this postseason with 22, and is impressively 4th in all skaters. He only trails the leader, Nikita Kucherov, by 4, and Nathan MacKinnon and Brayden Point by 3. If this does happen, Heiskanen will become the youngest defenseman to ever win the Conn Smythe Trophy, taking the record from the legendary Bobby Orr, who won it at age 22 in 1970 after his historic diving goal.

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