Pucks and Pitchforks Stanley Cup Final Picks
By Nick Villano
The Stanley Cup Final is finally here. Who do our writers like between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars?
Nick Villano (Site Expert): The Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars were my pick to make the Stanley Cup before the playoffs started. It was more by mistake than anything. Still, the pick was always for the Tampa Bay Lightning to learn from last year’s complete disaster. The only way to truly make it a full turnaround is to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. Steven Stamkos returning might even provide one more spark. Tampa Bay in 6.
Vinnie Parise (Head Site Writer): I have picked against Dallas a lot lately and they continue to prove me wrong. They are one of the more resilient teams in my playoff memory but then again so are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who clinched every round so far in overtime (first in NHL history to say that). Steven Stamkos hasn’t even played yet and they are this far which is impressive as well. It is a hard series to predict but this feels like Tampa’s year (Dallas fans should be thrilled I’m picking against them). Tampa Bay in 6.
Charlie Borges Jr. (Staff Writer): I predicted the Stars were going to fall in the second round and then “blow it up” in the offseason and boy was I wrong. This is a classic case of a team getting hot at the right moment whether we are in a weird pandemic season or not. Anton Khudobin and Joel Kiviranta have been bright spots out of nowhere for the Stars. But for a lack of a better phrase, the star power of the Lightning will be the advantage. A wild prediction in this series is that the Stars force a seventh game, Steven Stamkos is cleared to play. Stamkos scores the game winning goal in overtime of the seventh game. That is my bold prediction. Tampa Bay in 7.
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Rob DeLuca (Staff Writer): This series is going to be incredible. It will be insanely hard fought from start to finish. I have underestimated the Dallas Stars from day one and for that I apologize. But they have finally met their match in the Lightning. This will come down to the last buzzer in game seven with Tampa Bay on top. Tampa Bay in 7.
David Lebovitz (Staff Writer): Goaltending the most important aspect of the playoffs, and when a goalie gets hot there’s not much you can do against them. That’s certainly how Dallas – a talented team, for sure, but lacking on offense – got this far. But Khodobin is more than another Halak in 2010 or Fleury in 2018: he’s a well established backup who probably would have been a starter in a less crowded market. That said, if there’s any team that can break a hot goaltender, it’s the Tampa Bay Lightning. First they faced the young phenom in the Blue Jackets’ crease and annihilated him. Then they faced two solid goalies in Boston and tore them to shreds. Finally they faced the two solid goalies for the Isles, coached by genius goalie guru Mitch Korn, and squeezed by them. Short of all four lines shutting down, I gotta get the edge to Tampa here. Tampa Bay in 6.