At the time of this writing the following Odds were: Boston Bruins (3.05  +205) and Vancouver Canucks (1.47 -213).

So after almost 2 months of intense hockey 14 teams have been eliminated and 2 are left standing. In a lot of people’s eyes it’s no surprise that it’s the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins being two of the favorites, even though Boston was the # 3 seed in the East. While many people thought that Vancouver had the best team in the West, it was primarily of question of if they could overcome their demons and not defeat themselves in order to get to the final, while the Bruins were thought to have the strongest team that could win the Stanley Cup. The Bruins are built big, and a giant on defense, and have a goaltender that seems to use techniques more appropriate to black magic than the art of goaltending. 

Looking at these two teams what really stands out is how different these teams really are. The Canucks really are a puck possession team that utilizes their speed, and offensive ingenuity to win games. They’ve been able to win games in different ways these playoffs, whether it is their third line stepping up against Chicago which turned out to be the difference maker when the top two lines nullified each other.

Against Nashville, Ryan Kesler thrived because the Predators top shut duo, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter focused on the Sedins, and then against San Jose, the Sedins were able to shine because the Sharks D wasn’t as physical. So you have to think that this series against Boston is going to resemble the one against Nashville out of all the matchups the Canucks have faced so far. Roberto Luongo, Pekka Rinne, and Tim Thomas are the three Vezina finalists this year, so look for a lot of these games to be low scoring. Zdeno Chara has been a tower of strength for the Bruins these playoffs, and will most likely be matched up against the Sedin twins just like Weber and Suter were. The Sedins were only able to score 7 points between them in the six games against Nashville, but a large part of that were a result of the power play, which may turn out to be the biggest difference maker in these playoffs.

The Vancouver Canuck power play has been one of the most potent these entire playoffs clicking at 28.3 %, while the Bruins have had an unbelievably porous PP for a team that is now in the Final at only 8.2%. It’s hard to imagine any scenario for the Bruins winning if the PP continues at that pace. They’ve been able to do it so far these playoffs, but with the Canucks PP clicking so well in opposition, the Bruins could find themselves behind in games. A key factor for the Canucks will be the potential return of Manny Malholtra. The Bruins have been one of the best faceoff teams in these playoffs, but that’s mainly been due to Patrice Bergeron. So the potential matchup of Bergeron and Malholtra in the faceoff circle is an intriguing one. 

The Bruins have won most of their games 5 on 5, so if the games are called tight, Vancouver will have the edge by far, but this series could be a lot closer if they keep the whistles in the pockets so one can only hope that this series is called fairly. There has been a lot of talk of the Bruins getting the edge in the PP department throughout the playoffs, and not to mention the leniency the league seems to have in not wanting to suspend players. Nathan Horton would probably have been suspended for at least a game for throwing a water bottle into the crowd in any other situation by the Bruins going to Game 7 in which he just so happened to score the game winning goal. The Canucks have had their share of help from the Hockey Gods these playoffs, so it may come to that matchup between the Gods and the NHL powers to be that may determine the winner.

The goaltending will almost surely be strong this series, and there will be powerplays, so you can’t help but think that this series may resemble that of Nashville’s. Many people think this may be a quick series, but with the amount of travel that’s involved, it’s unlikely. When it comes right down to all the intangibles, the Canucks are the better team and should win this series but it won’t be in four.

PREDICTION: Canucks in Six.