Wednesday, June 03, 2015
The Stanley
The general consensus
amongst the so-called experts is that the Chicago
Black Hawks will have no trouble disposing of the Tampa
Bay Lightning in this year’s Stanley
The Hawks are
favoured because of recent history. They are on a path to win their third Cup
in the last six years. You can hear the word “dynasty” bantered about in hockey
circles. They are hungry to establish themselves as one of the elite teams in
hockey history, joining other teams with multiple Cups over a short period of
time: Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Oilers, and Islanders come to mind in a flash.
The Lightning are not
prepared to roll over right away. They are a young team, and they also would
like to sip ginger ale from the mug. They have clawed their way to the final,
especially with their recent victory over the Rangers, in game seven in New York
I spoke with a Ranger
scout last Monday in Toronto
Pete Conacher played
several seasons in the NHL, and was also a member of the Belleville
Steve Yzerman is one
of the architects of the Lightning, and is well respected in that capacity. His
man behind the bench, Jon Cooper, is also gaining respect as a fine coach.
Rarely rattled, he has guided his team to this plateau in two years. A native
of Prince George , British
Columbia , Cooper attended university in the United States Hofstra
University
Cooper was recently
quoted in the Toronto Sun: “I
remember being in that building. We used to go to games all the time. I just
loved being a part of it.” Well, in June, 2015, he has become a major part of
the hockey world. His counterpart across the ice, Joel Quenneville, has been
through the hockey wars many times. I am certain his experience will come into
play at some time in this series.
The Lightning will
rely on its leader, Steven Stamkos. But it will also get energy from its second
line, affectionately known as “The Triplets”: Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov,
and Ondrej Palat. Defenceman Victor Hedman is one of the top five in the world,
and Ben Bishop is usually solid between the pipes.
The Black Hawks have
a host of great players ready to go: Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa,
Brad Richards, Patrick Sharpe, and, of course Toews. Corey Crawford will start
in goal for the Hawks, facing the fire power that the Bolts can generate. Many
pundits believe that this will be a high-scoring series. Not this lad. I expect
both coaches and their staffs will devise restricting defences to protect the
nets. Mind you, that can only go so far. There will be fireworks, to be sure,
especially if teams are given power play opportunities.
Does the winning team
really have to wear those damn baseball caps at the conclusion of the series?
Likely. Such an uncomfortable marketing ploy.
June 2, 2015.
Sportslices.blogspot.com.
# posted by James Hurst @ 9:31 PM 
