Who’s Taking Home the Stanley Cup: Stars or Lightning?
24 teams traveled to the two NHL bubbles at the end of September to start the NHL postseason, and seven weeks later, we are down to two teams. With the Stanley Cup Final starting on Saturday, the Stanley Cup will be awarded to a new team before the end of September. The Dallas Stars are looking for their second Stanley Cup Championship, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking for their second cup as well. With puck drop imminent, who will be crowned the 2020 Stanley Cup Champion?
Before the start of the postseason, I didn’t think the Stars had a leg to stand on. I thought the Stars would go 1-6 in the playoffs and that they should be fighting for their playoff hopes in the qualification stage instead of the Edmonton Oilers. I was slightly surprised that the Stars managed to beat the St. Louis Blues in the round-robin stage and the Calgary Flames in the first round, but I still thought there was no way they would beat my choice to be Western Conference Champions, the Colorado Avalanche.
Not only did the Stars beat the Avalanche in overtime in Game 7, but they made the fools of the Vegas Golden Knights, beating them in 5 games to win the Western Conference Final. The Stars have overcome the odds multiple times and proven the doubters like myself. They may have started the postseason overlooked, but the Stars have earned their Stanley Cup Final spot and the respect of the NHL community.
As soon as I heard the NHL would return to play in August, I said the Lightning would win the Stanley Cup. After going 2-1 in the round-robin, I had the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup. After their series wins against the Colombus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins, I had the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup, so why would I change my tune now? Anton Khudobin has been nothing short of phenomenal this postseason, but the Tampa Bay Lightning’s high-octane offense has been unstoppable this postseason.
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The Stars have shown true grit throughout these playoffs, but I have the Tampa Bay Lightning winning Lord Stanley’s Cup in 6 games and Brayden Point taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy.
