Stanley Cup Finals Preview

By: Matt Ambrose

As opposed to the bland and boring NBA Playoffs, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been filled with edge-of-your-seat action, as expected. We are down to the final two teams: the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators are making their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in their 18 seasons of play. The Penguins, however, are in their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final after winning it all last season.

The Predators have been a fun team to watch this postseason. Their play has electrified the city of Nashville and has revitalized faith in hockey in the south. The Predators finished the regular season with a record of 41-29-12, good enough for 94 points, making them the 16th seeded team points-wise out of the 16-team playoff field. The Preds proceeded to sweep the Chicago Blackhawks, who were the best team in the Western Conference this year, before taking down the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks in six games each to reach the Cup Finals.

The Penguins, however, are in their fourth Stanley Cup Final since 2008. They are clearly the more experienced team in this series, with their players having a combined 156 games of Stanley Cup Finals experience. The Predators have just five games of experience, all of which belong to Mike Fisher, who was a member of the Ottawa Senators in 2007 when they lost to Anaheim.

The Penguins are the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in back-to-back seasons since they, along with the Detroit Red Wings, met up in both the 2008 and 2009 Cup Finals. The Penguins will also look to become the first team to repeat since the Red Wings did in 1997 and 1998.

This series will pit the potent Penguins offense against the stout Nashville defense. The Penguins are led by the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel, who spearhead the offensive attack as the top three players in points on the team so far this postseason. The Predators will try to thwart this Penguins offense with their top-flight defense, led by top defensemen P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm. Both Subban and Ekholm, as well as fellow defensemen Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis, have all averaged over 24 minutes of ice time per game this postseason. These guys will be physical with the Penguins forwards and try to knock them off their game, a tactic that is impactful when you're dealing with Sidney Crosby.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it helps to have strong forwards and defensemen, but many teams live and die by the play of their goaltender. So far in these playoffs, no goaltender has been as hot as Pekka Rinne has been for the Predators. Rinne leads all goalies this postseason with a 1.70 goals allowed average, and he also tops all postseason goalies with a .941 save percentage. This guy has been a brick wall, and we have seen goalies in the past nearly singlehandedly lead their team to a Stanley Cup victory. Rinne is doing this and getting some help as well, as his defenders have performed up to the task and his forwards have done well getting pucks in the net at the other end of the ice.

While Rinne has had a solid postseason in the crease for Nashville, Pittsburgh's goalie situation has been in a state of flux. It began before the postseason even started, when starting goalie Matt Murray left the ice during warm-ups before game one of the postseason with a lower body injury. Fleury stepped in and was fantastic, until game three of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Ottawa Senators. Fleury gave up four goals on nine shots, and was pulled in the first period in favor of Murray. Since then, Fleury has yet to see the ice, and Murray helped the Penguins win three of the final four games of the series to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Murray should be in net for Game 1 on Monday night, but it is a useful weapon for the Penguins to have two trustworthy goaltenders at their disposal.

The Predators will be getting one of their key centers back for this series, as Mike Fisher will return after missing the final two games of the Western Conference Finals. The team is still without their top centerman Ryan Johansen however, who had emergency surgery on his thigh during the Conference Finals and is out for the rest of the postseason.

PREDICTION: The Penguins have the edge offensively, however Nashville's defense is elite and will do a good job at limiting scoring chances. For any good chances the Penguins do get, Pekka Rinne is there, and he is playing out of his mind right now. The Predators feel like the team of destiny, and I think they get it done and prevent a Penguins repeat.

Nashville over Pittsburgh in six.

Matt Ambrose is a journalism major from Exeter, N.H. and an assistant Sports Director at 89.5 FM WSOU. He can be found on Twitter (@mambrose97) and can be reached by e-mail at matthew.ambrose1@student.shu.edu.