Stanley Cup Finals Preview

We have finally arrived. The moment is finally at hand. We started this journey way back in October. It began with thirty two teams all trying for the same goal of hockey's ultimate prize. Now there's two teams left. One is looking for its first title since 2001. The other is the two time defending Stanley Cup Champions.

We have the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Colorado has lost only two games all playoffs long. They got here with a sweep of Nashville, a six game series win over St Louis and another sweep over Edmonton. Tampa took a little bit longer. The Lightning beat the Maple Leafs in seven games, swept the Panthers, then beat the Rangers in six games to get here. Its now the 11th straight playoff series win for the Lightning.

This is the toughest series to be able to pick out of all the series that have been played so far in the playoffs. Colorado has only lost two games all playoffs long. St Louis seemed like it was the only team that has really tested them in the first three rounds. They have been pretty much running over everybody that's gotten in their way so far. The offense is firing on all cylinders at the right time and they've had a few days off to really be able to rest and recoup . Cal Makar been leading this team in scoring from the back end, but they've had solid output from their forwards in Nathan MacKinnion, Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanin. A big factor for me in this series is can Darcy Kumper take hold of things in the Colorado net? He's been good in the playoffs, but its going to be a totally different animal facing the champs in this round.

Now Tampa has been good in these playoffs. They've taken a little bit longer of a route to get here then Colorado has, but they standing here for the 3rd year in a row. Stamkos and Kucherov have been playing red hot as of late. They also getting clutch scoring from Palat as of late. Now the big question is, when or will we see Brayden Point in this series? If he does play in the finals it will change the dynamic for the Lightning offense. Then there's the storyline in net of Andrei Vasilevskiy. He at times has look a little bit off his game, and at times he's reminded everybody why he won MVP of the playoffs a season ago.

This is the toughest test for both. Colorado has had a little bit of time off since the end of the last series so they might get off to a bit of a slow start against the Bolts. If Colorado can't find its legs fast enough in this series they going to get run out of the series quick. Its going to be a pretty even matchup but the Avalanche offense is firing at the right time and showed that it could pretty much play any style. Tampa is a battle tested and talented team and is going to be a huge test for Colorado. But the Avs have proven all year long that they can handle it.

Prediction: Colorado in 6!