Why You Should Be Watching the Stanley Cup Finals

Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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Just ten minutes into the first period of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, we saw high-speed, physical hockey with possibly the best goal of the playoffs by way of a backwards, no-look redirection by Alex Killorn.  The Finals are going to be the best entertainment we have for the next two weeks, and we all know why. For one thing, nothing worth watching (in the sports world) is going on in Philadelphia these days, besides ridiculous baseball and chatter between old players and coaches. So, since you have nothing better to do, you should pay close attention to the conclusion of the best tournament in sports.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a surprising team. As much as we feel like we should hate them, we can’t. They are a team that continues to fight and will not give up, and definitely the surprise of the year. The Lightning have earned the respect of the league, and proven that they can hang with the best of them. Frankly, I never thought they would get past Montreal. Yet, here they are, just four wins away from raising the Cup. The Lightning have the Triplets Line, whose name still makes no sense to anyone outside of the arena in Florida. They also have a solid, but not dominant defensive corps that has been somewhat iffy at times, but have done enough to make it work.

Admittedly, Steven Stamkos is my favorite player in the league who doesn’t wear the orange and black. He is one of the toughest players in the league, and has the some of the best hands and legs combined in the league. Stamkos is hockey through and through: toughness, speed, skill, and quiet confidence.

From the Blackhawks side of things, they are just good. Very good. This is a team that is on the verge of becoming a dynasty. They have all of the tools that a team needs to win the Cup, but the main attribute is the experience. After hoisting the Cup in 2010 against the Flyers, they did it again in 2013 and have a very good chance at doing it this year. Possibly the craziest part of this team’s recent history is that the core of the team has not really changed too much. Kane, Toews, Keith, Hjalmarsson, Sharp, and Hossa are all making another appearance since 2013. In hockey, that is tough to do as a franchise.

For Flyers fans, there should be a lot of interest in these Finals. Ron Hextall made the best possible move for all around awesome guy Kimmo Timonen, and traded him to a team that he thought would have the chance to get him that illusive Stanley Cup win. At 40, Timonen has made it clear that this will be his last year on the ice, especially after the blood clots he suffered all year. Shipping him off to Chicago gives him the chance to raise the Cup and end his long, successful, playing career on the highest of notes. I want nothing more than to see him raise the Cup and then come back to Philly to help out Hakstol behind the bench, a la Ian Laperriere. There is no better guy out there to help a Flyers team that is just getting younger. He is the mentor that all of the young guys need, and has the experience that the entire roster can look up to.

The Lightning have Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle. Flyers fans may not love Coburn, but he certainly put in a lot of time in Philly, and, much like Donovan McNabb, wasn’t a blow you away type player, but he did what he needed to and helped us get to the Finals and playoffs multiple years in a row. He was utilized poorly, as he was expected to be a top four D man, but he just isn’t, which is why he is having success in Tampa.

As far as Matt Carle, you shouldn’t like him. No one does.

Around this time five years ago, we all settled in to watch the Flyers take on the Blackhawks in the Finals. I remember being absolutely crushed when that goal from Kane squirted past Michael Leighton for the win. I sat there for 20 minutes in shock, asking myself if it was actually over. This series is going to be just as exciting to watch, minus the crushing overtime loss for a team that we love passionately.

Hockey has the best championship tournament in sports, and this series is going to prove it. A young, hungry, tenacious team in the Lightning, going up against an experienced, extremely talented team in the Blackhawks will make for some of the most exciting hockey we have seen. These playoffs have been thrilling so far, and will be just as good for the next two weeks. If you are looking for exciting sports, since we don’t have any at the moment, this is what you should be tuned to.

In the end, all I want is to see Kimmo Timonen hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup, capping off a great career, after a long, hard fought, six game series. I have the Blackhawks in six.

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