The best team won, plain and simple. It was a hell of a rally for Tampa after last season’s shutout kick to the teeth.
This was an unprecedented Stanley Cup playoffs and was a tough battle for two straight months. Props to Tampa Bay, they earned it.
The machine is not stopping with the 2019-2020 season officially over. The draft is October 6th!
It’s the middle of September and the Finals are starting.
The West Conference Champions, the Dallas Stars versus the East Conference Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It’s been non-stop games since the beginning of August. Dallas beat Las Vegas 4-1 in a series that they controlled pretty handily. That was a surprise to me, I thought Las Vegas was in better shape. Dallas has been an underdog in these playoffs, proving in every round that they had what it takes to win.
Tampa Bay won 4-2 over the Islanders. It could have been a sweep but the Isles managed to fight back some. I thought it would have been closer, going into this round the Isles looked strong. It was not an easy series for either team. Long, physical games were the norm.
Safe to say the best team has won so far. Dallas is going to have the immediate edge, they are healthier and played few games getting a longer break going into the finals. Tampa Bay hasn’t gotten a meaningful break in this meat grinder.
It’s been 20 years since Dallas has made it to the Cup Championship games and 5 for Tampa. Tampa has seen great success in recent seasons only to get cut short (last season was embarrassing getting shoved out of the playoffs in a first-round sweep as a first seed team). They have a ton of pressure to win on them. I’m not sure if they can sustain the play necessary to win this last grind. Right now I’m leaning toward Dallas to win and for some reason, I think it’ll be done in 5 games. 6 wouldn’t surprise me though. If Tampa Bay wins the first game tonight, that will be a big signal to their mental and physical focus. Tonight will set the standard of play.
And now we’re in September with the Final Four! Weird to say that as we are at the traditional point of the year when the NHL starts their training for the coming season in October.
The second round in the East ended more or less how I thought it would. Tampa vs Islanders should be excellent. NY has been on a tear, and Tampa knocked Boston out in 5 games. They’ll have about a week off when Game 1 starts and that may or may not be in their favor. A lot more rest (NY gets a day off) but they could be rusty. That may not be a factor for long. I’m not sure who will win it could go either way and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes 7 games. I think I’d rather see NY win as the haven’t won the Cup since 1984 (the end of the dynasty team) and this is their longest Playoff run since the mid 90s. That’s a long drought!
The betting odds are in Las Vegas’ favor. Strong year (which isn’t that relevant with the COVID shut down of 4 months, the playoffs are basically a new season) and strong playoff games. Dallas is the underdog and have been proving their worth over the last month of play. Vegas is on their third playoff run in three years of existence which is nuts. Last year ended in a Round 1 controversial loss and it feels like they are on the cusp of making history again, they are that good. I think Dallas has their work cut out for them, but they can do it.
Prediction: Vegas vs Tampa for the Stanley Cup.