Examining five 'Burning Questions' the Bruins face ahead of meeting the Canucks in the Cup final.
It has taken them 18 games, two seven-game series sandwiching a sweep, but the Boston Bruins have made it to the Stanley Cup final. They will now do battle with the Vancouver Canucks for the right to hoist the Cup. To set up the matchup, sportsnet.ca's Mike Brophy looks at five 'Burning Questions' before putting it on the line with his prediction.
Q: Can Tim Thomas continue his mastery over the Canucks?
A: We say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Thomas won his only meeting with the President's Trophy winners this season on Feb. 26, beating the Canucks 3-1, but that was the regular season during which he was the most dominant stopper in the NHL. This is the playoffs and Thomas showed a few chinks in the armour in the Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sure he pitched two shutouts, including a 1-0 decision in Game 7, but he also allowed five goals in four of the seven games. That's the bad news. The good news is he'll be facing a goalie at the other end of the ice that has similar bouts of inconsistency. Thomas had moments of brilliance against the Lightning, perhaps none bigger than his miraculous save he made on Steve Downie late in Game 5 when he reached back in desperation and blocked the puck with the paddle of his stick when it appeared the Tampa Bay winger had an open net to shoot at. Overall Thomas has enjoyed an amazing comeback year after losing his job to Tuukka Rask; quite a feat at age 37. For a guy who started his pro career in the ECHL and headed to Europe before making it to the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup would be the perfect final chapter to a storybook career.
Q: Will the Bruins woeful power play be their undoing?
A: It is entirely possible. Of the 16 teams that made it into the post-season, the Bruins rank 14th in power play proficiency with a miserable 8.2 success rate. They have just five power play goals in 61 attempts. It worse on the road where the Bruins have one odd-man goal in eight games. It was thought the addition of defenceman Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline would give the Bruins power play a boost, but that has not been the case. Boston hoped Kaberle would serve up similar passes to hard-shooting Zdeno Chara the way he once did for Bryan McCabe in Toronto, but the two have not been able to produce magic. In fact, while Chara has perhaps the hardest shot in the NHL, it doesn't seem to be much of a scoring threat. Things got so bad in the series against Tampa Bay that the Bruins removed Chara from his normal spot at the point and place him in front of the Lightning net to serve as a screen. That didn't work, either. The Bruins have gotten along shockingly well without gifted centre Marc Savard who was lost with a concussion, but they definitely miss his deft passing and creativity on the power play. No player on the Bruins has managed more than one power play goal in the playoffs.
Q: Can Chara and partner Dennis Seidenberg shut down the Sedins?
A: The NHL's best 1-2 punch up front had its share of difficulties early in the playoffs against Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrooke of Chicago and then Shae Weber and Ryan Suter of Nashville before Henrik and Daneil Sedin shredded the Sharks, who really didn't throw a shutdown pair at them. The Sedins combined for three goals and 18 points in five games against San Jose. Chara, who is about 6-foot-9 and weighs 255 pounds, or so it seems, and Seidenberg could be the toughest pair the Twins have faced in the playoffs - at least playing at even strength. The Sedins specialize in cycling the puck in the offensive zone, but Chara's reach will help keep the Twins to the outside while Seidenberg is a physical defender and is the NHL's top minute-muncher in the post-season averaging 28:22 per game. If the Sedins struggle against Chara and Seidenberg, the Canucks still have the likes of Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows to rely on for offence.
Q: Will Kaberle justify the Bruins giving up a prospect (Joe Colborne), a first round draft choice and a second round pick
A: If the Bruins win the Stanley Cup, then yes. Otherwise it was a huge fee to pay for a player that can walk away from the team at the conclusion of the season. The Bruins thought they were getting a player who would inject a spark into their offence, but Kaberle's play has been less than enchanting. Still, Kaberle has eight assists in 17 playoff games and is plus-7, so he hasn't been a total dog. The thing about Kaberle is, he has good offensive instincts; he just hasn't shown them in a while. The Bruins know he is capable of leading the rush and finding the open man with his passes. If he plays to his potential in the final, he could be a difference-maker.
Q: Who is the Bruins biggest difference-maker up front?
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Who will win the Stanley Cup?
A: The Bruins like to spread the scoring around and certainly centre David Krejci has been a godsend with 10 goals in 17 games. He scored just 13 in the regular season. However, it is Nathan Horton who has the ability to lead his team. Horton has made monster strides in Boston this season, developing into a significant power forward with a passion for winning. With Florida, he was a gifted scorer who often just went through the motions. Horton has clearly benefited from being around Bruins president Cam Neely, one of the best power forwards ever. After scoring 26 goals in the regular season, Horton has eight in the playoffs. In each game he scored, his team won the game.
Player to Watch: Vancouver native Milan Lucic has yet to find his game in the playoffs, but you just know he'll be super motivated in the final. Lucic scored once and set up the other two goals when Boston beat Vancouver 3-1 in their only meeting in the regular season.
Vancouver wins in 6.
