Finals Time!

It's been a year in the making, but we are almost at the end of the hockey season.  It's been a fun season as the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks will battle for the right to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.  Between now and Wednesday, I will annoy you, the reader, with some personal favorite moments from the last 30 years or so.  In the mean time, the predictions must be made, so without further ado, here is my analysis and prediction:

Goaltending: Tim Thomas has been up and down this playoff season, but when he's had to steal a game for the Bruins, no one has risen to the challenge better than Thomas.  After a problematic first round against Chicago, Roberto Luongo has been remarkably good since game 7 of that series, and not seeing Corey Schneider in net can only be deemed a good sign for him.  Advantage: Boston...barely.

Defense: Boston has had the duo of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg handle nearly half of the game's 60 minutes.  That's not so bad, since both have been a shutdown pairing.  However, missing in all of this is Tomas Kaberle, who was supposed to be the power play quarterback the Bruins needed.  The Canucks cannot boast a shutdown duo that can play half the game.  Instead, they can boast 7 NHL caliber defensemen who play as well as the the sum of the parts suggest.  Advantage: Vancouver

Forwards: Boston is all about the Lucic-Krejci-Horton line.  However, the last series was also about Tyler Seguin's arrival to postseason hockey.  However, Boston will need the likes of Rich Peverley and Patrice Bergeron (if he's healthy) to provide some offense, too.  Vancouver can roll out three capable lines.  Their top two lines are a lethal game of Russian Roulette in that you hope their impact is limited.  Their third line is equally dangerous, even though they don't get the headlines their top two line counterparts get.  Advantage: Vancouver

Intangibles:  Boston has been on a mission to erase last year's embarrassment in losing a 3-0 series lead in the Conference Semifinals.  Vancouver has the weight of a city and a country on their shoulders, and they could get Manny Malhotra back for the Finals.  Advantage: Even

Prediction: For Boston to win the series, Thomas has to be the Vezina Trophy finalist that he is and not the one who looked shaky in the Tampa Bay series half the time.  Boston will also have to impersonate the 1995 Devils' defense.  Vancouver has everything to gain and everything to lose here.  There's just too much firepower up front and a balanced blue line for them not to win.  As always, it ultimately comes down to Luongo, who has played well since his game 6 benching against Chicago.  Ultimately, I will take Vancouver in 6.