Stanley Cup Preview: Defensive Depth The Difference For Lightning To Down Blackhawks
BOSTON (CBS) -- Two days after Bruins center David Krejci injured his knee in a collision during a road loss to the St. Louis Blues, the Bruins finished their five-game road trip with a 6-2 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks in front of a national-television audience.
The win started an 8-1-1 stretch for the Bruins, who probably never played better team hockey during the 2014-15 season than they did during that two-week period.
In the midst of that dominant string of games, the Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in a shootout at TD Garden. The win was the Bruins' second in as many games against the Lightning at that point in the year.
Among the numerous things the Blackhawks (who beat the Bruins 3-2 in their only other matchup this season) and Lightning (who won the last two matchups with Boston before the season finished) had in common this season was their difficulty against the Bruins. But that fact, which only interests this writer and probably a handful of people in New England, is meaningless now that Chicago and Tampa Bay have advanced to the 2015 Stanley Cup finals, which starts Wednesday.
Both the Blackhawks and Lightning boast a wealth of speed and skill, at forward and on defense. Both goaltenders have winning track records, with Chicago's Corey Crawford counting a Stanley Cup championship among his clutch victories and Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop adding two Game 7 victories to his resume during the Lightning's run to this year's finals.
Both teams also possess the intangibles that typically make the difference when the conference and Stanley Cup finals roll around – determination and unwavering belief. We saw it with the Bruins in 2011, when they won three Game 7's. We saw it during both of the Los Angeles Kings' runs to the Cup title. And we've seen it this season with the Blackhawks and Lightning, who both had to win their Game 7's on the road and overcome several other bouts of adversity through the first three rounds of playoffs.
The Blackhawks, going for their third Cup title in six seasons, have been driven to great accomplishments both because they have great talent and their talented players – the likes of Crawford, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane – have played their best when it counts most. That's why you can't tell Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman that "clutch" doesn't exist.
"Yeah, I think that's an important attribute," Bowman told the media in Tampa on Tuesday. "It's possibly the most elusive trait to pin down. There are certain players that have the ability when the game is on the line to elevate their play and to come through. That's the hardest thing to do. I think when you look around the league this year, you see how close these games are, really a lot of times it comes down to just a couple moments within a game. Certainly during the season that's the case. In the playoffs, it gets magnified. There's certainly more attention given to every shift, every game. You notice the players that are able to come through in those pressure moments. They're the ones that can really make a big difference. I'm not quite sure how to explain it or describe it. They just have it.
"Fortunately we've got a number of guys that can do that. They can raise their game in those critical moments. We're fortunate to have them on our side, that's for sure."
With Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman leading the way, the Lightning can match the Blackhawks' talent. Tampa Bay might even be able to keep its core together and become a perennial contender the way the Blackhawks have been this decade. But at this stage of the postseason, the Lightning only lack the Blackhawks' experience when the ultimate goal is on the line.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper thinks his team will be able to overcome that deficiency
"The one thing about this group, we just found out more about ourselves as every round has gone on," Cooper told the media-day assemblage.
Cooper referred back to the way the Lightning battled and other players stepped up when Stamkos was injured for a long time in 2013-14. The Lightning earned a playoff berth, but once there they lost in four straight to the Montreal Canadiens.
"We went into the summer with the sting of what had happened. I think it fueled us this year," he said. "We've had a history of not going into these long losing streaks because of the attitude that's in that room. ... Every time there's been that little bit of adversity, we feel like we're down and out, they come back with a knock‑out punch. But that started two years ago and the attitude has not changed."
Coming off two conference-championship victories that went the distance, there's little reason to believe this series won't also be a long one. You can expect at least two of the games to be stifling in terms of defense and two games that will be wide-open affairs. The Anaheim Ducks tried to wear down the Chicago defense with physicality. The Lightning will try to beat the Blackhawks' back-enders with sheer speed and aggression.
It looks like goaltending and forward depth matchups are equal. Although Chicago's top-end defensemen hold the edge in that matchup, the Lightning have the better depth. That depth will be the difference.
My pick ... Tampa Bay in 7.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.