The Chicago Blackhawks were the number one seed in the west for a reason and as the Stanley Cup finals begin, they will have the advantage over their Original Six rivals, as the Boston Bruins are coming to the United Center for Games 1 and 2 of the series.
The Blackhawks won against the LA Kings after a hat trick from Patrick Kane and the team will try to continue its strong play in the postseason after starting off the year with a record streak. The two teams are facing each other for the first time in the finals. The two cities have barely any history against each other in sports, with the other championship matchups coming in baseball and football. It is the first Original Six matchup since the 70s and the two teams come in after winning Cups in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
The goaltending has been excellent and as Game 1 approaches on Wednesday, that will be one of the main focuses for both coaches. Chicago last hoisted the Cup in 2010 while the Bruins, winners in 2011, would like nothing more than to parade the treasured trophy through the streets of Boston that were left silent and empty following the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15 that left three people dead and 264 injured. Cornered by the Maple Leafs, down 4-2 with under 90 seconds to play in Game Seven, the Bruins showed their teeth in frightening fashion scoring two late goals and another in overtime to advance.
Both Boston and Chicago enter the Final on impressive rolls, the Blackhawks winners of seven of the last eight games and the Bruins winning nine-of-10, including a stunning sweep of the top seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference final. Chicago spent the entire campaign atop the West standings setting a record by earning points in each of their first 24 games on way to claiming the Presidents' Trophy, as the NHL team with the best regular season record.
A solid Chicago defense is anchored by Duncan Keith and Seabrook while netminder Corey Crawford has the best goals-against-average in the playoffs. While the Blackhawks have the marquee names, the Bruins view themselves as a Band of Brothers, typified by fourth liner Gregory Campbell who broke his leg throwing himself in front of a slap shot in Game Three against the Penguins but stayed on the ice to finish his shift.
For all their reputation as a surly team that relies on intimidation, the Bruins lineup also features the playoff's two leading scorers in David Krejci (nine goals, 21 points) and Nathan Horton (seven goals, 17 points).
