On the morning of Jan. 3, the St Louis Blues were in dead last in the NHL with a mere 34 points.
Since that day they have almost doubled the number of points with 65, the most in the NHL during that span. They have fought hard and true on their way towards the Stanley Cup Finals and after 12 playoff wins, they have survived the long and sometimes treacherous season with a chance to win it all.
The Eastern Conference first-round matchups consisted of the New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning.
In the West, the first round matchups involved the Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars, the Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche, and the San Jose Sharks vs. the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
12 teams entered the playoffs. Now there are only two teams left.
The Boston Bruins emerged as Eastern Conference champions after a dominant series win against Carolina, sweeping the Hurricanes back to their beaches where they can now comfortably watch the finals while tanning under the summer sun. The Hurricanes, however, deserve a pat on the back for their valiant effort on the road to the Eastern Conference finals. Having beaten the Capitals (Metro Kings) in seven games and then sweeping the Islanders. They just didn’t have enough legs or depth to beat the Bruins.
And over in the West, The St. Louis Blues became Western Conference champions and are in the finals for the first time since 1970.
Last year the Stanley Cup Finals involved a team that had just started in the National Hockey League, Las Vegas Golden Knights (a feat that has never happened before in the NHL) and a team that probably deserved to be there years prior, but failed to reach the final since ‘98 season, Washington Capitals. The Caps defeated the newly established Knights in five games to win their first ever Stanley Cup. Ovechkin was the MVP of the playoffs.
Now this year the matchup is bound to be a thriller. Both teams play a hard and physical brand of hockey, and both teams weren’t really considered to win it all this year. Perhaps one could argue for the Bruins, but Tampa Bay was heavily favored before being humiliated by the Blue Jackets.
Rask vs Binnington. Original Six Team vs Original 12 Team. This will be a good one.
