Well it’s finally here, the finals and we have 2 teams left standing in the Tampa Bay Lightning (last season’s champs) and the Montreal Canadiens. I have really been impressed with Montreal run in this postseason. They battle the Maple Leafs (coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series), to beating and sweeping the favorite Winnipeg Jets, to beating a great playoff team in the Vegas Golden Knights. Could not ask for a better run than this. Let’s hope the province of Quebec will more fans into the Bell Centre for this series. However, there is the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. This is there 3rd Cup Finals appearance in the last 6 years. No question here, we have one of the best teams in sports today. The Lightning playoff run was interesting in its own right. They battled the Florida Panthers, the Carolina Hurricanes, and then a memorable 7 game series vs the New York Islanders. The last series could have gone either way. I have ask a dozen hockey fans on who they want to win the Stanley Cup this season. The majority feel Tampa Bay Lightning would win it. Surprisingly only a couple are going with Montreal. I would not be shocked if they pulled it off. Gotta remember the Canadiens took a long time to get back to the finals. 1993 was a memorable year in hockey, and in sports generally. They battled the Wayne Gretzky led Los Angeles Kings. The Kings was poised for possibly pulling the greatest of all time upsets until the McStick incident. Game 2 Kings we’re on there way to taking a 2-0 series lead. However an illegal stick was called to defenseman Marty McSorley. It changed the series in favor of the Canadiens and they won the 24th Stanley Cup in that franchises history. Now 28 years later, a grand opportunity presents itself for Montreal. Sadly it will end NBC tv coverage of the NHL after a great 16 year run, as the over the air tv rights go to ESPN and Turner Sports next season.
Now for my pick: Lightning over the Canadiens in 6 games.
And that is how the hockey season ends!!
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