The 2022 Stanley Cup Finals are here! Today, I will be breaking down how each team got here and my prediction for the series.
Tampa Bay Lightning:
The Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the 3rd straight year. They are the two-time defending champs, beating the Dallas Stars in 2020 and the Montreal Canadiens in 2021. They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in round 1, a seven-game series. Then they swept the Presidents Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and beat the New York Rangers in 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals. But they have possibly their toughest task in the past three years on their hands in…..
Colorado Avalanche:
The Avalanche had a horrific season in 2016-17, with 48 points in 82 games. And then in the draft lottery, they had rough luck, falling to the 4th overall pick. The good news, however, is that they got Cale Makar at that spot. At the beginning of 2017-18, they traded away center Matt Duchene for defenseman Sam Girard and a first-rounder in 2019. At the end of the year, Nathan MacKinnon will have only one more year and a $6.3 million before he becomes an unrestricted free agent and possibly one of the highest paid men in the league. Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog said this about the rebuild, “I’d probably be lying if I told you that we’d be here one day in the 2016-17 season. That is about as rock bottom as you can come. But at the same time, we showed our resiliency. And then you start making the playoffs and you start believing, then you start seeing progress and start moving. Job’s not done, and it’s going to be another tough series, but we’ll get some rest here and get ready to go.”
That brings us to my prediction. Please remember that this is just my opinion and don’t hate me for it. I think this might be one of the best Finals in recent memory, but ultimately….
Prediction: Lightning in 7
The Lightning have a more well-rounded team and have great chemistry together. I’m not saying the Avs don’t have these things, and I think they’ll give Tampa a run for their money, but in the end, the Bolts will take this.
