Today is the day hockey fans have been waiting all season for, the start of the Stanley Cup Final! This season has been like no other due to the pandemic, and after months of playoff hockey we have two teams who will battle it out to complete their childhood dreams of lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup. The best-of-seven series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars begins tonight at 7:30 pm eastern time.
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to add another Stanley Cup to their franchise’s history. The one and only cup they have won came during the 2004 season. Over the past couple of seasons the Tampa Bay Lightning have been Stanley Cup favorites, but have always struggled getting to the big show. Could this be their year? Despite missing their captain Steven Stamkos, the Lightning have been able to take down the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins, and most recently the New York Islanders. S
tars like Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevsky have stepped up to the challenge and put on a show each and every night. Vasilesky has started in every game this postseason, and has posted a record of 14-5 with a goals against average of 1.82.
Out of the Edmonton Bubble, we have the Dallas Stars. The Dallas Stars look to win their first cup in 20 years, and have dominated everyone in their paths. The Stars have taken down the Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Stars big named players like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have been consistent throughout the playoffs, but the Stars success comes from many other players this postseason. Miro Heiskanen leads the Stars with 22 points, and Denis Gurianov is not far behind him with 17 points. Dallas’s most surprising playoff performer has been goaltender Anton Khudobin. Khudobin often referred to as “Dobby”, has a record of 12-6 and a save percentage of .920. At 34 years old, Dobby is definitely considered one of the well-traveled journeyman in the NHL.
Since debuting in the ECHL in 2008, Dobby has been part of the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, and Anaheim Ducks organizations before finding his new home in Dallas in 2018.
I am looking forward to this years Stanley Cup Final, mainly because I enjoy watching both teams. The Lightning are a team built around a high scoring offense, whereas Dallas focuses more on their defensive game. It’ll definitely be an interesting series to watch, and it’s hard to believe we will see the Stanley Cup being hoisted after everything that has happened this year. Both of these teams deserve to be here after the long journey in the NHL Bubbles. So just sit back and enjoy all of the action, by the way Stars in six.
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