Here are some Stanley Cup Final storylines to follows:
1. Something has to give- in the past decade or so, most of the Cup Finals have involved at least one established team with Cup success (Detroit, Dallas, Colorado, New Jersey). This year has a different feel- you have two teams with long Cup droughts (Flyers haven't won since 1975, Blackhawks since 1961). One way or another, I will be able to add one of these teams to the list of teams that at one point I never thought would win a championship in my lifetime, but did (Saints, Buccaneers, Red Sox, Rangers, White Sox)
2. Former Sabres. Brian Campbell (Chicago) and Daniel Briere (Philadelphia), former Buffalo Sabre stars, will collide for a chance at the Cup. Also interesting is that these guys had previously lost in three Conference Finals since the lockout (both were on the 2006 and 2007 Sabres. Briere lost in the East Finals in his first year with Philly in 2008; ditto for Campbell on last year's Hawks).
3. Unexpected goalie matchup. In a year where goalies like Brodeur, Miller, and Nabokov dominated, who would have thought that Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton would be the dueling netminders in this year's Stanley Cup showcase?
4. Wheeling and dealing- both clubs broke the bank for established stars- Chris Pronger and Marian Hossa, respectively.
5. Young captains- most Stanley Cup champions in the recent past have been led by veteran captains (Niedermayer, Lidstrom, Brind'Amour, Andreychuk, Scott Stevens, Yzerman, Sakic). When Crosby won it all last year, that seemed to be a changing of the guard. This year, you have two of the younger captains- Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews.
You know how much I waited to see the Phillies win the WS? I was 7 when the Phillies won that WS my father and grandfather took me to that game we were sitting as the nose bledding section at the VET it was cold but those memories of that game I will never forgot!
