SEMI FINALS (ROUND 3 PREDICTIONS)

OUR RECORD 0-2

Islanders versus Golden Knights was a pipe dream. My thoughts were taking one upset in the semi finals and one favorite. Which did happen, with the Canadians and the Lightning now meeting up. My theory was correct, but the teams were just wrong.

2021 OVERALL NHL PLAYOFF RECORD

(7-7)

The pressure will be on to make the right prediction for the Stanley cup so we don’t go under 500.

MONTREAL CANADIANS VERSUS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

CUPS WON

CANADIANS (24) LIGHTNING (2)

LAST TIME EACH TEAM MADE IT TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL:

CANADIANS (1993) LIGHTNING (LAST YEAR)

You can say this year’s Stanley Cup, played by Montreal Canadians versus the Tampa Bay Lightning is a match up of David versus Goliath. The Lightning would be David, who won it last season and are looking to be the first team to win back to back championships since the Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2016 & 2017. The Canadians are the underdog of the tournament and would be the Goliath, looking to go down as one of the best Cinderella stories in NHL history. Canadians historically have been the New York Yankees in the NHL. However this season, the Canadians are playing the underdog role of a team that got into the tournament on last day of regular season.

GOALIES

I think when it comes to teams that reached the Stanley Cup, it’s because they have great goalies. Both the Canadians and the Lightning have terrific net minders.

Carey Price has been talked about a lot with the success the Canadians have been having in the playoffs. Price has been brilliant. The Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been amazing himself and doing it relatively quietly. Vasilevskiy has 4 shutouts in the playoffs in the net. Carey Price has a .928 save percentage and is allowing only 2.18 goals per game in post season which are very good numbers. I think both goalies will stand tall for their team in this series. Neither one will lose it for their team.

In hockey, it’s all about putting the puck in the net. Someone has to score a goal or more in a game to get their team over the top. Lightning have multiple snipers who can get the puck in the net. The lightning are stacked with weapons of mass destruction. The Canadians are very deep in the forward position. Especially with youngsters, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, for the Canadians. Can their speed counterattack versus the Lightning, let’s say Braoyden Point?

Cole Caufield reminds me of young Patrick Kane. The rookie Caufield has brought plenty of energy to the post-season along with 4 goals of his own. Brayden Point has 14 goals in 19 post-season games. Can the Canadians stop Point? Can the Lightning simmer down the rookie, Caufield?

PREDICTION: LIGHTNING IN 6 GAMES

The Lightning has far too much fire power for the Canadians to handle. I know I have picked against the Canadians every time, and they have made me look stupid each round. Many times Cinderella teams fizzle out in the championships in all sports. I’m banking on that to happen this finals as well. I like that the Lightning can score from many different players. Tampa Bay has 7 guys with at least 4 goals in the post-season. The Lightning are averaging 3.22 goals a game this post-season which is better than their regular season number as a team. The experience from last post-season for the Lightning will also play a factor. Especially goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning as he’s been here done that. The inexperience for the Canadians will also haunt them especially if they find themselves down by two games in the series. They might not find a way to work their way back into the series. Watch the Lightning get the two game advantage in the series very quickly.