The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhswks will play for the 2013 Stanley Cup. Boston is the #4 seed in the East and went 12-4 to win the East. They beat the #5 seed Toronto Maple Leafs in 7 games, #6 seed New York Rangers in 5 games and upset the #1 seed Pittsburgh Penguins in 4 games. This is Boston's 19th Stanley Cup Final and they are looking to win their 7th Stanley Cup. This is the first time in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2011 for the Bruins and they beat the Canucks in 7 games that year. Chicago is the #1 seed in the West and went 12-5 to win the West. They beat the #8 seed Minnesota Wild in 5 games, #7 seed Detroit Red Wings in 7 games and the #5 Los Angeles Kings in 5 games. This Chicago' 12th Stanley Cup Finals and are looking to win their 5th Stanley Cup. This is the first time in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2010 for the Blackhawks and they beat the Flyers in 6 games that year. Chicago will also look to become the first President's Trophy Winner to win the Stanley Cup since Detroit in 2008. There were also some interested facts in the playoffs that I will share before getting into my predictions. The 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs mark the first time since 1996 that every Original Six team has advanced to the playoffs in the same year. For the first time since 1945, the final four teams remaining in the playoffs were the previous four Stanley Cup champions: Pittsburgh (2009), Chicago (2010), Boston (2011), and Los Angeles (2012). This series is also the first time that two Original Six teams are competing in the Finals since Montreal defeated the New York Rangers in the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals. Goalkeeping will be a huge key in this series. Rask for Boston and Crawford for Chicago have been the best two goalkeepers in the NHL this postseason. Rask is 1st in save percentage at 94.3% this postseason and 3rd in GAA at 1.75 this postseason. Crawford is 2nd in save percentage at 93.5% this postseason and 2nd in GAA at 1.74 this postseason. Offense will also play a big role in this series. Boston and Chicago both have the two of the top 4 goal scorers this postseason. Krejci for Boston is 1st with 9 goals this postseason, Sharp and Bickell are tied for 2nd with 8 goals each this postseason for Chicago and Horton is tied for 4th with 7 goals this postseason. I believe with Chicago strong power-play defense and them being the best team in the NHL in the regular season they will win the series. I believe home ice advantage will play a huge part of this series. I think the home teams goes and 7-0 and Chicago with home ice claims the Stanley Cup in 7 games. Chicago brings home the cup for the 2nd time in the past 4 years. This is also the first time this season that teams from the opposite conferences played each other due to the lockout and the NHL only playing 48 games in the regular season.
Game 1: Boston @ Chicago: CHI 4 - BOS 2. Chicago leads the series 1-0.
Game 2: Boston @ Chicago: CHI 1 - BOS 0 OT. Chicago leads the series 2-0.
Game 3: Chicago @ Boston: BOS 3 - CHI 1. Chicago leads the series 2-1.
Game 4: Chicago @ Boston: BOS 4 - CHI 3. The series tied 2-2.
Game 5: Boston @ Chicago: CHI 2 - BOS 1. Chicago leads the series 3-2.
Game 6: Chicago @ Boston: BOS 3 - CHI 1. The series tied 3-3.
Game 7: Boston @ Chicago: CHI 2 - BOS 1. Chicago wins the series 4-3.
Chicago Blackhawks are 2013 Stanley Cup Finals Champions.
Corey Crawford is the 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner.
Corey Crawford is the 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner.
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