KEYS TO THE CUP
The Stanley Cup finals begin tonight with Nashville playing at Pittsburgh. The Penguins are chasing their second straight title, while the Predators are making their debut in the NHL’s championship series. Here are five storylines to watch:
1. Pekka Rinne can steal the Stanley Cup
The Predators goaltender has been the best player in this postseason. If that's still the case a couple of weeks from now, that likely means there's a party for the ages raging at the honkytonk bars on Broadway in Nashville.
The 34-year-old Rinne has gone 12-4 in the playoffs, with a .941 save percentage, 1.70 goalsagainst average, two shutouts and even three assists. The spindly Finn is capable of being the most dominating player on the ice, and he probably has to be in order for his team to prevail.
2. The Penguins’ scoring depth
In years past, the Pens sometimes had too much of a star culture, relying on a small number of big-name guys. Stop them and you stopped their team. Not anymore. Evgeny Malkin (seven goals, 17 assists) and Sidney Crosby (seven goals, 13 assists) are playing great, but so are Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, Conor Sheary and more.
Indeed, the Predators' tight, physical play may well neutralize Malkin and Crosby. That doesn't mean there won't be complementary players making big plays for the Pens.
3. The clash of two Cup-winning coaches
Pittsburgh and Nashville boast solid, smart, experienced coaches in Mike Sullivan and Peter Laviolette, both of whom have won the Stanley Cup and have strong Boston roots.
Sullivan, who's from Marshfield, coached the Providence Bruins for a year, then was an assistant in Boston for a year before serving as coach from 200305. And Laviolette, who's from Franklin, won the Cup with Carolina in 2006. He coached Providence for two years, then was a B's assistant in 2000-01.
4. The Predators’ defense corps
Moving out from Rinne, the Preds are built around their very busy and very talented top-four defensemen, who have had strong postseason numbers — the underrated Ryan Ellis (four goals, seven assists, plus-7, 23:59 ice time). Roman Josi (five goals, five assists, plus-4, 25:56), old friend P.K. Subban (two goals, eight assists, plus-6, 25:52), and Mattias Ekholm (no goals, eight assists, plus-10, 25:34).
If any group can shut down the Pens' potent attack, this is the one.
5. A team Bruins fans can enjoy
The Predators have long been an easy team for Bruins fans to like. Like the B's, this group is always hard to play against — overachieving with tight team defense and tough, physical hockey.
The Predators, who were the eighth seed in the West, have shown this year you can't count them out. Even with them facing a superior Penguins squad, look for them to make this a very close final.