Bruins and Blackhawks open Stanley Cup Finals Wednesday
The NHL Stanley Cup Finals start on Wednesday in the Windy City with the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Boston Bruins. The two storied franchises are two of the Original Six, but surprisingly despite over 85 years of history between the two clubs in the NHL, the two have yet to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, until now.
The Bruins won the Eastern Conference Championship by sweeping the favored Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0. The Blackhawks arrived in the Cup final thanks to defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 to win the Western Conference Championship.
The two teams have met six times in the playoffs with Boston holding an advantage 5-1 in the six series. In four of the five series, the Bruins beat the Blackhawks it was to advance to the Stanley Cup finals.
However, the last playoff series between the two clubs was in 1977-78 during the quarterfinals and Boston swept Chicago 4-0.
During this year’s postseason, Chicago has a record of 9-1 SU at home, with five of their wins by two goals or more. In those 10 home games, the OVER is 4-3-3. At home, Chicago has allowed two goals or more in just 2 of 10 games.
On the road, Chicago is just 3-4 during the playoffs, with three of those losses by two goals or more. Chicago has allowed three goals or more on four occasions on the road in the playoffs.
Boston has played 9 games at home, during the postseason, and is 7-2 SU, with four of their wins by just one goal. The Bruins have allowed two goals or more just twice in 9 home games.
Boston is 5-2 SU on the road with both losses by one goal. The Bruins have scored three or more goals four times on the road.
In overtime, the Blackhawks are 3-1 SU during the playoffs and 3-0 at home. Boston is 4-1 SU in OT in the playoffs and 3-0 at home.
The two teams have not played head to head since 2011 and Boston is 2-0 over the past 2 games the two teams have played against one another. Corey Crawford the goaltender for Chicago has a career record of 0-2 versus Boston. The Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rusk has a career record of 0-1 versus the Blackhawks.
Four of the past six Stanley Cup champions have been from the Western Conference. No team has swept the finals since 1998 and all of the past five finals have gone to at least six games.
The Bruins are 6-12 in 18 Stanley Cup finals, while Chicago has played 11 and is 4-7. Boston’s Stanley Cup Finals victory in 2011 was their first since back in 1972, while the Blackhawks Stanley Cup Championship in 2010 was its first since 1961.
The series should go six games, with the hungrier Bruins taking it 4-2 to lift the Stanley Cup for the 7th time in franchise history.
For all your odds and trends, on the Stanley Cup Finals, click here.
