This is the kind of Stanley Cup Final the NHL has wanted for a long time.  Two cities with a lot of hockey tradition between them.  Chicago has been without a winning NHL team since 1961.  Philadelphia has waited just as long 1975.  Both of these teams have had different routes to achieving their ultimate goal of hoisting the greatest trophy in professional sports.

The Underdog

The Philadelphia Flyers were the last team to clinch a playoff spot.  Of all the ways to get in they had to beat a rival, New York Rangers, in a shootout in Game number 82.  Riding that momentum, they blew threw the number 2 seeded New Jersey Devils in 5 games.  Another rival, the Boston Bruins, had a 3-0 series lead on the Flyers.  Only 3 other times had a NHL team come from behind down 3-0 to win the series.  Philadelphia made themselves the fourth.  The Montreal Canadiens had a great run too.  They knocked out the Washington Capitals and defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins before meeting up with the Flyers.  Philadelphia didn’t let up by finishing the Canadiens quickly in 5 games. 

The Flyers have talent.  They have grit.  They have the hot goaltender.  Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter provide enough offense for a team that really doesn’t rely a whole lot on it.  Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Scott Hartnell are reminding those fans who were witnesses to the Bobby Clarke, Andre Dupont and Dave Schultz days of the 1970s.  Michael Leighton after filling in for the veteran Brian Boucher against Boston has been nothing short of spectacular.  Was not on the roster at the beginning of the season, but he sure will be going into next year whether the Flyers win or not.

The Favorite

The Chicago Blackhawks have been near the top of every ones list to win the Stanley Cup.  Their road to the Cup hasn’t been as rocky as Philadelphia’s, but it has been an impressive run.  Chicago was given a bit of a scare when Nashville took them to 6 games, but Chicago finally got on track against Vancouver when the Canucks were considered to be title contenders as well.  The Blackhawks finally showed how great they can be against the number 1 seeded San Jose Sharks by sweeping them in 4 games in the Western Conference Finals.

Chicago is one of the best scoring teams in the NHL.  Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg are a hard bunch to slow down.  Dustin Byfuglien, Tomas Kopecky and John Madden provide the toughness that most teams in their stature don’t have.  Just look at the Washington Capitals and what happened to them.  Chicago has built itself a great offensive unit, but they do need defense and it’s provided with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell.  Goalie Antti Niemi was considered a liability going into the playoffs, but has turned into a strength getting Chicago to this point.

All in all you have to like the fact that there is one team that is the true underdog and one that is the clear favorite.  Both have great history and both haven’t won in a long time.  My original pick in the Stanley Cup was Chicago vs. Pittsburgh.  I now have only Chicago to pick and I’m sticking with that pick.  However, Philadelphia would be a great championship team that has a great story with it.  You can’t go wrong with either one.