Lord Stanley's Cup

82 Regular season games
3 Best of seven series
2 Teams left standing
1 Lord Stanley Cup

After 6 brutal and pulsating games the Boston Bruins head back to Vancouver and face off against the Canucks in an all or nothing Game 7 for the ultimate prize.

Vancouver came into the playoffs with the best record in the NHL and taking home the Presidents' Trophy for the first time. However a quest to win the franchises first Stanley Cup has eluded the team since they joined the league in 1970 is the only piece of silverware they truly cherish.

With stars such as the Sedin twins, Ryan Kessler and Roberto Luongo between the pipes everything was leaning towards the Canucks prevailing over the upstart Boston Bruins.

Daniel Sedin was the league leader in points with 104 and his brother not far behind in 4th with 94 points. Ryan Kessler continued his ascension into the top players in the league and finished 5th in the league with 41 goals. Could they prove the doubters wrong by dominating when it matters..in the postseason.

The challenger has risen from a tight affair in the Eastern Conference with only 4 points separating the top 5 teams in the league standings after 82 games in the regular season.

Lead by captain Zdeno Chara the imposing 6'9, 255lbs defender epitomizes the Bruins game style being tough and uncompromising. Behind him in net is the leagues best goaltender Tim Thomas who finished the season with a remarkable 2.00GAA and .938 save %.

The best of seven series was all that was left between them and having there name inscribed onto the famous Cup.

After Game 1 and 2 in Vancouver you would be a brave man in thinking the Bruins would be able to fight back after two heart breaking losses on the road. The Canucks took the opener after scoring the games only goal with only 18.5 seconds left and even more crushing scoring the game winner in OT after only 11 seconds.

Some home cooking and the Boston faithful certainly flipped the series on its head. Game 3 reminded everyone of that Boston grit and determination that made it clear they were not just making up the numbers. It would also begin the mental roller coaster for Canuck goaltender Roberto Luongo with Boston winning 8-1 and 4-0 that would even the series at 2-2.

With the focus on Luongo and his fragile mental state after being benched in Game 4 it was not an ideal way to go into Game 5 back in Vancouver. The home ice advantage continued on with Luongo bringing his A game and helping the Canucks take a pivotal 3-2 lead in the series after winning the game 1-0.

The Bruins headed home for Game 6 holding out hope they could cross the border for one more time. In the space of 4 minutes and 14 seconds in the first period, Roberto Luongo was simply hoping he didn't get left behind by the team bus as he was benched again after the Bruins took a 4-0 lead. With the game essentially over the Bruins took at 5-2 victory and were looking forward to seeing Roberto back in Vancouver.

Game 7 is now upon us with the Vancouver Canucks one win away from lifting Lord Stanley's Cup, one win away from redemption for Luongo, one win away from the Sedin twins shaking the tag of front runners and being able to the job when it really matters.

For Boston the unthinkable, a series clinching victory on the road against the leagues most dominating team during the regular season. With that passion and determination that seems to be ingrained in all the Boston professional teams, lead by the warrior Chara I certainly expect the game to go down to the wire.

In a series of bad blood that was highlighted when Vancouver player Nathan Horton was levelled by a late hit in Game 3 that would end his season, it is only right that we arrive at this point.

The ingredients are available for the making of an instant ESPN Classic. Will the Sedin twins stand up when it matters, Will Tim Thomas keep his Bruins in the game until the very end and which Roberto Luongo will turn up for the Canucks.

The Boston Bruins will carry my support (and $$$$) on the road as underdog. The money has come for them as the Canucks opened at -170 but are now into -150 at the moneyline.

I am expecting a tight low scoring affair and as such taken the total game score under 5. I have also had some interest on the Bruins winning 2-1 and 3-1.

When it is all said and done only one thing will be for sure, nothing will be left on the ice.

Hope you enjoy the game.

@JohnAnthonyOZ

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