Stanley Cup Predictions

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially set to start on Wednesday May 30th between the 8th seeded Los Angeles Kings and the 6th seeded New Jersey Devils, not a final that to many would have expected to see. Personally I don't see it as that big of a surprise. You have the New Jersey Devils which have been one of the more successful teams in the last decade or so and have made it to the finals several times, and the Los Angeles Kings which have an all around solid roster with a star goaltender in Jonathan Quick. As much as I would like to see New Jersey beat Los Angeles because of the large amount of bandwagoners support the team, I can't deny that the Kings have been one of the most dominating teams to make there way to the Stanley cup finals in years. After already upsetting the 1 2 and 3 seeded teams in the west and at that only losing 2 out of 14 games the kings seem pretty unstoppable with their roster full of star players, but if there's anything I've learnt from the playoffs this year, it's not to under estimate a team like New Jersey. Every time I've predicted against them New Jersey has not only proved me wrong but been able to put up a dominating performance against the other team, and they themselves also have a few star players on there roster in Kovalchuck and Parise. Another factor to take into account in the Stanley cup is experience, without experience it can be difficult for players to stay calm and remain poised, and when it comes to Stanley Cup experience there aren't very many players that have more than New Jersey's netminder Martin Brodeur. I have a feeling that this could be one of those series dictated by the team to win the first game, if LA can win they will have the comfort of knowing they'll be able to continue their dominating playoff run, but if New Jersey wins it could send panic through out the LA lockeroom letting New Jerseys more experienced team take control of the series. My final prediction though is LA in 5 games, as much as I want to see New Jersey win I think LA are just on a roll that can't be stopped this year and could pose a threat for the cup for many years to come.