2011 NHL Play-offs Predictions: Chances of Tampa Bay Lightning Winning the Stanley Cup this Year
The Tampa Bay Lightning are up in the clouds as we speak while the others are still on the ground because there are no doubts in their playing abilities and that they are certainly the best performing team in the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) play-offs
right now.
Having seven consecutive wins under their belt in the play-offs is something they should be able to brag about. Coming back against the Pittsburgh Penguins after being on the verge of elimination after game four and winning three straight games to win the
series sparked the start of their unstoppable onslaught. They took down the top seed of the Eastern Conference with ease as they defeated the Washington Capitals in four games in a row and advanced into the next round. Being the fifth entry into the post-season,
Tampa Bay has been playing on monumental levels, as they beat the Boston Bruins in game one with ease, 5-2, in the TD Centre.
Placing bets on Tampa Bay in this series is surely to pay off later because they are showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. We expect them to play even better against Boston on Tuesday in game two of the Eastern Conference finals even if Patrice
Bergeron returns to the line-up or not.
Everything is based on logic and we will discuss why Tampa Bay is the best team in the post-season and has everything a team needs to win their second Stanley Cup in eight years, the last being in 2004 against the Calgary Flames.
Goalie Dwayne Roloson
Like Antti Niemi won the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks last year, his talent has taken the San Jose Sharks to a whole new level now. Same is the case when talking about the 41-year-old veteran goalie, Dwayne Roloson. With eight consecutive wins,
Roloson has all bragging rights. Not only that, he also has the highest save percentage (.924) and lowest goals against average (2.01) which are reasons why he is enough to take down the Bruins.
He might not have been as good as Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) or Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks) in the regulation season, but his current performance in the post-season is all that counts.
Tampa Bay’s Offensive Onslaught
The Lightning are an all-round team at the moment, with their supernatural abilities to score and have a divine goalie in the net, Tampa Bay is all set to win the Stanley Cup hands down. Their offensive attackers are so good, they could probably score and
perform in the same way with one of their hands tied behind their backs.
Steven Stamkos, the NHL’s leading scorer in the regular season, along with, Martin St. Louis, Sean Bergenheim and Vincent Lecavalier are three players that when combined together become an uncontrollable force. Great defence plus great offence is unmatchable
and is the key to winning games.
Coach Guy Boucher
Even though he is a rookie coach, Guy Boucher has proved his capability to control a veteran team and take them deep into the play-offs. His background in engineering and sports psychology has always been a plus point for him, be it in the NHL or the minor
leagues.
"All the movements that hockey players do—the torques that they do with shooting and their transfer of weight —basically, they are vectors," Boucher said. "It has really helped me segment and break down movements of players."
All things aside, Boucher has vision and a line-up of extremely talented players. Knowing how to control them and enable them to put forth everything has been the key to his winning in front of the veteran coaches.
Verdict
Tampa Bay has all the ingredients for success which were not bestowed on them, but they earned them. If they continue the style of play they are right now, seeing them in the Stanley Cup finals and even winning it will not be a surprise at all.
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