Stanley Cup Finals 2015: Some "Other" Players To Watch

So it's down to the final twosome in the quest for Lord Stanley's Mug. The Tampa Bay Lighting have beaten three straight original six teams, and now face a fourth. The Chicago Blackhawks. For the record, no team in NHL history has ever beaten four Original Six teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tampa will have to do that if they want to win. This is also the first time since 1964 that both teams won the semi-finals on the road.

So who to keep an eye out for in the finals. Well, we all know about Stamkos, Toews, Kutcherov and Kane. But how about some of the others?

Zack Johnson is a small guy, who gets better every year. And this year, he's been doing it from the get-go of the regular season and continuing it through the first three playoff rounds. Small in stature, 5'9, but quick on the ice, he's in only his third year in the league, yet is leading the playoffs in scoring with 21 points. Look for that to continue in the finals.

Another player impressing me for Tampa Bay in the playoffs has been Nikita Kucherov. Although only 5'11 himself, and also in his sophomore season in the NHL, he had 65 points from the right wing position in the regular season, and 19 more so far in the playoffs. He also lead the NHL in +/- in the regular season, as that probably comes as a surprise to many. Nikita finished at +35. He's a +7 so far in the postseason.

But put all those players and some more aside, and it's gotta be Ben Bishop that stands out. Actually, he stands 6'7 in net. A player that Johnson and Kucherov look up to in more ways then one. Funny, coming into this postseason, he'd never actually played a single NHL playoff game. And now, it's as if he's been there a while. Big Ben has the poise, confidence, and even skills of a veteran of many-a-playoff game. At least that's what it looks like on television. He leads the playoffs in wins (And sadly, losses, too), shutouts and games played. All of this experience will benefit him and the Lightning down the road.

Meanwhile, Chicago has got some faces at work in this postseason. Jonathan Toews is actually second on the team in scoring with 18 points in 17 games. But it's Patrick Kane with the team lead with 20 points. But here's where someone else is having the postseason of his life. Duncan Keith, the defenseman, is 31 years old and averaging better then a point-a-game this postseason! He's been in Chicago since way back in 2005/06, along with Brent Seabrook and Patrick Sharp. Back in the dark days of the Hawks.

Due in part to some injuries, Sharp had a bit of an offseason this year in terms of point production. But in the playoffs, he's back to his usual self with 12 points in 17 games. Look for him, Marian Hossa (Playing in his fifth(!) Stanley Cup Finals in the last eight years), and Sharp to provide the experience necessary in the finals. He's also gotten six points in his last eight games and provided some clutch scoring in recent do-or-die games.

How about Chicago goaltending?

For now, smooth sailing. It did, however, seem like Corey Crawford was overmatched and overwhelmed against Nashville and Anaheim. Against the Predators, he was swept under the rug in favour of  Scott Darling, who played well. However, when Darling faltered in game six, Crawford came in and got the win in relief. The job has been his ever since.

Even so, it's Bishop with the better SV%, .920 to Crawford's .919. Not much of a difference. But I've seen Bishop make so many unreal saves, it's hard to look past him. Especially with his height. This finals has the potential of being a great goalie duel!

I look forward to it!


References

http://www.nhl.com

http://www.hockey-reference.com/

http://www.hockeydb.com/

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/how-marian-hossa-is-an-ageless-wonder-for-chicago-blackhawks--trending-topics-132740319.html

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/02/sharp-deflects-dynasty-talk-but-acknowledges-hawks-group-is-something-special/

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/star-spotlight-corey-crawford-vs-ben-bishop/

Bishop And Andersen: Making A Big Splash In Uncharted Waters

So, as the Stanley Cup dwindles down to the "Final Four", there are two goalies that were there (or further) from last season, and two more keepers who haven't been there at all. Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop and Anaheim's Fredrik Andersen.

Andersen, from Denmark, is playing in his second NHL season, and his second NHL playoffs. He's gotten much experience from the past two seasons, though. He (And Jonas Hiller) helped Anaheim get to the second round in 2014 before eventually he got hurt and Los Angeles prevailed in seven games. John Gibson took over in net for him after the injury and performed admirably. This season, Gibson played 23 games and went 13-8-0 while Andersen went 35-12-5. Both posted a S% of .914, but the job is clearly Andersen's. And the way he's playing the playoffs so far, it's his to lose.

All he's done is help the Ducks get by Winnipeg in four, then beat Calgary, needing just one more game to do that. A win in game one of the Conference finals vs. Chicago and his playoff record is 9-1 (He was 3-2 last season). The Ducks needed three goalies last year to get to game seven of the second round, but Andersen beat Jonas Hiller and the Flames this year, which must have added an exclamation mark to his status as the go-to goalie. He's also taken great strides in his game. His S% of .930 is sixth best right now.

Tampa Bay finished a strong third in the Eastern Conference, behind Montreal and New York. The looked like they were going to be out early against Detroit in the first round. They kept falling behind. However, they also kept coming back. The Red Wings took game one right there in Tampa. After losing game two, Detroit took game three then led by two goals in a pivotal game four. Tampa came back to win, only to drop game five, which was also pivotal. Now down 3-2, they needed to pull it off in Detroit to send it to seven.

Ben Bishop. Tall. Talented. Imposing. But never having won a playoff series...

Game six in enemy territory was a do-or-die affair, not only for the Lightning, but also for Bishop. He needed this game and would need to be great in game seven. Tampa took a 3-0 lead late into the second period. But they nearly lost it. Detroit scored late in that period and very early in the third. While Tampa scored twice more, this thing was in doubt until the very end, trust me. Bishop turned in a 31-save performance in a game seven shutout. With that, he had won his first ever playoff series. But this series was also his very first postseason experience at NHL level. Not a bad way to win it, eh?

Against Montreal, there were doubters. The Canadians had swept Tampa last season (But Bishop had missed all four games due to injury). The Lightning had swept the season series, but Montreal had Carey Price, who's probably going to be MVP.

Bishop matched him save for save in game one in Montreal. The Lighting took it, 2-1 in overtime. A 6-2 win by Tampa in game two gave Bishop even more confidence. Game three in Tampa went the way of the home team on a last-second goal by Zack Johnson. Montreal was not done and took the next two games, before bowing out 4-1 in game six. Anderson had been brillant all series long sans game five.

New York is obviously a big challenge for Bishop. They finished in first place overall. And to prove that, they handed Bishop and Tampa 2-1 in game one of the Conference Finals. But no one is saying this thing is over. Not with Bishop playing so well.

Bishop has been intimidating shooters, staring them down and daring them to try to hit the corner of the net. Any of the four corners. Against Montreal, they hit the post what seems like a hundred times. Big Ben is a tough goalie to score against. And for good reason: At 6'7, he's the tallest goalie in NHL history!

And right now, he's on the cusp of greatness.


References

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 17 May 2015. <https://www.nhl.com>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 17 May 2015