Lord Stanley is coming to town

Or, at least the right to claim Lord Stanley is up for grabs around these parts. For the first time since 1990, the Boston Bruins are in the Stanley Cup Finals. Being born in the fall of 1990, this is the first time ever I've witnessed the black and gold playing for the championship. Sure, I've seen 5 Super Bowl appearances (3 titles); 2 World Series appearances (2 titles) and 2 NBA Finals appearances (1 title). But it's about damn time the Bruins join that list.

With the Celtics surely on the decline, the Bruins have a chance to own Boston, especially in the winter, for the next several years. The nucleus of this team is not only locked up for the foreseeable future, but the majority of it hasn't even reached age 25. Timmy and Big Z aside, obviously, but Chara is signed for 6 more seasons after this one.

So with that being said, there's no real sense of urgency for the club to win this particular season. It's not as though they're a team full of 30-somethings playing for one last hurrah. The campaign has already been a success, regardless of what happens over these next two weeks. But you know what? There's no chance in hell the Bruins are complacent with merely reaching the Stanley Cup. Once you've come this far, there ain't no turning back. So while they'll be contenders for the next several years, there's absolutely no reason this can't be their year, too.

Can it be their year? The Vancouver Canucks are undoubtedly the toughest challenge they've faced yet. They're like the Lightning on steroids, with the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler playing the parts of Stamkos, St. Louis, and Lecavalier. Another big difference comes between the pipes. With all due respect to Dwayne Roloson, he's no Bobby Luongo. Although Luongo has been sketchy at times throughout his post-season career, he's sporting a 2.18 GAA and a .932 SV% since he nearly contributed to the Nucks blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Blackhawks in Round 1. Formidable numbers, to say the least.

The Canucks power play unit is something else to watch out for. Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler have combined for 9 PP goals already this post-season, and the Canucks entire unit is 17 for 60 on the power play, 28.3%, tops of any team in the playoffs that played beyond the quarters. Forget Seal Team 6, the 5 guys on this unit coulda taken out bin Laden. Meanwhile, the B's unit continues to limp through the post-season. If declining penalties were an option in hockey like it were in the NFL, it'd be about time for the Bruins to go in that direction.

From a depth standpoint, the Canucks are a lot more top-heavy than the Bruins. Over the course of the regular season, I'd definitely prefer the twins and Kesler to anyone on Boston's side. But in the playoffs? It's a whole different animal. While the Canucks can ride with the B's for two lines, the Bruins third and fourth give them a decisive advantage pertaining to depth. The Canucks fourth line is a liability for them; the Bruins fourth line can can generate offense when necessary.

Back on defense, the Canucks have a solid unit but no one who compares to the Bruins top defender in Chara. And since Chara makes everyone he skates with better, I'll take the B's on this one.

And lastly, between the pipes, I've already talked about Bobby Luongo. From a shear talent standpoint, he might be the best goalie alive. But when the going gets tough, he's been known to crumble time and time again. And why pick against the hottest goaltender in hockey since October?

It's not gonna be easy, it's not gonna be pretty, and Tim Thomas is going to need to steal at least a game or two for the B's to come out on top. But I like the odds of that happening. Give me the Bruins in 7.