Taking a quick preview of the upcoming Stanley Cup final

The final matchup of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs is between the Colorado Avalanche from the central division, and the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Atlantic division. One of these teams will raise the Stanley Cup and claim themselves as the years best team. Will it be the Avalanche who consistently show promise but haven’t won a cup in over two decades? Or will it be the Lightning who can make this the third year in a row of being the Staley Cup champions?

It is not a surprise seeing these two teams in the finals because both were contenders to win the cup when the season started. The Colorado Avalanche finished the regular season with an amazing 56-19-7 record (119 points), being one of the most dominant teams at home. The Tampa Bay Lightning finished the regular season with a slightly worse record, that being 51-23-8 (110 points). The Avalanche have made their playoff run look easy so far, as they have gone 12-2 in their 14 games played so far. The Lightning are similar, but have struggled a little bit more, going 12-5 in their 17 games played. As expected, the Avalanche are a number one seed in this year’s playoffs, however the Lightning are a surprising number three seed because of how close and competitive the Atlantic division was this year. Both teams are stacked with productive players that will no doubt put on a great show.

The numbers seem to lead to the Colorado Avalanche being the favorite, however it is difficult to say because of the Tampa Bay Lightnings recent reputation of winning the Stanley Cup the last two years in a row. This will for sure be an exciting and close series, but only one team will hoist the cup in the end.

https://www.nhl.com/standings/2021/division

https://www.sbnation.com/2022/6/13/23165849/avalanche-lightning-stanley-cup-finals-schedule-preview-predictions