After watching the entire playoffs and seeing some major surprises, I'm not sure what to expect from a Blackhawks/Flyers finals. I mean, sure...you could go by "transient properties" and figure that the #2 beat the #1 in the west...and the 7th seed beat the 8th...who did knock off the defending champs...while the #7 did beat the top seed in the east...
...and all of it really means nothing until both teams actually take the ice. No one gave Philly a shot at beating the Devils...but, ok they did. But...there's NO WAY they get past the Bruins, especially after being down 3-0 in the series. Ok, they pulled THAT miracle off....BUT...Montreal took care of a strong defending team in the Penguins...so they are GOING to shoot down the upstart Flyers. Right?
Logically, the Blackhawks should prove to be too much for a Flyers team running on emotion. But, it's been more than just emotion and drive...Philly's been playing like the team most people thought they would be in the pre-season. Nobody gave the Giants a chance against an undefeated Patriots team in the Super Bowl of '07....but....
Sports are full of upsets, miracle comebacks and cinderella stories, it's why the games are actually played, rather than just having trophies given out to the top seeds. While my head would say Blackhawks, I gotta go with my gut here, stats be damned, and say Philly in a close Game 7.
Let the games begin! 🙂