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An “Original” Stanley Cup Preview

Cruciverbalist, Blackhawks Fan Previews 2013 Stanley Cup Final

Brad Marchand (l.) and Brent Seabrook (c.) both own Game 7 overtime goals this playoff season, while Corey Crawford (r.) is a Conn Smythe Trophy favorite (Getty Images)

Greetings, hockey fans! Tyler Hinman here, fanatic of both puzzles and sports. My favorite of the latter category is hockey, as I was raised on the Hartford Whalers and later attended hockey-mad Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York. Until the Mighty Whale’s rightful and triumphant return to the NHL, I’m a Blackhawks fan, having lived in Chicago for a few years after graduation.

After suffering through mediocrity (and one canceled season) for the first 25 years of my NHL-watching life, I’m thrilled to see my favorite team in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four seasons. With the Wild, the Kings, and, most importantly, the Red Wings dispatched, the Boston Bruins are the only team standing between the ‘Hawks and another championship.

The pressure is certainly on the Western Conference champions to finish a high-flying season with the title. The league seemed ready to concede the Cup to Chicago after the team ran through their first 24 games, fully half of the abbreviated season’s schedule, without losing a game in regulation or overtime, dropping just three points via shootout losses. They coasted to the Presidents’ Trophy, and the supposed curse that comes with it (only once in the past nine seasons have the Presidents’ Trophy winners won the Stanley Cup in that same season). Anything short of a Cup win, especially after nosing past that team in Detroit that’s owned them for a half-century, would be a tremendous disappointment.

At times, though, the Blackhawks haven’t looked like the team with the NHL’s best record, most notably when they lost three of the first four games in their conference semifinals series with the aforementioned Red Wings. Since then, however, Chicago has won seven out of eight games.

Quick (r.) had another stellar playoffs (1.86 GAA), but was eclipsed by Crawford and his playoff-leading 1.74 GAA (AP Photo)

Patrick Kane appears to be catching fire after a quiet start to the playoffs and Bryan Bickell continues to be the most surprising success of the last few weeks, scoring a point in each game against the Kings (three goals, four assists in series). Corey Crawford has been solid in net, outplaying the much more ballyhooed Jonathan Quick of the Kings. The ‘Hawks could be cresting at the right time.

The Bruins can claim quite the hot streak of their own, however. They appeared to be dead and buried against Toronto before an incredible comeback that won’t soon be forgotten, no matter how hard Leafs fans try. Then, in an effort that was nothing short of jaw-dropping, they dispatched Eastern favorites Pittsburgh in four games, allowing a paltry two goals in the entire series and no points to Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. David Krejci has been a point machine with a playoff-high 21, goalie Tuukka Rask is making Boston forget all about Tim Thomas, and Zdeno Chara remains just about the last person you’d want to face in a dark alley. The Bruins appear to be a confident bunch and won’t be intimidated by the season-long Cup favorites from the Windy City.

So what will happen? I don’t know and neither do you. I’m usually a pessimistic fan rather than a homer; I had visions of being eliminated by the Kings after LA’s shocking late goal to tie Game 5, even though Chicago led the series 3-1. In the end, though, I just can’t see the Blackhawks letting their amazing season end in failure, especially after the wake-up call against the Wings, and having four games on home ice could be vital. It will be a long and bruising series in which I will cautiously take the Blackhawks in seven.

And if I’m wrong, well, at least we beat Detroit.

**Tyler Hinman is a five-time winner of the prestigious American Crossword Puzzle Tournament held in Brooklyn, New York, as well as the first person to win five consecutive titles at the ACPT (2005-09). He currently is a game developer at Lumosity, an online brain training and neuroscience research company based in San Francisco. You can read his blog here. More importantly, you can listen to the old theme song to the Hartford Whalers, the Hartford Whalers Brass Bonanza, here.

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