Season 20 Stanley Cup Finals
We have arrived at the end VG faithful. In November we all started our grind to hopefully find ourselves in the finals, and these two squads have accomplished that goal. Buffalo, the powerhouse that has been a favourite to make an appearance in the finals since week one. Versus their far from favourite opponents in Dallas, whose Cinderella story rolls into the finals looking to shock the VG world and win the Stanley Cup. I’m going to take a deep look into the best these teams have to offer, and give my slightly unbiased opinion on who will be crowned the Stanley Cup champion in Season 20. Let’s get into it!
Buffalo Sabres vs Dallas Stars
Projected Game 7 Lineups:
Buffalo:
Mjvoell44 - Akonvict21 - Blades-I59I
Ransom613 - Polana_Punisher
Goalieman92
Dallas:
castroGstar - cpenn4204 - AndradeK94
RunLikeHell - Big_gren
Brazilian-Goalie
Game 7 Forward Comparison:
Team/Player | GP | G | A | PTS | P/G | +/- | HITS | FO% | Record |
Buffalo | |||||||||
Akonvict21 | 17 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 2.59 | 16 | 76 | 50.2% | 12-5-0 |
mjvoell44 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 2.65 | 14 | 77 | 12-5-0 | |
Blades-I59I | 15 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 2.73 | 16 | 33 | 11-4-0 | |
Dallas | |||||||||
cpenn4204 | 18 | 18 | 29 | 47 | 2.61 | 11 | 42 | 45.5% | 12-5-1 |
castroGstar | 18 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 1.50 | 6 | 55 | 12-5-1 | |
AndradeK94 | 19 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 2.47 | 3 | 24 | 12-6-1 |
Edge To: Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres have one of the deepest forward cores I’ve ever seen in VG, and they are going to push Dallas’ D to the limit. Their ability to score off the rush with slick cut plays, coupled with their heavy possession cycle game makes them a tough challenge for these Stars. Dallas will need their top 3 to find another level to keep up with this Buffalo trio.. And I’m not too optimistic for the Stars.
Game 7 Defense Comparison:
Team/Player | GP | G | A | PTS | P/G | +/- | HITS | PIMS | Record |
Buffalo | |||||||||
Ransom613 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 1.29 | 16 | 82 | 15:00 | 10-4-0 |
Polana_Punisher | 15 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 1.47 | 24 | 13 | 16:00 | 12-3-0 |
Dallas | |||||||||
RunLikeHell- | 17 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0.65 | 1 | 14 | 20:00 | 10-6-1 |
Big_gren | 15 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 1.53 | 13 | 33 | 4:00 | 11-3-1 |
Edge To: Buffalo
The Stars strong trap style has benefitted them this offseason, but they are running into a mobile D-core in Buffalo that can hurt you at both ends of the ice. The Sabres pairing of Ransom-Polana is excellent at moving the puck up ice, whether it be with a strong first pass or going for a skate themselves. The mobility of the Sabres D will create more even numbers on break-in attempts against the Dallas trap, and could give the Stars some trouble on deciding who to apply more pressure on. Dallas’ pairing of Run-Gren will need to be at their very best this series to mitigate the Sabres offence, but will also need to be more aggressive offensively to create havoc in the Sabres zone. I just really like how Buffalo has 5 players who can all break in effectively, and I believe it will be a major problem for Dallas.
Game 7 Goalie Comparison:
Team/Player | GP | W | L | OTL | G/A | GAA | S/A | SV% |
Buffalo | ||||||||
goalieman92 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1.70 | 60 | 0.800% |
Dallas | ||||||||
Brazilian-Goalie | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 2.86 | 241 | 0.797% |
Edge To: Dallas
If there is one category Dallas will win, it’s the goalie category. Braz has been out of his mind these playoffs, and despite a rocky series vs the Kings; he still holds some very solid numbers. Buffalo’s goalies don’t see too much action, but goalieman has thwarted away 80% of the chances he’s seen; making a strong argument to win this category for Buffalo. Braz has just been so consistent these playoffs, and will most definitely be hungry for better results after being beaten a little too often vs Los Angeles.
Team Stats Comparison:
Buffalo | Dallas | |
3.78 | GF/G | 3.26 |
2.50 | GA/G | 3.53 |
33.3% | PP% | 23.1% |
87.0% | PK% | 58.3% |
15.7 | SF/G | 15.1 |
10.1 | SA/G | 14.9 |
9:00 | A/TOA | 7:13 |
My Prediction: Buffalo in 5
The stats speak for themselves: Buffalo scores better, defends better, possesses better, kills penalties better.. They just do everything better. Dallas has their work cut out for them, but if any team can overcome adversity it’s these Stars. They’ve won 3 series against teams who were favourites to win, and will look to do the same in these finals. In the end however, I don’t think they have enough firepower to back-off the Sabres, who will hoist the Stanley Cup after Game 5.
I’d like to congratulate everybody on a successful VG Season, and extend extra props to these 2 teams battling it out in the finals. Also, thank you all for taking some time to read my previews during these playoffs, I’m looking forward to the many writeups in the coming seasons <3 Until next time, stay sweaty VG.
