Make your argument: The Stanley Cup winner, the best storylines, and more

Before the Stanley Cup Playoffs started, theScore's Justin Cuthbert, Ian McLaren and I got together and made some predictions, and gosh darn it, we did pretty damn well.

In the big picture, we all picked the Chicago Blackhawks to make the Cup Final, while the ever-clairvoyant Justin Cuthbert came through with both picks correct.

With the Cup Final about to kick off, we thought it'd be fun to reassess with what we've learned over the past six weeks of NHL playoff hockey.

So, let's start with the obvious ...

Who wins the Cup?

Justin Bourne

Chicago does.

Tampa is a young, offensive force that dusted Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist - two of Earth's best goaltending humans. They can score, there's no doubt.

But the Blackhawks have the experience in both core and coaching, and have proven they can shut opponents down when it matters most. They simply understand how to clamp down, and they've got the physical talent to match that mental edge.

The New York Islanders won the President's Trophy and lost in the playoffs the season before they won their first Cup. The Edmonton Oilers got swept in the Cup Final before sweeping their own the following year. Until a team has been there and dealt with the fatigue, the pressure, and everything else that comes with a Stanley Cup Final, it can be tough to understand.

As things stand, this is a Chicago team that gets it all. Tampa will likely get there, but I'm not convinced they will yet.

Justin Cuthbert

The Lightning overcame their prototype, poked holes in the impenetrable Carey Price, and took down the previously unbeaten New York Rangers in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

So why can't they topple the dynastic Blackhawks?

To be honest, there is no mind-bending data or unique angle to offer here. The mighty Blackhawks are favorites for good reason and maybe the Lightning do have to learn to be the best by losing to the best. But I picked Tampa at the start of this season and again at the start of these playoffs. So, to quote Jon Cooper, looking back now would be asinine.

Ian McLaren

Tampa Bay wins.

If the Chicago Blackhawks are The Rock of the NHL, with multiple titles to their name, then the Tampa Bay Lightning are Brock Lesnar, once rightfully referred to as "The Next Big Thing." And, like Lesnar, this upstart squad is on the verge of rising to the very top sooner than expected.

Why will they win the 2015 Stanley Cup? A few reasons. For one, their best player isn’t their first- or second-leading scorer, as Steven Stamkos trails both Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov in goals scored and total points in the playoffs. The emergence of the latter two and linemate Ondrej Palat, as well as Alex Killorn, takes the pressure off Stamkos, opening the ice for a talented forward group set to go up against a battered Blackhawks blue line.

The Lightning defense – spearheaded by Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, two of the best at the position all season long – is allowing fewer goals and shots per game than their counterparts, and, as an added bonus, are fully healthy.

And finally, Ben Bishop’s playoff numbers more closely resemble those posted during 2013-14 – after which he was named a Vezina finalist – than his below career average mark from this past regular season, and he’s fresh off getting the better of both Price and Lundqvist.

I'll be wrong IF...

Bourne

If the Blackhawks top four D are just too tuckered to chase Kucherov, Johnson, Stamkos, Palat, and the rest around the ice. I said earlier that Chicago has the physical talent to match their mental edge, and they do. We've seen it endless times; the game breakers are on that roster.

But if the game-breakers have been broken by games, then Tampa could break some games wide open. And with the Lightning's quality D corps, that could simply break Chicago.

Cuthbert

If the Lightning are intimidated.

The Blackhawks have built themselves into this near-fantastical force of nature in the hockey world. On reputation alone, they can zap opponent's strengths before meeting at center ice. The Anaheim Ducks in Game 7, for example.

But the Lightning just have this air of confidence. Young, cocksure, a little naive, and unbothered by the moment, they have risen to each challenge and slayed every dragon.

If they fold here, I'll be wrong, but I think they will look across, see much of themselves, and be motivated to become that champion.

McLaren

The Lightning will lose this series if, well, the Blackhawks are able to do what they’ve already done twice in the past four years.

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, et al. have climbed this mountain before, and veteran savvy could very well trump youthful exuberance over the course of a four- to seven-game series.

And really, there would be no shame in losing to the only team worthy of any kind of dynasty conversation in the salary cap era.

What's your favorite storyline heading into the series?

Bourne

I like Steven Stamkos's pursuit of something big actually playing out for him a year removed from snapping his leg in an Olympic year when he started with 25 goals in 37 games.

But mostly, I'm excited to see what I mentioned earlier: Can Chicago's Top 4 survive the minutes they've been playing, where the final games are up against a group of speedsters. My vote is that Duncan Keith's stride is so efficient it enables him to avoid wearing out like other players, and he's a killer for another series. But, hey, we'll see. That's why it's a storyline.

Cuthbert

It's the superstars.

The NBA has LeBron James versus Stephen Curry, and now the NHL has perhaps the very best collection of stars and future superstars vying for the prize since the 1980's dynasties.

To that, it's the skaters completely overshadowing the netminders on both sides. Bishop and Corey Crawford have had their moments, but neither – at this point in their careers – seem capable of carrying a team to a championship.

There will be goals. There will be twists. This will be club hockey at its very best.

McLaren

While many (including myself) believe Jonathan Drouin would have been a better lineup option throughout this run, it’s hard not to root for Brenden Morrow in his quest to join the illustrious 'Triple Gold Club.'

The 36-year-old came oh-so-close to lifting the Cup with the Dallas Stars as a rookie in 2000 and hasn’t come within a sniff of the Final since watching the New Jersey Devils win it all.

Morrow has been used sparingly in the playoffs by Jon Cooper, and has yet to record a point. Still, he brings valuable experience to the table as a Gold medal winner at both the Olympics (2010) and World Championship (2004).

With a win, Morrow would become the 27th member of the club, possibly capping his career with hockey’s biggest team prize.