Stanley Cup Final: 5 things you need to know about Blackhawks vs. Lightning
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena.
The Blackhawks and Lightning both earned Game 7 victories in their respective Conference Final series to clinch berths in the championship round.
Here are five things you need to know about the 2015 Stanley Cup Final matchup:
Experience vs. youth
The Blackhawks are making their third Cup Final appearance in the last six seasons, while the Lightning are back in the series for the first time in 11 years.
The Lightning are the fourth-youngest team in the NHL, with an average age of 26.38. Only the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Buffalo Sabres have younger rosters.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper believes that's an advantage for his club.
"Maybe we're young, dumb and don't know any better," he told reporters after the Lightning defeated the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Home sweet home
The Blackhawks held home-ice advantage during their Cup victories in 2010 and 2013, but the Lightning have it this time by virtue of finishing six points better than Chicago in the regular season.
Chicago has seven wins on home ice in the postseason, a total matched only by the vanquished Anaheim Ducks.
Tampa Bay has seven playoffs wins on the road, the most by any team. Three of those came against the Rangers in New York and two came at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Bishop's road to success
That success away from Amalie Arena in the playoffs is due in large part to goaltender Ben Bishop, who has been far more effective on the road than at home.
Bishop has a 1.45 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in 10 postseason road contests. In 10 home games, the netminder's numbers balloon to 2.93 and .888.
Kane and Toews vs. The Triplets
There's no shortage of offensive firepower in this series. Lightning forward Tyler Johnson leads all skaters with 12 goals and 21 points in 20 playoff games. Linemates Nikita Kucherov (19 points) and Ondrej Palat (15) aren't far behind.
Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are tied for second and third in playoff goals with 10 and nine, respectively. Kane has 20 points in 17 postseason contests, and Toews added to his total with a pair of markers in Chicago's Game 7 victory over the Ducks.
Duncan Keith is a machine
The Blackhawks defenseman ranked seventh in the league in time-on-ice at 25:33 per game in the regular-season, and he is ramping it up in the playoffs.
Keith is logging 31:35 per contest in the postseason, the highest average among skaters with more than six playoff games played.
He is also contributing offensively, with two goals and 16 assists in 17 contests.
Keith will certainly garner Conn Smythe Trophy consideration if he can continue to play a pivotal role in Chicago's success.