NHL Finals Preview: Dietel looks into Blues v Bruins

Blues (+145) vs. Bruins (-165)
Pick: Bruins

This is the Blues’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in nearly half a century. They were dead-last in the NHL in early January but they rallied under a new coach, persevered and had an incredible playoff run against some amazing teams. They are battle-tested and ready for war. They should give the Bruins a run for their money . . . but it might not be enough.

The Bruins are a well-oiled machine. Their top line has been on fire. They’ve had some injuries but the long layoff after their Conference Finals should have helped address some of those issues. They’ve got incredible center depth and can play a fast-skill game or a slow-down game, it doesn’t really matter to them. F Brad Marchand (who has appeared to shaken off an injury to his left hand) will probably make headlines with some of his antics as well, so it should be an entertaining series.

At the end of the day we have to side with Boston here. It’ll be close, it may even go to six games, but the Bruins have this one.