NHL Playoffs: In Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, Dietel picks the strongest D to win – Blues vs. Bruins

Blues at Bruins
Pick: Blues (+150)

So, we were obviously a little off with our projections for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, but we are sticking to our guns and going with the Blues again. All things considered; these two teams are pretty evenly matched throughout their lineups.

The Bruins may have the slight edge when it comes to forwards but the Blues are no slouches in that category with the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, ‘Big Rig’ Patrick Maroon (former NJD who I personally hope gets to lift the Cup this season), Ryan O’Reilly who has been an absolute beast for the Blues this season, Jaden Schwartz, and well, you get the point. Goaltending is a wash as Bruins G Tukka Rask is having a career playoff performance and Blues G Jordan Binnington has taken the league by storm. We also believe that their coaching staff is neck and neck as well. Where the Blues stand out is on the blue line. We love their defense. Alex Pietrangelo is a workhorse on the backend. He, Carl Gunnarsson, Joel Edmundson, Colton Parayko (our personal favorite) and Jay Bouwmeester complete a stacked group of D men who can dish the puck as well as eat minutes. Not to say the Bruins are lacking on defense, but on paper, the Blues outshine them by a decent margin. We think this series will go at least 6 games, so the Blues are going to have to win sometime and there’s no better time than the present for that.