Stanley Cup Final: This isn’t the matchup we expected, but it is one we deserve

Full credit to those who correctly predicted the matchup in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

It would be interesting to know just how many people forecasted a Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens showdown in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final prior to the start of the regular season, mainly because I don’t think there are many of those people out there.

Sure, a lot of experts and fans felt that the Lightning could run it back again given that they had somehow kept the majority of their core together despite being in salary cap hell, while they have had the luxury of having a fully fresh Nikita Kucherov for the postseason after he missed the entire regular season with injury.

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But let’s not get into that today, shall we.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, aren’t meant to be here if you believed all of the offseason talk about main contenders for the Stanley Cup.

Yes, after going all out to significantly bolster and transform this roster, hopes were high that General Manager Marc Bergevin could finally put a winner on the ice, a team good enough to navigate the weak North Division.

And, early on, it looked that way as the Canadiens started the year 7-1-2, including going 4-0-2  on a road trip to open the season, with the new faces like forwards Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson, and gritty defenseman Joel Edmundson settling in nicely.

However, the wheels soon fell off and a lack of creativity, a lack of discipline and a real lack of a plan led to Bergevin pulling the trigger and firing Head Coach Claude Julien, with Dominique Ducharme taking over on an interim basis.

2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final matchup is a surprise, but the one we deserve

They say that a fresh voice can lead to big things and, while that wasn’t the case immediately as Montreal just about clinched the fourth and final Playoff spot in the North Division, Bergevin’s gamble has paid off in stunning fashion in the postseason.

Like a light switch being flicked on, the Canadiens have morphed into a gritty, well-oiled machine with a tough underbelly that is going to leave it all out on the ice every single shift in every single game, while their collection of young studs, including rookie sensation Cole Caufield, have really stepped up and delivered on the biggest stage so far.

It helps too that, despite being pedestrian at best throughout the regular season, Carey Price has been playing at an MVP level between the pipes for the Canadiens throughout the Playoffs so far, resembling the vintage Price that we have become accustomed to seeing deliver for his team when it matters most.

Price will be the home-run Conn Smythe Trophy winner should the Canadiens win their first Stanley Cup since 1993, and there is every chance that another goalie in the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy could also win it if he has a big series.

Then again, should Tampa become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2015-16 and then again in 2016-17, they have a lot to thank Brayden Point for with the forward creating history this postseason.

Point has been red hot for the Lightning, scoring in nine straight Playoff games and being the main offensive weapon for Tampa, who aren’t exactly short in that department.

It will be fascinating to see the likes of Point, Kucherov and Steven Stamkos try to do what plenty others have failed this postseason and solve the enigma that is Price, while the Canadiens have been getting contributions from up and down the lineup and that kind of depth could be the difference in this series.

Basically, there are a plethora of compelling storylines that will rise to the surface in the Stanley Cup Final, and this is a series that really could go the full seven games given how the two teams matchup against each other.

There is the experience factor, of course, with the Lightning having overcome a boatload of adversity to finally win it all last season and that knowhow will be a huge advantage, but nothing has slowed down the Canadiens yet and the togetherness in that locker room could carry them all the way.

All in all, few had this matchup when the NHL regular season started what feels like years ago now, and many wouldn’t have this in the category of the sexiest matchups but, all considered, this is exactly the Stanley Cup Final we all deserve after what has been the strangest of years, and it promises to go down as one of the absolute classics.