However the Heart says the Philadelphia Flyers will win. They were the ones who just scratched their way into the playoffs on the final day of regular season with a shootout against the Rangers. They were the ones 0-3 down against the Bruins. They were the team that nobody took notice of until just now.
So what does the Gut say? Couple of clues:
- Marian Hossa is going to the Finals for the third straight year. The past two years he has been on the losing side. He just might be the true Stanley Cup jinx. If Chicago loses this year, I don't see him finding a club to play for next year.
- Michael Leighton replaced Flyers' goalie Brian Boucher after the latter's injury in the second round of the playoffs. Since then, Leighton has been on fire, and was a big factor in Philly reaching the Finals. End of last year Leighton was out of a job. Now he is at the heart of the turnaround story of the season.
- Chicago hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1961, now the longest title drought in the NHL. Like the Cubbies in baseball, trying to win a title after such a long time takes so much pressure. In fact by now both the Blackhawks and the Cubs retain a big part of their identity because of their droughts... they may not even want to win it all...
So Philadelphia wins the Stanley Cup me gut feels.
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