Stanley Cup Finals Preview 2011

This year's Stanley Cup Finals has the potential to be a great series. Boston and Vancouver are two well-balanced teams backed by stellar goaltenders. Vancouver's Sedin twins define finesse and chemistry. Boston relies on its premier powerforwards to knock pucks in.

Boston was tied for second in fighting majors this past regular season with 71. Whether or not Shawn Thornton plays, their lineup will still be filled with players like Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Adam McQuaid and Gregory Campbell.

Vancouver, a top 10 FM team in 2009-10, dropped to 23rd this season with 29 FMs, after trading Darcy Hordichuk at the beginning of the year, and losing Rick Rypien for much of it. That didn't stop Tanner Glass or Kevin Bieksa from name-dropping the site (Glass, Bieksa) on Hockey Night in Canada, so we still have a soft spot for them on hockeyfights.com.

Glass' interview, done in-between the first and second period of the one game the two Finals teams played against each other this season, is on-target as he answers questions about Boston's toughness. The game was light on penalties, but filled with hard hits as the Canucks wanted to prove they could play a tough game. Vancouver led 1-0 in the first, but Boston tied it in the second and went ahead for good in the thid.

Our standard breakdown after the jump.