Hockey analytics pioneer Rob Vollman is ESPN Insider's armchair GM this season, exploring how modern statistics can inform front-office decisions.
Over the previous five Stanley Cup finals, 11 games were decided in overtime, including the deciding game in both 2010 and 2014. With three one-goal games so far these finals, it could all come down to which team can deliver a sudden-death knockout blow. Which players are most likely to get the job done: the big-name snipers or the checking line?
So far this year, the only Blackhawk forwards to score overtime winners are Antoine Vermette and Marcus Kruger. But Chicago does have Patrick Kane, who is tied for the league lead in career postseason overtime goals among active players, and Brent Seabrook, who is tied for that lead among defensemen, thanks to a triple-overtime winner over Nashville in the opening round.
As for the Lightning, they are best known for their snipers, like Nikita Kucherov, the only player with two overtime goals so far this postseason; Tyler Johnson, who recorded his first in the opening round against Detroit; and Steven Stamkos, who is overdue to prove himself with one of his own. Will they be upstaged by someone like Valtteri Filppula or Ryan Callahan?