from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

Oh, there are pretenders and challengers to the throne, and strategists and theorists forever concocting plans about how to get to that coveted spot at hockey's Olympus.

And then there are the Chicago Blackhawks.

And they stand alone.

With all due respect to the Los Angeles Kings, winners of two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014 but who didn't even qualify for the playoffs this spring, and with all due respect to the rest of the crowd that nips at their skates, the Blackhawks continue to prove they are the standard-bearers not just for greatness, but for sustained greatness.

You can call it this era's version of a dynasty, but year in and year out, they are a team that is to be reckoned with. But it is now enough to simply say "the Blackhawks," and people will understand the message.

The Anaheim Ducks, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, thought they had a plan to surpass the Blackhawks by punishing them physically and relying on their big, skilled, speedy lineup to seize this Western Conference finals.

And while it worked at times in what was a rollicking good series, it didn't work when it mattered most in Game 7 as the Blackhawks whipped Anaheim 5-3 to advance to their second Stanley Cup finals in three years.

continued

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