3rd Lines
In my opinion, the difference between the 3rd lines of these two teams is one of the biggest differences, and a large advantage for Chicago.
Defense
Both of these 3rd lines are very strong defensively, with an all-time elite center (Bergeron/Carbonneau). Pavelich is the next best defensively among the remaining 4, but I would also say that Lanny McDonald is the least effective defensive player on either line, although he does have a defensive and corner game, so he is not out of place. I'm guessing most are very familiar with the centers and probably mostly familiar with Pavelich. I've already provided evidence of Bun Cook's defensive game in the Lafleur post above, so here is some support for
Punch Broadbent from his bio
here:
"In addition to goal-scoring skills and toughness,
Broadbent possessed superior backchecking. This last quality
helped the Senators play smothering defensive hockey when protecting a lead."
"He was a great scorer" recalled Baz, "but
he was also the best of backcheckers. He went all the way to the net. And interestingly enough, he never strayed more than a few feet off those boards, and
woe to the player who tried to slip inside him. He had the greatest pair of elbows in hockey."
Overall these two 3rd lines are close to even defensively
Offense
Ottawa's 3rd line is very strong defensively, but has basically zero offensive threat with Lanny McDonald being the only player that is effective offensively at the ATD level, but he's certainly not good enough to generate offense on his own.
Starting off by looking at ES Vs.X
here for the players who qualify (Bergeron, McDonald, and Carbonneau) for which the data goes back to 1960:
Patrice Bergeron has a score of 49
McDonald has a score of 48.
Carbonneau does not make the list as it only goes as low as players with a score of 41.
The calculations were only made through the 2017 season, so it's likely Bergeron's current score is slightly higher from his post 2017 seasons (apologies I just don't have time to calculate this right now).
Also, while we know Bergeron has been a top 6 player, he got a lot of defensive zone starts throughout his career more akin to a checking line center.
Looking at the players who do not qualify for ES Vs.X (Bun Cook, Broadbent, and Pavelich):
Pavelich was primarily a checker who was not expected to provide offense.
Bun Cook and Punch Broadbent were both offensive contributors on famous two-way scoring lines, with Broadbent even leading the NHL in both goals and points in 1921-22 (although this was basically a one-off season, mainly he was just a solid offensive contributor).
Bun Cook's bio linked
here has some descriptions of how important he was to the offense of the Bread Line:
"Historians often tried to compare the Bread Line's intricate passing offense to that of the Soviets several decades later.
And none other than Frank Selke acknowledged Bun Cook as the key their attack."
"While Bill was known as the goal scorer and Boucher the playmaker, Bun was known as a bit of both. Many claim it was Bun who innovated the drop pass in the offensive zone. Some even suggest it was Cook who invented the slap shot."
"The Cook brothers, along with centre Frank Boucher, formed the NHL’s highest scoring line for about a decade, helping the Rangers win Stanley Cups in 1928 and 1933.
Bun was the defensive specialist on the line but he could also score."
"
His brother Bun was the key to the attack with intricate passing and the ability to move and pass into an open space. He also was no stranger to mucking it up in the corners. Boucher was perhaps the best of the three players, orchestrating the attack with brilliant playmaking skills which often resulted in one of the Cooks pushing the puck into the open net."
Finally, using the very rough method to estimate ES Vs.X, which is to take 70% of the regular Vs,X score, Bun Cook would receive a score of 53.4 (although that's likely a slight overestimate when factoring in linemates).
Chicago's 3rd Line is a much bigger offensive threat than Ottawa's
Physicality
The only player on Ottawa's 3rd line who has a physical game is Lanny McDonald, who is generally described as a tough player who was strong in the corners, would go to dirty areas, etc.
You get similar descriptions of Bun Cook, please see point 4 at the end of
@ImporterExporter's bio (linked ion this post above) which gives a nice summary of his physical game.
Punch Broadbent, however, is a legit power forward who was not only very physical, but also a more than willing fighter. Support from his
bio here:
"Many considered Broadbent to be one of the first true power forwards of the game."
"
one of the best fighters in his era in the NHL"
"
He had the greatest pair of elbows in hockey."
"A multidimensional star, Harry "Punch" Broadbent was as talented as he was tough. He was
an artist with the puck, at times scoring at will, but he also gained a notorious reputation for
using his elbows to make a point."
Chicago's 3rd Line is much more physical than Ottawa's
CONCLUSION
Ottawa's 3rd line has plenty of defensive shutdown ability, but is not a threat offensively or physically. Their best offensive player is also their best corner/puck retrieval guy. Considering this, it seems to me that they will be more of a line that checks their opponents closely, but does not make them pay physically or on the score board.
In my opinion Chicago's 3rd line is much more of an overall threat to opponents. They are not only strong defensively, but each player on the line has enough of an offensive game that they can generate offense by committee after creating turnovers.
Speaking of which, they are set up perfectly for generating turnovers, with Bergeron patrolling the center of the ice and both Bun Cook and Punch Broadbent as viable forecheck/corner options.
Further, Chicago's 3rd line will take a physical toll on their opponents. This is especially important to note in this series as Ottawa expects to generate offense from their Dmen. How effective will those Dmen be after getting physically pounded in a long series (Bill Cook, Mark Stone, and to a lesser extent Henrik Zetterberg are also adding to this on other lines)?
