Leading up to Saturday's Game 1, Puck Daddy's Sean Leahy and Greg Wyshynski are previewing every facet of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks — on the ice and off the ice.

The forwards on the Flyers and Blackhawks are so energetic, so tenacious, so gritty and so entertaining that you almost wish there were no defensemen involved: Just have these 24 guys fight it out every game, like a Stanley Cup Finals version of Nintendo Ice Hockey. (The Chicago No. 1, for the record: Skinny, Medium, Fat.)

Both teams have strong top lines, great offensive energy lines and solid depth. They have defensively responsible forwards that can also grind it out in the offensive zone. And the Mike Richards(notes)/Jonathan Toews captain vs. captain battle is already getting press.

Who has the better group of forwards: Chicago or Philly?

Philadelphia Flyers

In which we make the argument that losing both Simon Gagne(notes) and Jeff Carter(notes) to injured feet was actually beneficial to the Flyers ...

Gagne missed Game 5 against the Devils and the first three games of the Bruins series; Carter missed those games plus the other four against the Bruins and the first three against the Montreal Canadiens.

During their respective absences from the Flyers' top line, the following players saw action with Mike Richards: Daniel Carcillo(notes), Claude Giroux(notes), Scott Hartnell(notes), Ville Leino(notes) and Arron Asham(notes). These players were counted on to contribute more when the Flyers' offense was decimated; they did so then and they've continued to do so.

Giroux is a point-per-game player (17 for 17). Hartnell has awakened from his scoring slumber with eight points. Leino's been a revelation, with 12 points in 13 games that include five on the power play. Carcillo contributed offensively before his exile to the press box. Asham looked like Briere in a move against Jaroslav Halak(notes) in Game 5 against the Habs and has fore-checked well.

Speaking of Briere: Wow. He's so maligned during the regular season that his reputation as a clutch playoff performer never gets its due. He's usually a point-per-game guy, and this playoff run has 18 in 17 games — including four game-winning goals. He's back at center and thriving there between Hartnell and Leino.

The third line of Giroux and Asham and James van Riemsdyk(notes) is a great momentum-shifting line offensively, in the sense that it has two of the top four shot-producing players in the playoffs for Philly.

Getting Ian Laperriere(notes) back was huge as well from a grittiness perspective; he has nine blocked shots in seven games.

But it all comes back to Richards, their leading scorer in the postseason (21 points) and their leader at forward. He could be a bit better in the faceoff circle (46 percent), but there's no question he's been their most valuable forward in every situation.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Dustin Byfuglien(notes)/Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane(notes) troika has combined for 22 goals in the playoffs. Buff has eight of them, creating a crease presence unmatched in the postseason. Kane has 20 points in 16 games, while Toews is the playoffs' leading scorer with 26 points in 16.

Their value carries over to special teams, as Toews is the second-leading forward in average shorthanded ice time while Kane leads in power-play time. Toews and Kane have combined for 22 power-play points. And two examples of truly awful facial hair.

The second line of Troy Brouwer(notes)/Patrick Sharp/Marian Hossa(notes) has been good for pressure, as Sharp (55 shots) and Hossa (51) lead the team in shots. Sharp's produced to the tune of seven goals; Hossa infamously hasn't produced, scoring two goals in a postseason in which his apologists are saying stats don't matter for a guy whose been all about stats his entire career. One average postseason, and he's free to be Jay Pandolfo(notes) with a monster contract, we guess.

Andrew Ladd(notes) is expected back for the Blackhawks in this series, according to Joel Quenneville, which is fantastic news for a checking line that's been one of the keys to Chicago's success.

Ladd, Dave Bolland(notes) and Kris Versteeg(notes) play shutdown hockey and counterpunch like any great championship D-line does. John Madden(notes) has seen time with Bolland and Versteeg, too, and the importance of his playoff experience really started coming to the forefront in the later rounds of the Western Conference playoffs. He's their leading forward in shorthanded ice time.

Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager(notes) and Adam Burish(notes) do some valuable grunt work down the lineup.

Advantage

We're giving it to Philly.

This isn't based on paper, because the Blackhawks have bigger names and some truly explosive players throughout the lineup. This is based on this postseason's action, and the fact that the Flyers' ability to score with balance and attack in gritty, fore-checking waves has been a determining factor in their success. It's also based on the fact that the sluggish play of the Blackhawks' secondary scorers earlier in the postseason (like Versteeg) contributed to their struggles overall.

The Flyers are better offensively now, when healthy, than the Blackhawks are. They can match their depth at forward and have the same tenacious two-way players the 'Hawks have. The battle up front is a great one, but we'll give the edge to Philly.