Eastern Conference:
The NHL Eastern Conference Finals have already started, as the Florida Panthers took a 1-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes. This series is going to be an exciting one, as both of these teams almost emulate each other in terms of their gameplans, relying on lots of shots on goal, and a lot of offensive possession time.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes, coming off of an impressive 99 point season, finished 4th in the Eastern Conference in total points. In the first round of their playoff run, Carolina faced the New Jersey Devils, where Carolina won in five games.
Carolina then faced the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference: The Washington Capitals. Led by Alex Ovechkin, Carolina was set for a tough second round matchup. However, as the series began, Carolina dominated almost every aspect of the game, and took a commanding 3-1 series lead, before knocking out Ovechkin and the Capitals in Game 5 in Washington.
The Hurricanes are led by Center Seth Jarvis, who currently has a team-leading 10 points in the playoffs. Right-Winger Andrei Svechnikov leads the team in goals with eight, and Center Sebastian Aho leads the team in assists with assists. The Hurricane’s also have a strong defense and solid goaltending, which creates problems for teams facing them.
This will be Carolina’s third time making it to the Eastern Conference Final in seven years. The other two times Carolina made it this far, the team was swept. The Hurricanes made it in the 2019 playoffs and lost in four games to the Boston Bruins. Then, in the 2023 playoffs, Carolina again made it and lost to the Florida Panthers.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers are looking to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions this year. Florida will play the Carolina Hurricanes, who the Panthers swept two seasons ago in the Eastern Conference Final.
Florida defeated in-state rivals Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, 4-1, where the Panthers dominated almost every aspect of the series. In the second round however, Florida faced some troubles.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, led by star Auston Matthews, took the first two games of the series. However, Florida crawled back, taking the next three games to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Toronto responded in Game 6, winning 2-0. However, Florida showed their strong depth and great experience, winning Game 7 with a 6-1 win.
Toronto’s four best players (the core four as fans call them) Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares had 17 points combined, however Toronto didn’t get enough depth scoring and Florida dominated the second half of the series.
The Panthers are led by Star Forward Matthew Tkachuk, but rely on their depth and strong goaltending to win them games. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is the marquee Goalie for the Panthers. Center Brad Marchand, who Florida acquired from the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline, leads the teams in the playoffs in points, with 12. Marchand also leads the team in assists with nine, while Forward Sam Bennet leads the team in goals, with six.
This is Florida’s third straight going to the conference finals, so experience favors them. Additionally, their coach, Paul Maurice is one of the best coaches in Hockey, and can be attributed to some of Florida’s success.
Western Conference:
The Western Conference Finals are going to begin on May 21, and that matchup has the Edmonton Oilers going head to head with the Dallas Stars/Winnipeg Jets. With the amount of star power these teams have, this series could go either way. This should be a long series where teams aren’t going to give an inch to anyone.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season losing in seven games to the Florida Panthers. Similar to the Hurricanes, Edmonton have been a perennial contender but haven’t been able to get it done when it mattered most.
Dynamic duo, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are leading their team in the playoffs combining for an impressive 33 points in just 11 games. The Oilers will need to find more depth scoring if the team wants a chance to play for another Stanley Cup.
While the Oilers defeated the LA Kings for the fourth year in a row, some issues arose within the team. Goaltending was lacking. Stuart Skinner was miserable in net with a 0-2 record, posting a 5.36 goals against average, and a 0.817 save percentage.
Things are looking good though, as Edmonton beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, not giving up many goals and scoring at the same pace the Oilers did the previous series.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche in the first round in seven games. This was a series that many people said would be good enough as a Western Conference Final matchup. Colorado, who’s captain Gabe Landeskog came back after being injured. He hadn’t played since the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Getting him back was a big confidence booster for the Avalanche, but it wasn’t enough. Dallas Stars head coach Pete Deboer moved to 9-0 in game sevens in his coaching career.
After that series, Dallas went on to beat the reigning President’s Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets in six games. The President’s Trophy is given to the team with the best record in the regular season. These teams rarely go on to win the Stanley Cup.
The Stars have a lot of confidence that their team can go all the way. From their depth scoring on offense, to getting their top defenseman Miro Heiskanen back to play for them. On top of this, goaltender Jake Oettinger has been the backbone of this Stars team. He’s number two for save percentage in the playoffs with 0.919, and number five in the playoffs for goals against average with 2.47.
