NHL Postseason- Conference Finals Review & Stanley Cup Final Preview

The East and the West each decided to go about things a little bit differently in the second round. Florida and Carolina each decided to make quick work of their opponents, beating Toronto and New Jersey in five games, respectively. How they each did it was very different. Florida, behind amazing goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, held the Maple Leafs to ten goals across the five-game set, allowing two in each game and keeping their stars in check. Carolina decided to pour on the offense against the Devils, scoring 24 goals in five games, including three lopsided victories in Games 1, 2, and 4. Both used overtime heroics in Game 5 with Nick Cousins scoring for the Panthers and Jesper Fast scoring for the Hurricanes to advance to the conference finals. It's Florida's first trip since 1996 and Carolina's second since 2019. Out west, things were a little tougher. Vegas needed six games to get rid of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. The Golden Knights overcame a four-goal performance in Game 1 by Leon Draistaitl and did a good job of taking him out of the series from there. Adin Hill played a big role in that as he took over the net in Game 3 and shut things down. Dallas was given a serious fight by the Seattle Kraken, needing seven games to put the series to bed. While Jake Oettinger wasn't solid the entire series, his performance in Game 7 was as Wyatt Johnston scored the eventual game-winner in the third period to get the Stars back to the conference finals for the second time in four seasons. 

Eastern Conference Final- Carolina Hurricanes v. Florida Panthers (Florida wins 4-0)

Game 1- Florida 3, Carolina 2 (4OT)- When the puck dropped for this game, I'm not sure anyone expected we'd be in for a nearly seven-period marathon. Seth Jarvis scored the first goal of the series in the dying seconds of the first period on the power play to get the Canes ahead. The line of Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, and Anthony Duclair took over from there, with Barkov and Verhaeghe scoring minutes apart late in the second period to put Florida ahead for the first time. The lead didn't last long in the third period as Stefan Noesen finished a beautiful passing play to tie it with the man advantage. This would be the last goal until nearly 2 am on Friday morning. Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen combined to stop 120 shots in the game but the hero would be Matthew Tkachuk as he scored with less than 15 seconds left in the fourth overtime to send everyone home. It's the sixth-longest game in NHL history and it gave Florida the early advantage. 

Game 2- Florida 2, Carolina 1 (OT)- The Canes wasted little time getting in front in Game 2 as Jalen Chatfield redirected a pass from Sebastian Aho past Sergei Bobrovsky less than two minutes into the game to put the Canes ahead 1-0. Both teams would have a goal taken off the board due to reviews in the first period and the score stayed 1-0 until the second period when Aleksander Barkov faked a between-the-legs shot on Antti Raanta, who was starting so Frederik Andersen could rest after Game 1, and beat him on the backhand to tie it up. Nothing would be resolved in regulation as fans prepared for another long fight. Unfortunately, for most of the fans in attendance, the resolution would come much sooner. Jesperi Kotkaniemi would be called for hooking early in overtime and Matthew Tkachuk didn't wait long to be the hero again as he beat Raanta to send Florida home with a commanding 2-0 series lead. 

Game 3- Florida 1, Carolina 0- It was another goalie duel between Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen as the series moved to Sunrise. Neither goalie was giving an inch and while Bobrovsky wouldn't for the entire game, Sam Reinhart found some daylight on a power play in the second period as he lifted a shot past Andersen just after the midway point of the game. This one goal would stand as the only goal of the game as Bobrovsky stopped all 32 shots he faced to earn his first postseason shutout. However, after the game, most fans weren't talking about the Panthers' win. With less than two minutes left, Shayne Gostisbehere was clipped with a high stick and went down. While contact was made to his visor, it was clearly a penalty. The four officials got together and didn't call anything, leaving an entire bench and fanbase enraged. There's nothing they could do about it and Florida won the game, putting Carolina on the verge of elimination. 

Game 4- Florida 4, Carolina 3- For the first time in the series, we actually saw some offense. The early portion of the game was controlled by Florida. Anthony Duclair scored 41 seconds in and Sam Bennett leveled Jaccob Slavin with a huge hit that would knock him out of the game and likely change the trajectory of it. Matthew Tkachuk added a power-play goal before Paul Stastny cleaned up his own rebound to put an end to Sergei Bobrovsky's shutout streak. Teuvo Teravainen would get the Canes back even early in the second period but Ryan Lomberg helped Florida re-take the lead, where it would stand for most of the second half of the game. Jesper Fast found some magic in the final minutes to tie the game once again but a penalty against Jordan Staal with less than a minute left would doom the Canes. With 4.9 seconds left in regulation, Tkachuk would play the hero once more, beating Frederik Andersen and sending the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996. 

Three Stars of the Series

3- Aleksander Barkov (FLA)- 2 goals, 3 assists

2- Matthew Tkachuk (FLA)- 4 goals, 1 assist

1- Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA)- 4-0, 1.12 GAA, ..966 SV%

Western Conference Final- Dallas Stars v. Vegas Golden Knights (Vegas wins 4-2)

Game 1- Vegas 4, Dallas 3 (OT)- As was the case in the east, we got a close game to open the series out west. After being held without a goal in the second round, Jason Robertson opened the scoring in the series with less than 90 seconds left in the first period to earn the early advantage. William Karlsson would get Vegas back into the game in the second period as the two teams played to a 1-1 tie through 40 minutes. The dam opened up in the third period. Karlsson put Vegas ahead 1:19 into the third before Roope Hintz scored his tenth of the playoff to tie it again. Teddy Blueger broke the tie again 9:20 into the third and it looked like Vegas was about the finish it off. Instead, Jamie Benn played the hero, scoring with 1:59 left in regulation as we moved to overtime. While Carolina and Florida needed four overtimes, Vegas and Dallas needed 95 seconds. Brett Howden banked the puck off of the back of Jake Oettinger from below the goal line as it squeaked into the net as Vegas took the early 1-0 lead in the series. 

Game 2- Vegas 3, Dallas 2 (OT)- The script of Game 2 was eerily similar to Game 1, just with some late-game heroics for Vegas instead. Dallas struck first again as Miro Heiskanen got things started early in the first period. The Golden Knights responded on the power play just past the halfway point of the period as Mark Stone found a way past Jake Oettinger. Dallas would get one on the power play in the second period with Jason Robertson seemingly back in his element with his second goal of the series. Dallas held their lead through the end of the second period and most of the third but it wouldn't stand. Jonathan Marchessault played the hero this time, scoring with 2:22 left in regulation, sending the series to overtime once again. Just like in Game 1, we didn't have to wait very long to find a winner. Chandler Stephenson picked up a rebound and pounded it home 72 seconds into overtime to win the game and get Vegas a 2-0 series lead. 

Game 3- Vegas 4, Dallas 0- Overtime wouldn't be needed in Game 3 as the Golden Knights dominated from the drop of the puck. Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring 1:11 into the game to earn the early advantage. The game truly changed less than a minute later. Jamie Benn delivered a mean cross-check to Mark Stone and followed it up by getting him across the face when Stone hit the ice. Benn was issued a five-minute major and a game misconduct, sending him to the showers for the night. While Dallas did a good job for most of the five minutes, Ivan Barbashev did score during the major penalty, making it 2-0 just over five minutes in. William Carrier added a third goal as Vegas earned a 3-0 advantage before the halfway point of the first period. This would also chase Jake Oettinger from the game after allowing three goals on five shots. Alex Pietrangelo would add a goal in the second period and Adin Hill would stop all 34 shots he faced to shut out the Stars and put them on the brink of being swept.  

Game 4- Dallas 3, Vegas 2 (OT)- A berth in the Stanley Cup Final was right there for Vegas' taking as they tried to finish the sweep. To make it even better, Dallas would be without their captain Jamie Benn after being handed a two-game suspension for what he did in Game 3. They got off to a great start with William Karlsson scoring just over four minutes into the contest. Fortunately for the Stars, Jason Robertson was ready to play, scoring on the power play to tie it late in the first. Jonathan Marchessault put Vegas back ahead midway through the second period but Robertson was there to respond again late in the period to send it to the third period tied once again. The third period was scoreless, meaning we were getting overtime for the third time in the series. This time around, history would not be repeating itself. The Stars earned an early power play and would take advantage of it as Joe Pavelski fired a one-timer from the left dot that beat Adin Hill to keep Dallas' season alive. 

Game 5- Dallas 4, Vegas 2- With the series back in Vegas and Dallas holding some momentum for the first time, this was a tight one. Twice in this game, Vegas took the lead. Twice, Dallas responded quickly. In the first period, Ivan Barbashev put Vegas ahead but Luke Glendening deflected one past Adin Hill less than two minutes later to tie it. In the second period, Chandler Stephenson made it a 2-1 lead for Vegas before Jason Robertson scored 2:09 later to knot it up again. Hill and Jake Oettinger went save-for-save in the second period as each team entered the third period tied 2-2. Enter Ty Dellandrea to play the hero. For the first time in his career, Dellandrea scored two goals in a game, picking up the only goals of the period to win the game 4-2 and to extend the series once again, this time with things moving back to Dallas. 

Game 6- Vegas 6, Dallas 0- If you were hoping to see a team fight for their life like in the last two games, you were sorely disappointed by the effort of the Stars. Vegas made the most of their early momentum with William Carrier taking advantage of a turnover to score 3:41 into the game. From there, it was easy sailing. William Karlsson (PP) and Keegan Kolesar scored before the end of the period to give Vegas a 3-0 lead at the intermission. With this huge deficit, the hope was that Dallas would eventually wake up and get going. Instead, Adin Hill shut down the early push from the Stars and Jonathan Marchessault added a fourth goal halfway through the period. Karlsson scored his second of the game early in the third period and Michael Amadio added further insult to make it 6-0 as Vegas cruised to the series win. 

Three Stars of the Series

3- Jason Robertson (DAL)- 5 goals, 1 assist

2- Jonathan Marchessault (VGK)- 4 goals, 3 assists

1- Adin Hill (VGK)- 4-2, 1.99 GAA, .939 SV%

Final Thoughts on the Conference Finals

• Carolina/Florida- I think non-Canes fans and Canes fans will look at this series from different lenses. With the big injuries to Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov during the regular season, most didn't expect the Canes to make it this far. They were worried the Canes wouldn't find the scoring and while that would be their undoing in this series, they managed to use their depth to get through two rounds. The Canes were plagued with terrible puck luck for this entire series. The number of posts and crossbars they hit was incredible. Game 1 could've ended in the first overtime if Seth Jarvis doesn't ring the crossbar on the power play and the Canes hit three as a team in Game 3's shutout loss. The margin for error in this series was minuscule and the Panthers got the better of it in four straight games. Sergei Bobrovsky was the star of the series and is likely the Conn Smythe front-runner right now. He allowed six goals in the entire series. Matthew Tkachuk has a clutch gene that very few possess, scoring the game-winner in three of the four games. Their stars outperformed the Canes' stars by lightyears. I think this series truly deserved to go at least six games but the better team won. 
• Vegas/Dallas- We can say what we want about Jake Oettinger's start in Game 3 because he was left out to dry by his team in Game 6. He allowed six goals but so many of them were 1-on-1 with Oettinger down and out with no help from his defense. It's almost like they played better without Jamie Benn in the lineup. Oettinger kept them in Games 1 and 2 and gave them all the hope in the world to win those games. Vegas deserves every ounce of credit for this series win. All 19 skaters that suited up for the Golden Knights in this series recorded at least one point. Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson have been in this position before and they led the charge. Adin Hill was amazing once again, shutting out Dallas twice and allowing two goals per game. Vegas' stars outplayed Dallas' stars pretty much the entire series. Even though Dallas got two games back, it never felt like the result of this series was ever in doubt. 
• My Predictions for the Conference Finals- I was off about both series, picking both losers to win. 

Stanley Cup Final Preview

Florida Panthers v. Vegas Golden Knights

Cinderella's slipper is still on Florida's foot, though they aren't playing like a team that shouldn't be there. Of the two teams left, Florida is easily the most battled-tested. They've beaten three of the league's four best teams from the regular season and they've done it by going 11-1 in their last 12 contests. The effort has been led by the heroics of Matthew Tkachuk and the lights-out goaltending Sergei Bobrovsky. They are the two front runners for the Conn Smythe right now. They now have a chance to face the league's fifth-best team as Vegas started the postseason as the west's best team and they've proven it through three rounds. While they couldn't complete the sweep like Florida, the series felt over after Vegas took a 3-0 series lead. They've gotten consistent scoring from their entire lineup with the original "misfits" of Marchessault, Karlsson, and Smith playing a huge part in the run. They've got plenty of help from guys like Eichel, Pietrangelo, and Stone throughout the playoffs. Vegas also has its own strong goalie as Adin Hill continues to control the net. Both teams deserve to be in this spot right now and that means this is going to be a slugfest. 

Season Series Breakdown

VGK- 1-1-0, 2 Points, 5 goals

FLA- 1-1-0, 2 Points, 4 goals

Each team won at home in regulation. 

Vegas leading scorers- Jack Eichel- 1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games, Keegan Kolear- 0 goals, 2 assists in 2 games

Florida leading scorers- Aleksander Barkov-1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games, Nick Cousins- 1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games

Goalies-

VGK- Adin Hill- 1-1-0, 2.03 GAA, .959 SV%

FLA- Sergei Bobrovsky- 1-1-0, 2.02 GAA, .927 SV%

Previous Stanley Cup Final History 

This is the 2nd trip to the Stanley Cup Final for each franchise. Florida's only other trip came in 1996, where they were swept in four games by a loaded Colorado team. Game 4 went to 3OT before Uwe Krupp scored to win the series. Vegas made it to the finals in their inaugural season in 2018. They took Game 1 of their series over Washington before losing four straight games, dropping the series in five games. 

Prediction

Naturally, the two teams I've picked against in all three rounds are still fighting. I do love the fact that one team is going to win their first for a franchise. Plenty of guys on Vegas' team know what it's like to do that for other teams. I also look forward to the storyline about Marchessault and Smith facing the team that let them go to Florida six years ago. While there are plenty of similarities between the two teams, they've gotten here in different ways. Florida has relied heavily on their big stars to win three rounds. Vegas has relied on its amazing depth. Adin Hill hasn't needed to steal games, while Sergei Bobrovsky has. I think both teams have legitimate cases to win the Stanley Cup but I find it hard to believe that Bobrovsky can steal another series by playing at the level he has for the last few weeks. I think Vegas is deeper, especially on defense, and has shown the ability to score in bunches. Florida has only scored four goals in a game twice in the last two series. Vegas is no longer the upstart team that they were six years ago. They are a juggernaut and I think they are going to finish what they started. Vegas in 6

Conn Smythe Winner- I would love to see a story come full circle here and there are a few different ones. I'm picking Jonathan Marchessault to win the Playoff MVP. He's second on the team right now in goals (9) and points (17) and I think he'll put together a strong series against his former team.