NHL Conference Finals Preview
The last four teams remaining, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers in the east, and the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights in the west, begin the final stretch in the Stanley Cup Final this Thursday. These final four teams, with better fortune than the twelve teams that exited prior in the playoffs, are obviously extremely talented teams, along with proving to be gritty teams with high standards of roster chemistry and unpresidential team depth.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers
The Eastern Conference Final series is projected to be a tough one for both teams, despite being the matchup almost nobody could’ve predicted. Both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers have dominated the series they’ve played so far, so one can expect that these two teams going head to head is going to be a nail bitter.
The Carolina Hurricanes' defensive core has proven themselves to be stronger than their opponents, so this may be a hurdle that the Panthers offense will have to figure out how to overcome. Both teams' defensive cores were top in the league for goals scored in the regular season, Carolina number one, and Florida number two, so while the Canes have a strong defense, Florida is right there next to them in the standings. The high quality and consistency of both teams' defensive lines will greatly help the goalies of both teams, Anderson and Bobrovsky, both playing their best hockey of the year, will make it that much harder for both offensive lines to be able to score consistently.
While the Florida Panthers have more star talent within their offensive core, due to the Carolina Hurricanes having two top offensive players injured, Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty, the Carolina offense is put on a challenge to play to the aggression and skill of Florida. With the return of Teuvo Teravainen to the Hurricanes roster, this series is giving him every opportunity to prove himself after a season full of injuries. Throughout the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have shown a large amount of depth within every single one of their lines, making not just their skill level high but their adaptability level high as well. The Florida Panthers have a style of playing that not a lot of teams are able to replicate, but with the Canes having just as strong of a forecheck, Florida may have just met their match.
Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights
While many NHL fans expected Vegas to make the push to the Western Conference Finals, Dallas, despite having a good regular season, was not an expected candidate to be in this position. With a solid mix of veterans and younger players, the Dallas Stars have a versed and complete roster, giving them the advantage of adaptability for this series. Despite being a fairly new team, the Vegas Golden Knights have made the playoffs five seasons out of their six seasons as a franchise. They have proved to have a very strong and versatile roster and a true ability to consistently get the puck in the net by any means necessary.
Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy has had sufficient amounts of playoff experience, bringing his ex-team, the Boston Bruins, to the playoffs all six seasons he spent with the team. Cassidy knows the ropes of the playoffs and has proved to be a successful coach for the Golden Knights. The Dallas Stars have allowed the least amount of goals in regulation in the playoffs, meaning the whole team has strong defensive skills. On the other hand, the Golden Knights are at a higher scoring rate than any other team in regulation in the playoffs this season at an average of 3.4 goals per 60 minutes.
Dallas is in possession of some of the best players in the league, including defenseman Miro Heiskanen, winger Jason Robertson, and veteran center Joe Pavelski, who racked up a humble eight goals in the second round of the playoffs after returning from a head injury in the first round of the playoffs. In the defensive end, Dallas has a very aggressive style of play that is reinforced by goalie Jake Oettinger. While Vegas has proved to be a consistent team with a very solid roster. This playoff run is Jack Eichel's first playoff run of his career, where he has blossomed into a reliable and skilled player who has been beneficial to the team's performance in the playoffs. So far in this playoff run, the Golden Knights are 7-0 in wins when Jack Eichel gets points on the board and are 1-3 when he does not, so it is safe to say he is definitely a leading factor in the progression of the Golden Knights. Jack Eichel, however, is not alone in his playoff success. Forward William Karlsson has continued to play his defensive offense game, which is nothing short of impactful for his team, and can arguably be considered the most valuable forward on the roster. The Golden Knights need to focus on remaining consistent with the playing style that got themselves into this position, and the Stars need to be able to continue to keep up with their competition and bring an aggressive forecheck to be able to compare to their opponent.