NHL's final 4 has a familiar feel
with teams known for long playoff runs in the conference finals
[May 19, 2025]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
The NHL playoff field included some unexpected entrants, and the
first two rounds featured some surprises and a handful of upsets.
Yet as things stand right now with the conference finals beginning
Tuesday night, the teams still in contention for the Stanley Cup are
a familiar mix of those who have been fighting for it the past few
years.
The West final is a rematch of this same round last year with the
Dallas Stars facing the Edmonton Oilers. The defending Stanley Cup
champion Florida Panthers are in the East final for a third
consecutive spring after beating Toronto in Game 7 of their series
and next face the Carolina Hurricanes with these teams meeting at
this stage for the second time in three years.
“We’ve already been in a conference final, and we know what’s going
to happen there,” said Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov, whose eight
goals are second in the postseason to only Mikko Rantanen. “It’s not
going to be easy there.”
Nothing is easy this time of year. But some team is eight wins from
hoisting the Cup.
East: Carolina vs. Florida
Game 1: Tuesday at Carolina (8 p.m. EDT, TNT)
The Panthers trailed the Maple Leafs two games to none, then lost
their first chance to move on. They made no such misstep Sunday
night, waxing Toronto to set up a rematch of the 2023 East final.
That was a sweep, with Florida winning each time by a goal: Game 1
in four overtimes, Game 2 less than two minutes into OT, Game 3 1-0
and Game 4 when Matthew Tkachuk scored with 4.9 seconds left. The
banged-up Panthers lost to the Golden Knights in the final but
learned lessons that helped them win it all last year.
The Hurricanes, who beat New Jersey without best player Jack Hughes
in the first round and suffocated Washington in the second, get the
benefit of rest having played just 10 games this postseason.
"You hope it’s a value," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “There
definitely is something to that.”
There is also something to Carolina being overlooked each year,
dogged by a string of disappointing exits. But this team is one Igor
Shesterkin goaltending showcase away from being in the East final
for a third spring in a row.
The Hurricanes have allowed the fewest goals a game in the playoffs,
thanks to Frederik Andersen's play in net and a penalty kill
clicking at a top-ranked 93.3%. Their first line of Svechnikov,
Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis has also been stellar.
But they've also played with a bit of a chip on their shoulder
without names-on-the-marquee star power.
[to top of second column] |
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) works to get the puck
past Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) during the first period
of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley
Cup playoffs, May 23, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez,
File)
“I don’t know if this team gets maligned or this
and that because we don’t have an (Alex) Ovechkin: We don’t have the
greatest goal scorer of all time,” Brind'Amour said. “And we don’t
have a (Nathan) MacKinnon or all these superstar kind of players. We
have a little different mix, and we think we do have those kind of
players — they just do it a little differently. Every team counts on
all their players, but I think we definitely need everyone to
contribute, and that’s what you’re getting right now.”
West final: Dallas vs. Edmonton
Game 1: Wednesday at Dallas (8 p.m. EDT, ESPN)
Katy Perry was scheduled to be on tour at the Stars' arena on
Wednesday night. Instead, it will be Corey Perry and the Oilers.
Edmonton has rolled since opening the playoffs with a pair of losses
at Los Angeles, getting back to the third round thanks to an
unlikely combination of defense and goaltending. And, oh yeah,
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 33 points, too.
No big deal.
The Oilers won the West final last year in six games, with Stuart
Skinner putting up a 1.91 goals-against average and a .922 save
percentage and the Stars' Jake Oettinger a 2.56 and .901. Oettinger
has been a rock this playoffs to get Dallas through Colorado and
Winnipeg and now has the chance to show he can carry a team into the
final.
“The guys that hadn’t had any experience, we have all the experience
in the world now,” Oettinger said. "It’s up to us as a group to take
that next step, and I think we should feel great about what we’ve
done with the adversity we’ve faced. I think our best hockey is yet
to come.”
Pete DeBoer has now coached a team into the third round for the
sixth time in seven years. He was fired twice in that span, by San
Jose and Vegas.
To play for the Stanley Cup that has eluded him, the Stars need to
flip the script on the Oilers, with McDavid and Draisaitl also
motivated 11 months since falling one game short of hockey's
hallowed trophy.
“You’ve got two hungry teams that have been really close and haven’t
gotten there yet," DeBoer said. “It’s going to be a battle of wills
here.”
___
AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Dallas contributed to this
report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
