NHL CONFERENCE FINALS TOP 10 STORYLINES
The NHL conference final round will feature two rematches.
The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three seasons, beginning with Game 1 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC). Florida defeated Carolina in four games in the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, winning each game by one goal, including Games 1 and 2 in overtime.
The Dallas Stars will take on the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final for the second straight season, opening with Game 1 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC). Edmonton defeated Dallas in six games last season to reach the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Florida in seven games.
Florida is bidding to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season and become the first team to repeat as champions since the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup in 2020 and 2021. Carolina is in the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in seven seasons and is trying to reach the Final for the first time since winning the Cup in 2006.
Edmonton will try to reach the Cup Final for the second straight season and win its first championship since 1990. Dallas, which is in the Western Conference Final for the third straight season, made its last Final appearance in 2020, when it lost to the Lightning in six games. It is trying to win the Cup for the first time since 1999.
Here are 10 storylines for the conference finals:
Panthers’ repeat bid
Before the Lightning went to the Cup Final in 2020, 2021 and 2022, no team had reached the championship round in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders’ run of five in a row from 1980-84 (winning first four). Now the Panthers are within four wins of matching the Lightning with their own run of three straight Cup Final appearances, but they’re more interested in equaling their cross-state rivals by winning the Cup in back-to-back seasons.
Florida has some new faces, most notably forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones, each acquired ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. But most of the roster, led by forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, is the same. After two long playoff runs and having a League-high eight players skate in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, do the Panthers have enough gas left to get through two more rounds?
Draisaitl and McDavid’s mission
After a 2-1 Game 7 loss left them one win short of completing a comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against the Panthers in the Cup Final last season, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers have been on a season-long quest to get back there this season and win it. Edmonton needs to go through Dallas again to return to the Cup Final after defeating the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the first round and the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the second round.
McDavid had 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) and Draisaitl had 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) to lead the way for the Oilers during the first two rounds, but they’ve gotten contributions beyond their top two forwards to get this far. Evan Bouchard leads NHL defensemen with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) during the playoffs and Edmonton has 12 players with at least four points.
The Rantanen factor
The addition of forward Mikko Rantanen could put Dallas over the top against Edmonton this time. Acquired in a trade with the Hurricanes on March 7 (after the Colorado Avalanche traded him to Carolina in a three-team deal that included the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24), Rantanen already has been a difference maker for the Stars. The 28-year-old leads the playoffs with nine goals and 19 points in 13 games to help the Stars defeat his former team, the Avalanche, in seven games in the first round and the Winnipeg Jets in six games in the second round.
Rantanen is fourth in the NHL among active players with an average of 1.28 points per game in the playoffs, behind McDavid (1.58), Draisaitl (1.46) and Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (1.32). Dallas could have used a game-breaker like him against Edmonton last season when it was limited to four goals in losing the final three games of the series.
Elite offensive defensemen in West
Bouchard has established himself as one of the most productive defensemen in the NHL during the playoffs. With 70 points (17 goals, 53 assists) in 64 career playoff games, the 25-year-old has an average of 1.09 points per game, which is second among defensemen in League history behind only Bobby Orr (1.24).
But Dallas’ Thomas Harley is right behind Bouchard in the defenseman scoring race this postseason with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 13 games, including the overtime goal in a 2-1 series-clinching victory against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 6 of the second round. The 23-year-old excelled while filling in as the Stars’ No. 1 defenseman while Miro Heiskanen was sidelined because of a knee injury.
Now that Heiskanen is healthy again, getting two assists and averaging 19:02 in ice time in three games since returning, he could be a big factor for Dallas against Edmonton.
Elite defensive defensemen in East
Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin and Florida’s Gustav Forsling could be the top two shutdown defensemen in the NHL and each will have his hands full during this series.
Slavin, who was singled out for praise by Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery after he helped limit the Capitals to four 5-on-5 goals in five games during the second round, likely will be matched against the Panthers’ top line of Evan Rodrigues, Barkov and Sam Reinhart when the Hurricanes have last change on home ice. Forsling probably will get the assignment of playing against the Hurricanes’ top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis whenever the Panthers can get that matchup.
Can DeBoer get the Stars over the hump?
Stars coach Pete DeBoer has been trying to get back to the Cup Final and win it since losing with the New Jersey Devils against the Kings in 2012 and the San Jose Sharks against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. This is his sixth appearance in the conference finals/NHL semifinals since then, after losing with San Jose in 2019, Vegas in 2020 and 2021 and Dallas the past two seasons.
DeBoer is tied with Mike Keenan for fifth in NHL history with 96 playoff wins but still is looking for his first Cup championship. Getting past Edmonton would be a big step in that direction.
Can Brind’Amour get the Hurricanes over the hump?
Although Carolina has qualified for the playoffs and won at least one series in each of its seven seasons under Rod Brind’Amour, it did not win a game in its previous two trips to the conference final with him as coach, being swept by the Boston Bruins in 2019 and the Panthers in 2023. The Hurricanes also were swept in the 2009 Eastern Conference Final by the Penguins and have not won a game beyond the second round of the playoffs since winning the Cup in 2006, when Brind’Amour was their captain.
Brind’Amour again will match wits with Panthers coach Paul Maurice, his former coach with the Hurricanes, who bested him in 2023. Brind’Amour began his coaching career as an assistant with Carolina under Maurice in 2011.
A healthy Svechnikov
The biggest question for Carolina remains whether it will be able to score enough to get past Florida. The Hurricanes scored only six goals against the Panthers during the 2023 East final. The difference this time for the Hurricanes is they’ll have Svechnikov, who missed the 2023 playoffs because of a torn ACL.
Only Rantanen scored more goals than Svechnikov’s eight during the first two rounds of the playoffs. The 25-year-old forward also scored clutch goals, including the winner with 1:59 remaining in Carolina’s 3-1 series-clinching Game 5 victory Washington. The Hurricanes will need more of the same from him to get past the defending champions.
Skinner’s playoff rebound
Stuart Skinner lost Edmonton’s starting goalie job to Calvin Pickard after he allowed 11 goals on 58 shots (6.11 goals-against average, .810 save percentage) in losing the first two games of the first round against Los Angeles. Skinner responded when the Oilers needed him, though, after Pickard was injured during Game 2 of the second round against the Golden Knights.
After shaking off the rust and allowing four goals on 24 shots in a 4-3 loss in Game 3 against Vegas, the 26-year-old closed the series with consecutive shutouts in Games 4 and 5, stopping 47 consecutive shots. Skinner will need to remain at the top of his game to give the Oilers their best chance to beat the Stars and goalie Jake Oettinger (8-5, 2.47 GAA, .919 save percentage).
Can Andersen best Bobrovsky?
Carolina’s Frederik Andersen arguably was the best goalie in the NHL through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The 35-year-old is 7-2 with one shutout and leads the NHL with a 1.36 GAA, a .937 save percentage, and a .923 save percentage on high-danger shots on goal, according to NHL EDGE Advanced Stats.
Andersen will face his toughest challenge yet, though, against the Panthers, who are fourth in the NHL in scoring 3.75 goals per playoff game, and Bobrovsky.
Bobrovsky, who is 8-4 with a 2.31 GAA, .901 save percentage and two shutouts in 12 playoff games, was 4-0 with a 1.12 GAA, .966 save percentage and one shutout during the 2023 conference final against Carolina, including a 63-save performance in a 3-2 quadruple-overtime victory in Game 1. Andersen started three of the four games during that series and was 0-3 with a 1.87 GAA and .921 save percentage.
