It all comes down to this, after an 82-game marathon and a grueling playoff, only two teams remain in the Stanley Cup playoffs. One team is four wins away from achieving the ultimate goal in hockey: lifting Lord’s Stanley Cup and being etched on the most famous trophy in all sports. Here is how these two teams stack up against each other.
Florida Panthers
For the second straight season, the Panthers find themselves back in the Cup finals. However this time, it’s less of an underdog story and more of utter dominance by the Panthers. Sure, the Eastern Conference Finals might have gone six games, but that doesn’t tell the story. The Panthers were the better team and outplayed the Rangers in every single game. The series should’ve been a sweep.
The main reason for the Panthers’ dominance was their physical play. The Rangers had no answers for Floridia’s forecheck. It would take away any offensive pressure or ability to gain momentum for the Rangers. It’s a style of play that suffocates opposing teams. It’s been their M.O. throughout the majority of the season and playoff. Throughout every period in the conference finals, as the period went on, the Panthers got better and better—all thanks to their ability to physically dominate the other team.
Another major aspect of the Panthers’ dominance has been their ability to get shots off. The Panthers have averaged 33.2 shots per game. That is a strong offensive attack that can overwhelm a goaltender. Now sure the amount of shots you take doesn’t translate to success. But with a high amount of good quality shots against Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, it will overwhelm him. It will allow the Panthers to gain the upper hand.
Edmonton Oilers
After years of disappointment, the best player in hockey has a chance to become immortal. Connor McDavid has a chance to get his name on the cup. Cementing him as the best player in hockey, and giving him the argument for one of the best players in NHL history. However, it wasn’t a guarantee that this team was going to be here. Don’t forget the struggles early in the season that lead to Jay Woodcroft being fired and Kris Knoblauch as head coach. Since then, the Oilers have been on fire leading them all to the finals.
Of course, you can’t talk about the success of the Oilers without first bringing up McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Both of them have been leading the offense with McDavid tallying 31 points and Draisaitl racking up 28. They are first and second on the team in this playoff. However, it’s not just these two who have been the powerhouses of the Oilers offense. They’ve got lots of production from guys like Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman. All of which have double-digit points. Now outside of these five, no one has more than eight points.
However, with how dominant they’ve been, the other key aspect of the Oilers’ success has been the defense. This is especially true with their play on special teams. The Oilers penalty kill has been one of the best this season and in the playoffs. They have a 93.9 penalty-kill percentage. However, the more impressive stat is that they haven’t allowed a playoff power-play goal in over a month. This essentially takes Florida’s power play out of the game.
Prediction
Well, after both of my conference finals didn’t work out, I don’t know if I’m qualified enough to make another prediction. Even if I’m a jinx, I’m still giving out a prediction for this year’s Cup finals. With that being said, the Florida Panthers will lift the cup at the end of the season. The main reason is that the Oilers don’t have the depth to keep up with the Panthers. The Panthers’ physical style of play will suffocate the Oilers’ star players. This will cause the Oilers to go flat on offense, and allow the Panthers to win the cup.
Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Bravo. You can find more NHL content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.
