Only four teams remain in question for the Stanley Cup. These teams have survived a grueling two rounds and find themselves just eight wins away from lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup. Here is the preview of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers.
New York Rangers
The President Trophy winners got here after a dramatic game-six victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, thanks to a natural hat trick by Chris Kreider. Even though it was a dramatic victory, the Rangers have dominated their opponents throughout both the Capitals and Hurricanes series. You can make the argument that they were outplayed in only three periods this entire playoffs.
As it has been for the past few seasons, the Rangers’ success has been due in large part to the play of Igor Shesterkin. Lost in Kreider’s heroics was how Shesterkin made several key saves to keep it a one-goal game. Throughout the playoffs, he has a .923 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average. Against the Panthers this season, Igor has a .898 save percentage and has allowed six goals in the two games. If the Rangers hope to win, then Igor is going to have to play more like he has in the playoffs and less like he did in the regular season.
The Rangers offense revolves around the second line. Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere have been the best line for not just the playoff, but the regular season too. Even during the periods when the Rangers were outplayed, that line still produced. It’s not just the second line, but Mika Zibanejad and Kreider have also had pretty impressive playoff performances. Zibanejad is tied with Trocheck for the team lead in points, 14. Kreider leads the team with seven goals.
Florida Panthers
After a Cinderella run to the Cup finals last season, the Panthers are back in the conference finals. Similar to the Rangers the Panthers haven’t had much problem getting past teams. They gentlemen swept the Lightning, as well as beat the Bruins for the second straight season in the row.
The Panthers are built off the play of Sergei Bobrovsky. Throughout the playoffs, he has a save percentage of .902 and a goals-against average of 2.37. Sure he hasn’t been as dominant as he was last season, when he essentially put the team on his back and led them within three wins of a cup. However, that doesn’t mean this year’s performance isn’t a major part of the Panthers’ success. In fact, the Panthers would’ve had a much harder path to this point had Bobrovsky regressed even more than he did. So he’s still a major part of the team’s success.
The Panthers’ offense is led as always by Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov. Tkachuk has been the main catalyst for the Panthers offense. He leads the team in points with 14 as well as assists with 10. Sure, he might not have the highest goal numbers. But just like last season, the offense runs through Tkachuk’s ability to get scoring chances. Barkov is second on the team with 13 points. Barkov has contributed in every aspect, whether that be on at even strength or on special teams or him scoring both on the power play and a short-handed goal.
Prediction
This is as evenly matched as a series as you can get. Both these teams have the playmakers to go up against each other. They also have the physicality that neither team will be able to out muscle to the other one. However, the Rangers have a slight edge in this series. Igor has been better than Bobrovsky in this playoffs, as well as the Rangers have a much deeper lineup than the Panthers do. The Rangers take this series in six games.
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