NHL conference finals top 10 storylines

The NHL’s final four is set after the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round on Monday.

The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers will face off in the Eastern Conference Final, which begins with Game 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC). The Oilers will visit the Dallas Stars for Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

For the first time in NHL history, all four teams in the conference finals are looking to win their first championship in at least 20 years.

After losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final last season, Florida is bidding to win the Stanley Cup for the first time and become the first team to win the Cup the season after losing in the Final since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

New York will try to return to the Cup Final for the first time since 2014, when it lost to the Los Angeles Kings, and to win the Cup for the first time since 1994.

Dallas, which is in the Western Conference Final for the second straight season, made its last Cup Final appearance in 2020, when it lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is trying to win the Cup for the first time since 1999.

Edmonton hasn’t reached the Cup Final since losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and is seeking its first championship since 1990.

Here are 10 storylines for the conference finals:

‘Bob’ and the ‘Breadman’

When goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Artemi Panarin became unrestricted free agents following the 2018-19 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, some thought the good friends would sign with the same team. The Panthers attempted to sign each of them, but they ended up going their separate ways with Bobrovsky signing a seven-year contract with Florida on July 1, 2019, and Panarin signing a seven-year contract with New York on the same day.

Now, the Russians will face each other in the playoffs with each trying to win the Cup for the first time.

Bobrovsky, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2013 and 2017, is a finalist for the award for the third time this season after going 36-17-4 with a 2.37 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and six shutouts, which tied for the NHL lead, in 58 starts. The 35-year-old is 8-3 with a 2.37 GAA and .902 save percentage in 11 games this postseason.

Panarin is third on the Rangers with 11 points (four goals, seven assists), including a League-leading four game-winning goals, in 10 playoff games after leading New York and setting NHL career highs with 49 goals, 71 assists and 120 points in 82 regular-season games.

Can McDavid and Draisaitl take the next step?

The Oilers made it clear from the start of this season that it was Stanley Cup or bust for them. Now they are one step away from reaching the Cup Final for the first time in Connor McDavid’s and Leon Draisaitl’s nine seasons as teammates.

The Oilers talented center duo enter the Western Conference Final as the top two in the League in playoff scoring, with Draisaitl leading the way with 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 12 games, including at least one in each game, and McDavid second with 21 (two goals, 19 assists) in 12 games.

The Oilers also reached the conference final in 2022, when McDavid had seven points (three goals, four assists) and Draisaitl had six assists in the series, but Edmonton was swept by the Colorado Avalanche, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers will face an equally difficult challenge against the Stars, who won two of the three regular-season meetings between the teams with Draisaitl limited to two assists and McDavid to one.

Trocheck revenge tour continues

Vincent Trocheck already bested of one of his former teams when he had eight points (three goals, five assists), including his double-overtime winner in Game 2, to help the Rangers defeat the Hurricanes in six games in the second round. The 30-year-old center will have a chance to do it again against Florida.

Selected by the Panthers in the third round (No. 64) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Trocheck played seven seasons for them before being traded the Hurricanes on Feb. 24, 2020. Trocheck, who had 282 points (111 goals, 171 assists) in 420 regular-season games and one assist in two playoff games with the Panthers, had two seasons remaining on his contract at the time.

After the Hurricanes were unable to re-sign Trocheck following the 2021-22 season, he signed a seven-year contract with the Rangers and has been one of the driving forces during their playoff run this season.

Heiskanen vs. Bouchard

Although Miro Heiskanen of Dallas and Evan Bouchard of Edmonton aren’t among the finalists for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, each continues to prove he is elite. Bouchard leads all defensemen in the playoffs with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 12 postseason games and is the first defenseman in NHL history to reach 20 points in the first two rounds. Heiskanen is third among defensemen with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 13 games.

Heiskanen had eight points (four goals, four assists), a plus-4 rating and averaged 28:43 of ice time per game to help the Stars eliminate the Avalanche and Norris finalist Cale Makar (three goals, three assists, minus-6, 28:48 average ice time) in six games in the second round. Bouchard had 11 points (four goals, seven assists), a plus-7 rating and averaged 25:55 of ice time as the Oilers outlasted the Canucks and Norris finalist Quinn Hughes (five assists, plus-2, 25:34 average ice time) in seven games.

Peter and Paul

When Paul Maurice was fired as coach of the Hurricanes in 2003, he left a note on the board in his office for his successor, Peter Laviolette (“because it was a good bunch of guys,” Maurice said). When Maurice was rehired to replace Laviolette in 2008 -- after Laviolette coached Carolina to the Stanley Cup in 2006 -- Laviolette returned the favor with a note of his own.

Nearly 16 years later, Maurice’s Panthers and Laviolette’s Rangers will face off with a spot in the Cup Final on the line.

Laviolette, who lost in the Cup Final with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and Nashville Predators in 2017, is trying to join Scotty Bowman as the only coaches to bring four different teams to the Cup Final. Maurice is chasing his first Cup championship after losing in the Final with the Hurricanes in 2002 and with the Panthers last season.

In the only previous playoff series between them, Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets defeated Laviolette’s Predators in seven games in the Western Conference Second Round in 2018.

Stars’ young guns

Forward Jason Robertson, 24, center Wyatt Johnston, 21, and forward Logan Stankoven, 21, have helped drive Dallas’ offense in the playoffs with their youthful energy and skill.

Johnston leads the Stars with seven goals and has 11 points in 13 games. Robertson is second on Dallas with 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 13 games, behind Heiskanen, who has 13 (five goals, eight assists) in 13 games. Stankoven, who didn’t make his NHL debut until Feb. 24, has six points (three goals, three assists) in 13 games.

Those young players have not only been exciting to watch, but they’ve been the perfect complement to the Stars' veteran forward group that includes Joe Pavelski, 39, Jamie Benn, 34, Matt Duchene, 33, and Tyler Seguin, 32. That depth could be a difference-maker in a long series against the Oilers.

Barkov’s bid

Captain Aleksander Barkov has been a man on a mission to bring the Stanley Cup to Florida this season after the Panthers lost to the Golden Knights in five games in the Cup Final last season. The 28-year-old center is second on the Panthers with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 11 playoff games, behind forward Matthew Tkachuk’s 14 points (four goals, 10 assists), and leads them with three game-winning goals, including two in the second round against the Boston Bruins.

Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward for the second time on Saturday, has been leading at both ends of the ice, highlighted by his block on forward David Pastrnak’s power-play one-timer late in Florida’s 2-1 series-clinching victory against the Bruins in Game 6 of the second round on Friday. Whether he is matched head-to-head with Trocheck’s line or Mika Zibanejad’s, Barkov will be ready for the challenge.

Skinner’s rebound

After Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was inconsistent in the first three games against the Canucks, he watched backup Calvin Pickard play the next two games before returning to win the final two of the series. Skinner didn’t face a lot of offensive pressure but played well enough to get the job done in the Oilers’ 5-1 victory in Game 6 and the Game 7 win, stopping 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

Still, the 25-year-old remains a question mark for Edmonton heading into the conference final. The Oilers were able to get by with Skinner, who is 7-3 with a 2.87 GAA, .881 save percentage and one shutout in the playoffs, against the Canucks, who had rookie Arturs Silovs filling in for No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko because of an undisclosed injury. Skinner will likely need to elevate his play to match Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who is 8-5 with a 2.09 GAA and .918 save percentage this postseason.

From Russia with gloves

Bobrovsky will be part of a Russian showdown in net in the East. Igor Shesterkin, who won the Vezina in 2022, was 19-12-1 with a 2.86 GAA and .899 save percentage when he represented New York at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game before rebounding to go 17-5-1 with a 2.20 GAA, .930 save percentage and four shutouts over the remainder of the regular season.

The 28-year-old has continued to play at a high-level in the playoffs, going 8-2 with a 2.40 GAA and .923 save percentage through the first two rounds. Shesterkin must get past Bobrovsky, however, to make his first trip to a Cup Final.

Oilers' power play vs. Stars' penalty kill

Edmonton has the NHL's top power play in the playoffs at 37.5 percent, scoring 15 goals on 40 opportunities. That could be a huge advantage against Dallas, which is 11th in the playoffs on the penalty kill at 69.2 percent (18-for-26).

The Stars’ penalty kill is coming off a difficult second round against the Avalanche, when they allowed five power-play goals on 14 chances. It won’t get easier against an Oilers power play featuring Draisaitl, McDavid and Bouchard.

Draisaitl leads the NHL with 12 power-play points and six power-play goals in the playoffs. McDavid leads the League with 10 power-play assists and is second with 11 power-play points. Bouchard has eight points (one goal, seven assists) on the man-advantage.