The Rats Fly in Eastern Conference
The Florida Panthers punch their ticket back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row after defeating the Presidents’ Trophy Winners, the New York Rangers, in six games. The streak continues — 2024 marks the fifth straight year that the state of Florida will be a part of the Cup Final. In addition to the Panthers coming out on top of the Eastern Conference, they become the third team in NHL history to knock out the Presidents’ Trophy winner in back-to-back postseasons. The other two teams (Penguins 2016 & 2017, Red Wings 1997 & 1998) won the Stanley Cup in consecutive years. Is this the year that the Panthers hoist their first cup in franchise history?
A crazy stat across the first three rounds of the playoffs: Aleksander (Sasha) Barkov held the Lightning, Bruins, and Rangers (Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak, and Artemi Panarin) leading point-getters to one or fewer goals in each series. Barkov’s two-way play is going under the radar and is noted as one of the most underrated players of today’s NHL. Can Barkov and teammates hold off the Oilers’ big gun(s)?
Paul Maurice becomes only the fourth coach in NHL history to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in first two years with the team. Known for his expertise in holding off the media with witty quotes and deflecting information to keep the media guessing — he is a hell of a coach. Maurice has been on an absolute tear since stepping down from the head coaching position with the Winnipeg Jets after claiming that the team needed a different voice.
The Florida Panthers have been able to dethrone arguably the best goaltenders in East during their Stanley Cup run (Andrei Vasilevksiy, Jeremy Swayman, and Igor Shesterkin), which gives them a slight edge looking into the Stanley Cup Final where they face a streaky Stuart Skinner.
Panthers’ relentlessness and heroics in 3rd Periods speaks volumes to the character they possess all throughout their lineup which exemplifies the success they’ve had so far. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 23–10 in the third period through this year’s Stanley Cup run. The Panthers determined the pace of each game in the Eastern Conference Final.
The New York Rangers ‘big boys’ did not show up in this series. Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider each posting a total of 2 points in 6 games (Game 5). Igor Shesterkin stood on his head all series long while being outshot heavily. While their star goalie played fantastic all playoffs long, there were a few diamonds that helped the Rangers get to the point to where they ended. Vincent Trocheck led the way for the Rangers with 20 points this postseason after signing a 7-year, 39.375 million dollar deal in the summer of 2022. Alexis Lafreniere coming out party continues from the regular season showing the fans glimpses of hope to stardom for the hyped phenom that was drafted first overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Shades of Henrik Lundqvist for Igor Shesterkin? The Rangers continue to dismantle while having one of the best goalies in the league between the pipes. Igor Shesterkin stood on his head all series long while being outshot heavily. Looking at his stats throughout the 2024 playoffs, he faced a total of 524 shots in the 16 games that the Rangers played and posted a .926 save-percentage. The Rangers were out-shot in 13 of those 16 games. A goalie cannot perform much better than that. Gut-wrenching performance from the offense this postseason.
