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Then there were four! What started as 16 teams chasing Lord Stanley has been whittled down to just the final four remaining teams. The Florida Panthers will head to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference. For the Western Conference it’ll be the Edmonton Oilers tracking to Dallas to take on the Stars. Let’s take a look at each Stanley Cup Conference Finals matchup and the best bets to make.
The Eastern Conference matchup between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes will lead off with the game scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+. The puck will drop Wednesday, May 21st, in the Western Conference Finals for the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars, also at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT/TruTV.
Stanley Cup Conference Finals Preview and Best Bets z244t
Eastern Conference Finals 4x5d5a
This Eastern Conference Finals is setting up to be one for the ages. It’s a rematch of two seasons ago when these teams squared off in the same spot, and Florida grinding out four one-goal wins on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals, including a four-overtime game that became the sixth longest in NHL history. Florida is coming off a grueling seven-game series where they captured the win over Toronto Sunday night. They’ll look to head to their third straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance if they can take down Carolina.
It’s been a nice rest for the Hurricanes of Carolina, who easily took down the top-seeded Washington Capitals back on Thursday in just five games. Carolina is looking for their first conference title since they last won it in 2005-2006 and went on to capture their lone Stanley Cup title. Not only that, Carolina has been swept in their three (2009,2019,2023) conference finals appearances since that magical season.
It’s hard to bet against Florida at this point in time, and I’m not going to do it. They’ve been here before, and won against these Hurricanes just two seasons ago, as well as winning it all last year. They stayed poised in the last round and dug out of a 2-0 hole against the Toronto Maple Leafs to get to this point once again. The offensive back end for the Panthers is just going to be too much, and their defense can outpace anyone.
Pick: Panthers (-125)
Panthers in 6 (+425)
Stanley Cup Conference Finals Preview and Best Bets z244t
Western Conference Finals 656m3a
The Western Conference Finals also feature two teams who have seen each other before, just last year. The Oilers defeated the Stars in six games in last year’s conference finals on their way to a loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers get an entire week off after taking down the Las Vegas Golden Knights in overtime of game five last Wednesday evening.
The Dallas Stars finished their series over the Winnipeg Jets in game six on Saturday evening. In their three regular-season matchups this season, the Dallas Stars came out on top with a 2-1 record. It’s Dallas’ third straight appearance in the Western Conference Finals, but they are looking for their first win since the 2019-2020 season. Edmonton has five Stanley Cups, but their last one came in 1990, and this team is hungry to change that.
This one I see going the way of the Dallas Stars, but it’s going to be a tough road getting there. Ultimately, the Stars’ depth will be the difference. 12 different players have scored goals in their 13 playoff games. Dallas is also getting healthy at just the right time. “Well, first time since January we’ve had any kind of version of our full lineup,” Coach Pete DeBoer said on Monday. The Stars made it this far without being at full strength. Now they have all their star power to push them to the finals.
Pick: Stars (-110)
Stars in 7 (+425)
Bonus Bets: 2p4x43
Parlay Panthers + Stars (+243)
Parlay exact series results (+2525)
