The “Cinderellas” did not reach the Stanley Cup finals. Three division winners advanced; The fourth was eliminated from the second round in the seventh game, losing to the team that finished second in the division. On the one hand, this made the first round almost the most boring of the post-lockout period, but on the other hand, the second round turned out to be bright and interesting. Now we have the right to expect the same scenario in the conference finals. By the way, who will play in them?
“Edmonton”
After a poor start to the season, the Oilers change head coach and name a newcomer to the position. The young coach immediately revives the team’s play, which is finishing the regular season in great shape. In the first round, Edmonton beats Los Angeles, and in the second round another team from Canada passes, and this occurs against the background of massive criticism of the performance of the team’s goalkeeper. Did you think this was a retelling of the current season? It is true, but this is also the scenario for the 2021/2022 championship. Then, in the conference finals, Edmonton received a rather desperate 0-4 from Colorado.
Connor McDavid
Photo: DARRYL DYCK/AP Photo/TASS
Over the years, the Oilers have changed. Zach Hyman has become an absolutely ruthless machine of collecting goals that seem easy, but to score them you have to be in the right place at the right time. Not only is Evan Bouchard the guy who passes the puck to McDavid the most, but he also looks for shooting lanes that other defenders don’t have time to block. Additionally, the 2022 team didn’t have a well-rounded defenseman like Mattias Ekholm, and the end result doesn’t look like a bunch of random players getting playing time while McDry’s lineup catches its breath.
How the Oilers played Game 7:
And yet “Edmonton”! McDavid and Co. crushed Vancouver and survived in the end
However, the old birthmarks have not disappeared. The team depends too much on its majority, something that cannot yet be overcome: the five options seem dangerous. But the team lost the series against Las Vegas last year on a pure tie, where the Oilers only scored nine times in six games. And Dallas, with its offensive depth, strong defense and defensive prowess, looks like a team that can play to the same strengths as Vegas.
“Dallas”
Now even in Russia they know that Florida is a tax haven, where, due to the absence of local taxes, hockey players can be paid a little less than in the conditional state of Missouri. But Texas also has no state taxes, allowing young team leaders like Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson to accept slightly below-market contracts. Half a million here, half a million there: enough to take Matt Duchaine for $3 million. Thus, Dallas finds itself in the top 4 of the NHL for the third time in five seasons, forming a very deep team; successful picks outside the top of the draft also help.
Chris Tanev
Photo: DARRYL DYCK/AP Photo/TASS
No one talked about this directly, but one of the biggest reasons for Dallas’ loss in last year’s Western finals was the mistakes of Ryan Suter, who at 38 was no longer capable of playing 23 minutes a game. The problem was solved by inviting one of the league’s best homegrown players, Chris Tanev, before the deadline. In the second round, Tanev was the main defender against MacKinnon, and in almost 70 minutes, Nathan and his partners managed only one goal. In the first round, during Chris’s game, Vegas did not score once. Is this the type of personal player needed to counter McDavid?
What can be said against Dallas? Their path to the Western finals: Facing the last two NHL champions in long series is not easy, and Florida completely blew themselves away last year after a difficult Eastern playoffs. In addition, the minority of “stars” is quite sad – less than 70% neutralization, and if this percentage is maintained, the advantage in equal compositions may disappear.
“Florida”
13 hockey players from this roster become free agents in the summer; This figure is even higher than that of Carolina, which will surely not be as strong. Of course, among this devil’s dozen there are also guys who were signed for the playoffs, but for most of them these playoffs should be the strongest motivation. It’s hard to even say who has a deeper roster: Dallas, which plays the perennial Benn-Seguin pairing on the third line, or the Panthers, who could afford to play Tarasenko on the third line.
Florida’s strengths remain unchanged
Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo/TASS
Florida’s strength has not changed since the last playoffs: suffocating pressure. With this attack, Maurice’s team blocked all the air for Tampa when he covered Kucherov with double guard and extinguished many attempts to disperse the attack already in the middle zone. More or less the same thing happened with Boston: after a punch in the stomach in the first game, Florida rebuilt itself and three times did not allow the Bears to pass the mark of at least 20 shots per game. Admittedly, both of the Panthers’ opponents had too much of a gap in their lines; For some, attack was clearly superior to defense, while for others, especially after Marchand’s injury, it was quite the opposite.
Another important factor in the Panthers’ defense:
“The Legend of Playoff Bob”. Bobrovsky for Florida is much more than statistics
This “Florida” also has no obvious drawbacks. If in the last finals the defense was played by people who had previously been snatched from the draft, now competent work in the free agent market has closed these gaps. “There are many cases in which a team, after losing the finals, regresses a year later, but Florida clearly took into account the lesson of last season and came back even hungrier than it was. “This team is built for the playoffs, and in this series, one great team will win and another great team will lose,” an anonymous NHL scout told The Athletic.
“Forest ranger”
If Florida is making a name for itself by pressing now, Peter Laviolette has done it in the past. His Nashville team sensationally reached the 2017 final, largely thanks to their high-quality attack and systemic defense. Now there remains a systemic defense, and the coach, who a decade ago protested against the “backward” 1-3-1 system, is happy to use it on the team he led to the Eastern finals.
Peter Laviolette
Photo: Lynne Sladky/AP Photo/TASS
It is Laviolette who is called the person who changed everything. Gerard Galland’s Rangers were criticized for their softness and willingness to turn the other cheek and, in fact, still had to manage to be knocked out of the top flight outside of the New Jersey playoffs. Now Rangers players in every interview talk about “structure”, which is seen not only in the team’s play, but also in training, but also in preparation for each specific opponent. The key difference was noted by New York hockey editor-in-chief Larry Brooks: “Two years ago they were afraid to go to the nickel, and now they dominate the paint.”
The symbol of these Rangers is Chris Kreider, who scores three goals per period: It is curious now to remember how Rangers fans regretted their expensive extension after having the opportunity to draft Lafreniere. But the unlucky number one is also playing completely differently this spring, like most of the young players on the team, who have matured in two years. Well, ultimately, these Rangers’ play depends on Igor Shesterkin, who stopped Carolina’s boring but tenacious attack.
