Zac Electrifly

Getting into the playoffs, the Boston Bruins finished the regular season with the best record in the league, setting the record for the most wins in a regular season on their way to winning the Presidents Trophy. They set the record with sixty five wins. They also won the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference regular season titles. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Eastern Conferences Metropolitan Division regular season title. The New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, and the Florida Panthers also made the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Vegas Golden Knights won the Pacific Division and Western Conference regular season titles. The Colorado Avalanche won the Central Division regular season title. The Edmonton Oilers, LA Kings, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken, and Winnipeg Jets also made the Western Conference playoffs.

The big news from the teams who didn’t make the playoffs is that the Pittsburgh Penguins ended a sixteen season playoff streak. That was the longest active playoff streak of any major pro sports team in the NHL, NBA, MLS, NFL, or MLB. This was also the first time since 2006 that the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins had not made the playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference the Boston Bruins played the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs played the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Carolina Hurricanes played the New York Islanders, and the New Jersey Devils played the New York Rangers. In the Western Conference the Colorado Avalanche played the Seattle Kraken, the Dallas Stars played the Minnesota Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights played the Winnipeg Jets, and the Edmonton Oilers played the LA Kings.

None of the teams were swept in the first round meaning every team in the playoffs won at least one playoff game this season. The Vegas Golden Knights were the first team to advance. They beat the Winnipeg Jets four games to one. The Carolina Hurricanes were the next team to advance after defeating the New York Islanders four games to one. The Dallas Stars also advanced on the same day after beating the Minnesota Wild four games to two. The Toronto Maple Leafs advanced after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to two. The Edmonton Oilers advanced after defeating the LA Kings four games to two. The Florida Panthers advanced after defeating the Boston Bruins in game seven. The Seattle Kraken advanced after defeating the Colorado Avalanche in game seven. The New Jersey Devils beat the the New York Rangers in game seven.

It was a big deal for the Toronto Maple Leafs to advance to the second round. This was the Toronto Maple Leafs first playoff series win in almost twenty years. The Florida Panthers game seven win was huge. They defeated the team that set the record for most wins during the regular season. Now the Boston Bruins record will never be brought up without the fact of the Florida Panthers beating them in the first round of the playoffs. The Seattle Kraken beating the Colorado avalanche also meant that there would not be a back to back champion this season.

In the Eastern Conference the Florida Panthers played the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes played the New Jersey Devils. In the Western Conference the Seattle Kraken played the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights played the Edmonton Oilers.

Once again none of the teams were swept. The first team to advance to the Conference Finals was the Carolina Hurricanes after defeating the New Jersey Devils four games to one. The second team to advance to the Conference Finals was the Florida Panthers after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one. The Vegas Golden Knights advanced after defeating the Edmonton Oilers four games to two. The Dallas Stars advanced after they defeated the Seattle Kraken in game seven.

There was no game sevens in round two. What really stood out to me in round two was the Florida Panthers playing on a whole different level. The Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers series was also a really good series.

In the Eastern Conference Finals the Florida Panthers played the Carolina Hurricanes. In the Western Conference finals the Dallas Stars played the Vegas Golden Knights.

In my Conference Finals Preview, in regards to the Eastern Conference Finals, I thought the Hurricanes had been a tough team so far in the playoffs. The Panthers were still rolling off of the momentum of beating the Boston Bruins in round one. The Hurricanes had not been dominating teams like the Panthers had but I still thought it would be a good series. I thought the Hurricanes would put up more of a fight than the Maple Leafs were able too. The main question on my mind heading into the series was can the Panthers continue to play at the same level? The other question I had is how much better will the Hurricanes be then the Bruins or Maple Leafs? In regards to the Western Conference Finals I thought that the Golden Knights had managed to be a threat in the playoffs. That came despite having goal tending issues. They had gotten around those issues to get to to the Western Conference Finals. The Stars had an easier opponent in round one. They barely managed to beat the Seattle Kraken. I thought the Golden Knights might be too much for the Stars. The Main question going into the series was will the Golden Knights goal tender issues be too much for them to over come? The other question I had was can the Stars find the same success they had over the Golden Knights in the regular season?

The Florida Panthers were the first team to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals after sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes. The Carolina Hurricanes were the first and only team to get swept during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the Dallas Stars four games to two.

The Florida Panthers did continue to play at that elite level they were playing at in round one and round two. The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t put up much of a fight either. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltending issues were nonexistent. The Dallas Stars did find some success during the Western Conference Finals but it was not enough nor on the same level as the success they had against the Vegas Golden Knights during the regular season.

Int he Stanley Cup Finals the Vegas Golden Knights played the Florida Panthers. This was the second appearance for both teams in the Stanley cup final. The Florida Panthers were in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. The Vegas Golden Knights were in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018. Neither team had won a Stanley Cup before. This would be the first Stanley Cup for the winning team. This was also the southernmost Stanley Cup Finals in history.

In my Stanley Cup Finals Preview I thought the Panthers seemed unstoppable. They had a lot of momentum after beating the Boston Bruins. That momentum had propelled them to the Stanley Cup Finals. Everything was clicking for them. The Golden Knights had to overcome their goal tending issues this playoffs. They had done that to the point where it was basically not a factor. Both teams had proven they can win close games and can blow teams out. I thought this would be a very exciting Stanley Cup Final.

The Vegas Golden Knights did defeat the Florida Panthers four games to one to become the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions.

The writing was on the wall in the Stanley Cup Finals as soon as the Golden Knights took game two. The Panthers didn’t look like they could keep up with them. Game three being the only exception to that. Even then the Panthers had to win it in overtime not in regulation. The Golden Knights were on a whole other level from the Panthers and game five showed that. While there was no fighting in this series I still found it pretty entertaining. That incredible save Hill made and the countless stunning goals.

The Vegas Golden Knights finished the playoffs winning the ultimate prize in sports. They had the best season anyone could ask for. The Panthers despite losing in the Stanley Cup Finals had a great run. They over came more challenges than any other team in the playoffs. Them defeating the record setting Boston Bruins and gong on to become the Eastern Conference Champions will live on in history forever.

This was an incredible playoffs. From start to finish there was no part that I did not find entertaining. I was hoping for some more fighting. The lack of fighting is a symptom of the NHL moving away from it though. The fights that did happen were some of the most entertaining parts of the whole playoffs. A lot of people didn’t like the Stanley Cup Finals matchup. I found it very entertaining that a team that barely made the playoffs defeated all of the big contenders to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Golden Knights have been a contender since day one. The argument that the Panthers don’t deserve to be in it because they “have no fans” is insane. Different markets being this successful is how the game grows. People being mad because places are “nontraditional hockey markets” is crazy to me. If the Toronto Maple Leafs won the cup every year the sport would die. That brings me to my next point that there isn’t an ideal market to win the cup except the team that you cheer for. It’s the same thing every year this team doesn’t deserve it because they haven’t been waiting for sixty years or don’t have any fans. What that comes down to is this team doesn’t deserve it because they aren’t my team. Anyway, I had fun with these playoffs and fun with these blogs. My predictions turned out to be super wrong but that is ok. It’s all part of the fun in doing this and the unpredictability of the NHL.

next season looks like it will be some more fun. The wait is always a killer. The NHL does have some issues that they do need to adress. I might talk about that later in the offseason but basically they have some finance and marketing issues that need to be addressed. Next season will be the last season Adidas will be the uniform supplier. Fanatics will take over the next season and from the moment it was announced it received harsh criticism and backlash from everyone. The end of the Adidas deal is not something I am looking forward too. Somethings I am looking forward too are all of the events planned for next season. The Heritage classic returns with a game in Edmonton between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames. The Winter Classic will be in Seattle with a game between the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights. The All-Star game will be in Toronto. The stadium series will be in New Jersey. Next season is already looking like it will be a lot of fun.