The Stanley Cup Playoffs continued Monday with one game. It was game seven of the round two series between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. The winner of that game moved onto the Western Conference Finals. The Dallas Stars were the other team in the Western Conference Finals. There is one game going on today. It is game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. The New York Rangers are playing the Florida Panthers in that game. There are only four teams left. The Stanley Cup Finals are in sight. Who will lift the cup?
The Vancouver Canucks played the Edmonton Oilers in game seven of their second round series. The winner would move on to the Western Conference Finals. The series was tied at 3-3. It was win or get eliminated in the third game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This game was in Vancouver. Neither team scored in the first period. The game was tied at 0-0 after the first period.
Just over a minute into the second period, #5 Cody Ceci scored to give the Oilers the lead. His goal was assisted by #27 Brett Kulak and #55 Dylan Holloway. Six minutes into the second period, #18 Zac Hyman scored to give the Oilers a two goal lead. His goal was assisted by #2 Evan Bouchard and #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. With four minutes left in the second period, #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored to give the Oilers a three goal lead. His goal was assisted by #2 Evan Bouchard and #29 Leon Draisaitl. The score was 3-0 Oilers heading into the third period.
With eight minutes left in the game, #8 Conor Garland scored for the Vancouver Canucks to bring the lead back down to two goals. The goal was unassisted. With under five minutes to go in the game, #17 Filip Hronek scored for the Canucks to bring the lead back down to one goal. His goal was assisted by #43 Quinn Hughes and #23 Elis Lindholm. The Oilers would hang onto their lead. The final score was 3-2 Oilers. The Oilers have won this series 4-3. The Edmonton Oilers have advanced to the Western Conference Finals. The Vancouver Canucks have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Oilers three goals in the second period propelled them to a win here. It was a nail bitter. The Canucks almost tied the game a couple of times. The Canucks had most of the momentum in the final ten minutes of the game. The Oilers Were just trying to hang on to their lead. It was a close series. six out of the seven games were decided by one goal. Edmonton won back to back game in game six and seven to win the series. Vancouver never won two games in a row in this series. Vancouver is a strong team. Edmonton has a lot of flaws. At the end of this series Edmonton just found ways to win and outplay Vancouver. That is part of what makes Edmonton so dangerous. They don’t need the strongest goaltending or defense to find ways to win in the playoffs.
The Edmonton Oilers will play the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and Vancouver Canucks have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Dallas Stars have advanced to the second round.
The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
The Number one seed New York Rangers will take on the number three seed Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers finished their season with a .671 win percentage. The Panthers had a win percentage of .634 during the regular season. The Panthers won two of their three meetings during the regular season. Their last game was on March 23rd with the Rangers winning that game 4-3.
The New York Rangers swept the Washington Capitals in round one. The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the second round. The Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in round one. The Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins in six games in round two. The Washington Capitals did not put up a fight or play that well against the New York Rangers. The Rangers went through round one easily. The Carolina Hurricanes did give the New York Rangers more of a challenge in the second round. That was a close series with the Hurricanes not going down without a fight and the Rangers struggling to close out the series. The Tampa Bay Lightning avoided being swept by the Florida Panthers. They were not much of a challenge for the Panthers though. The Boston Bruins got off to a good start against the Florida Panthers in round two. The Panthers just were able to shut the Bruins down and find ways to win.
This is the New York Rangers first time in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2022. This is their thirty sixth time in the Semifinals/Conference Finals. The Florida Panthers have returned to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is their third time making the Eastern Conference Finals in ten playoff appearances. Last season they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Last time the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs was in 1997. The Rangers are a good team. They have been playing at an elite level. The Panthers have a lot of experience. They found a way to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. They keep finding ways to win this year. This will be the biggest challenge of the season so far for the Rangers. It should be a good series.
2024 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -2 |
| Panthers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 9 | +2 |
2024 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 82 | 55 | 23 | 4 | 114 | 282 | 229 | +53 |
| Panthers | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 110 | 268 | 200 | +68 |
2024 playoff record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 26 | +9 |
| Panthers | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 27 | +12 |
Game one of this series is tonight. Game one will be in New York. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 PM. The winner pf this series will face the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Zac Electrifly 
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