NHL Lessons Learned: Conference Finals Ready

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are down to the final four teams. The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers will meet in the Western Conference Finals, while the defending champion Florida Panthers battle the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals. The best four teams in the NHL are set to square off after a wild second round concluded. Fresh off a Game 7 between the Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs, let's explore the latest lessons learned in the NHL.

1. Run It Back

The Western Conference Finals is a rematch in 2025, as the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars battle for the West once again. The Oilers took the series in 2024 and have unfinished business with the Stanley Cup, but the Stars have been to three conference finals in four years without advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. Both squads are dangerous and determined, setting up an epic conference finals series.

2. Maple Leafs' Playoff Demons Too Strong

Well, we (almost) all saw it coming, didn't we? The Toronto Maple Leafs walked into a Game 7 and left losers. It's a perennial certainty that this Toronto team underachieves in the postseason. Huge changes could be on the horizon for Toronto, as top forwards John Tavares and Mitch Marner seek new contracts. One or both could find new homes this summer in search of that huge extension, and it could usher in a new era of hockey in Toronto.

3. Conn Smythe Front Runners

With just four teams left, the race for the postseason MVP is dwindling to a few likely candidates. Mikko Rantanen of the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid highlight the Western Conference options. Rantanen leads all skaters in points during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 19, but McDavid is right behind with 17 points.

Contrarily, goaltending dominates the Eastern Conference Finals. Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen has the best goals-against average (1.36 GAA) and save percentage (.937) in the postseason, and he's been the