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Stanley Cup playoffs: Who, what everyone is talking about in the Western Conference
Yardbarker has seen first hand this hockey season that Eastern Conference teams have garnered a lot of attention, as teams like the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and President's Trophy-winning New York Rangers have been favorites to win the Stanley Cup at different points during the regular season and into the playoffs.
However, the tide appears to be turning, and there is great hockey happening out in the Western Conference that can't be ignored.
Here are who and what you should be paying attention to out West, from stats to odds and a little bit in between.
Got a minute? Here's our game 4 goals, as called by @JoshBogorad and @Razor5Hole! pic.twitter.com/n8EA90kws0
— z - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) May 14, 2024
For starters, the Western Conference is now the betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Since the start of the playoffs, the Rangers and the Hurricanes have traded off being the team with the shortest odds at DraftKings to hoist Lord Stanley's Mug this year.
That has changed halfway through the second round of the postseason, as the Western Conference is now favored at -120 odds of having a team claim this year's title.
So if you put a little moolah down on one of the Western Conference teams still standing — or, still skating — you could be looking at a nice return at the conclusion of the playoffs.
On that note, the Dallas Stars now look like the team to win it all. And their second-rou nd series against the Colorado Avalanche is the reason why.
The Avs were preseason co-favorites along with the Hurricanes to win the Cup this year thanks to a stacked roster including Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon and Norris Trophy hopeful Cale Makar. But the 2022 Cup winners are looking miffed against Pete DeBoer's Stars, who outscored Colorado 17-9 as they went up 3-1 in the series.
Dallas forward Tyler Seguin heads into Game 5 of the series tied for the best plus-minus in the playoffs (plus-8) with defenseman Chris Tanev right behind him (plus-7). Meanwhile, starting goalie Jake Oettinger has registered a .923 save percentage while accounting for seven wins i n the postseason.
You may be wondering, then, if Dallas already has this series in the bag. Take it from someone who covered the LA Kings reverse-sweeping the San Jose Sharks in 2014: Anything is possible. Don't count the Avs out just yet.
Oettinger is also now strongly considered to win the Conn Smythe. In fact, Yardbarker highlighted him in a list of betting favorites ahead of his Game 4 start against Colorado, and he was listed at 11-1 to win playoff MVP.
Since he has held the Avalanche to a single goal in back-to-back games, he has leapfrogged to the top of the list at DraftKings and now has the shortest odds at +650.
There are only two other Western Conference players with odds better than 14-1 to win the Conn Smythe: Oettinger's teammate Mir o Heiskanen (10-1) and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (17-2).
Speaking of McDavid, the Oilers series against the Vancouver Canucks is high-scoring must-watch TV. The final Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs are well acquainted and do not like each other. Every game has been decided by one goal, and over 2.5 goals have been scored in each tilt.
McDavid himself leads the playoffs with 16 assists while teammates Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl regularly light the lamp. Meanwhile, Vancouver's scrappy lineup including Brock Boeser and Norris Trophy hopeful Quinn Hughes have woven in and out of Edmonton's defense with little difficulty.
If you want to watch a goal-heavy game, this series has you covered.
Does this mean a Canadian team could go to the Stanley Cup Final? It's certainly possible.
Prior to a COVID-impacted 2021 season when the Montreal Canadiens faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canucks were the last Canadian team to make it to the Final — and that was in 2011.
The winner of the Canucks-Oilers series will have to play the winner of the Avalanche-Stars series, and neither of those teams are easy to keep down.
Suffice it to say, the Western Conference Final is going to be very fun to watch.
More must-reads:
- Three takeaways as Bruins force Game 6 to keep season alive
- Oilers use late heroics to tie Canucks at two games each
- The 'Hart Trophy winners' quiz
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