The time has finally arrived. We started this journey back in October with thirty two teams. Now here we sit with two teams left standing. And its two teams that are coming from non traditional hockey markets. Its the Florida Panthers taking on the Vegas Golden Knights.
This marks the 2nd finals appearance ever for the Panthers, who's only other trip to the finals was way back in 1996. They came in as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. They beat the Bruins in seven, the Maple Leafs in five and finally the Hurricanes in four. As for the Vegas Golden Knights, they won the Pacific Division and are playing in the cup finals for the 2nd time in their six year history. In this playoffs, they got by the Jets in five, Oilers in six and finally the Stars in six.
Here are the dates and times for every game in the finals:
June 3 Florida Panthers 8:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
June 5 Florida Panthers 8:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
June 8 Vegas Golden Knights 8:00 p.m. Florida Panthers FLA Live Arena
June 10 Vegas Golden Knights 8:00 p.m. Florida Panthers FLA Live Arena
June 13 Florida Panthers 8:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
June 16 Vegas Golden Knights 8:00 p.m. Florida Panthers FLA Live Arena
June 19 Florida Panthers 8:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
Its a battle of one team with plenty of finals experience against the other who hasn't. Florida has only three guys that have played in the finals before: Marc and Eric Staal and Carter Verhaeghe. Vegas has twelve guys on their roster who have been in the finals before.
What has me worried at the start of this series is the Panthers having over a week off between sweeping Carolina and the start of this series. The Cats are going to come out a bit sluggish at the start of this series, for which I see Vegas taking full advantage of to kickstart things. Plus, you also have to throw in the nervous factor as well for Florida. Only thr4ee guys have ever played on this stage before, so its kind of a big deal for the Panthers. There are some good going for the Panters right now. Sergei Bobrovsky is playing outstanding hockey in net, and they've had offensive heroics from Matthew Tkachuk. Both guys could be front runners for Florida for the Conn Smyth as MVP of the playoffs.
On the other side of the Ice, Vegas has been here before. This is the second time in just their sixth year in the league in the finals. They have half of their roster that has played on this level as well, not all of them here but they have done it before. Like Florida they've had hot goaltending and timely scoring. Aidin Hill has been outstanding over the last two rounds in net for Vegas. And when the Golden Knights need timely scoring, enter Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson.
That's why this series is a little tougher to pick because both teams seem to be pretty evenly matched heading into this final round. But at the end of the day I think experience wins out.
Pick: Vegas in 7!
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