The road to the Stanley Cup is coming to a close as the Finals near

By Annika Johnson, Apprentice Editor|June 2, 2023

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Photo courtesy of slgckgc (CC BY 2.0)

The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers will duel in the Stanley Cup Final after three hard fought rounds of playoff hockey.

After an action packed bracket filled with upsets, two teams, the Florida Panthers and Las Vegas Golden Knights, have survived through the three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs and are on the footsteps of hockey glory. 

The Panthers barely made the cut to reach the playoffs, but showed they belonged by holding off the top seeded Boston Bruins, pushing it to game seven where they won in overtime. The Golden Knights defeated the Winnipeg Jets in the first round after having  a 4-1 lead in the series. 

In the second round, the Panthers came close to a sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs but finished with a 4-1 series lead, sending them into the third round. The Golden Knights played the Oilers in the second round, with most fans believing the Oilers would win due to having the best player all season, Connor McDavid. Despite McDavid’s talent, he didn’t shine in the series as the Golden Knights held off the Avalanche.  Fans were on their toes going into a critical game six, where the Golden Knights won the series 4-2, advancing to the third round. 

The Carolina Hurricanes were having great success during the playoffs; Beating the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils easily. They didn’t play their best hockey during the third round against the Panthers. The Panthers swept the Hurricanes, shocking fans shocked because of the Hurricane’s strength, fast-pace, and experience. Star player Matthew Tkachuk showed his skills during the games scoring in every overtime with seconds left or the fourth game with 3.3 seconds to go in the period. 

In the first three games of the Golden Knights playing the Dallas Stars, everyone thought they would take the series 4-0. But the Stars said otherwise, extending the series to an exciting game six. But the Golden Knights won 6-0, winning the series 4-2, sending them to the Stanley Cup finals. After all three rounds of games, the outcomes seemed to surprise all NHL fans. The Stanley Cup Finals are set to start on June 3. 

“Las Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Robin Lehner” by slgckgc is licensed under (CC BY 2.0)