Here is the schedule for the games:
Thu., May 18: Panthers at Hurricanes, 8 p.m.; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS
Sat., May 20: Panthers at Hurricanes, 8 p.m.; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS
Mon., May 22: Hurricanes at Panthers, 8 p.m.; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS
Wed., May 24: Hurricanes at Panthers, 8 p.m.; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS
Cats sweep Canes into the sea 4-0
Fri., May 19: Stars at Golden Knights, 8:30 p.m.; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Sun., May 21: Stars at Golden Knights, 3 p.m.; ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS
Tue., May 23: Golden Knights at Stars, 8 p.m.; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Thu., May 25: Golden Knights at Stars, 8 p.m.; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Sat., May 27: Stars at Golden Knights, 8 p.m.; ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS
Mon., May 29: Golden Knights at Stars, 8 p.m.; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
And that's it - Stars go nova and Knighties win series 3-2
The NHL did a fantastic job of previewing the Eastern series here. I don't want to steal anything from there.
I will say that I was surprised at the Flames-Panthers trades that led to Tkachuk coming to Florida. Florida was top team last year and to give up their top scorer and a good defenseman for Tkachuk, kind of boggled my mind. The Cats played pretty bad at the start of the year as well and snuck into the playoffs. Sergei Bobby found his form at the right time and Florida's players who remained must have remembered the feeling of being bounced early last year.
Carolina is a well coached team that can go from a boring neutral zone trap to a run and gun, very quickly. I still don't think Fredrick Andersen can lead any team to the promised land, but the defense in front of him is pretty dam good.
I did a preview of the Eastern final here. Don't read it.
There is a half made Western Conference Preview here.
Prediction: I think I don't watch a lot of hockey for the rest of the year.
