Finally !!!
After waiting an interminable week, we finally have the Stanley Cup Final. In age when you can binge whole seasons of television shows in a day waiting a week to start the Final is ludicrous. 
Teams fly private.
Miami has 1000s of hotel rooms. What else is there to do in Edmonton? It should be Game 3 right now. I think the layoff hurts Florida. They are a well-oiled machine. They don’t want to get any rust. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aren’t going to forget how to be McJesus and Leon. How much will the layoff affect the outcome of this series?  You’ll have to read this column until the end. First let’s look back at the Conference Finals.
EAST-
The Florida Panthers completely dominated the New York Rangers in six games. New York Ranger goalie Igor Shesterkin saved the Rangers from being swept. Although the New York / ESPN media pundits calling his play brilliant were over the top. If Igor was brilliant the Rangers would be in the Final. Panther netminder Sergei Bobrovsky played almost as well as Igor. Bobrovsky was barely tested because the Rangers had problems clearing the puck out of their zone and over center red. Let alone spend time in their offensive zone and get quality scoring chances. I hope Adam Fox was as banged up as he claimed to be because the Rangers needed much better play out of him. The Rangers proved the Metropolitan Division stunk. That’s how they won the President’s Trophy. The Rangers beat bad teams all year. The Panthers were the eye test best team in the Eastern Conference all year. They proved it in this series. The Panthers fourth line forecheck smothered the Rangers. Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett  looked like they were running line rushes. The Panthers Defense was nearly perfect. Blueliners Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dimitri Kulikov have revitalized their careers. Gustav Forsling play has given him a long one. Florida’s Paul Maurice outcoached New York’s Peter Laviolette. It took New York five games before they realized they had to airmail the puck out of the zone. Monster Matt Rempe played sparingly for the Rangers even though the New York only had a forecheck when he was on the ice.
WEST-
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars in six games in a much closer series. The Stars were supposed to have the edge in depth, but Edmonton’s depth was superior. The Stars were supposed to have the edge in goaltending as well but Oilers Stuart Skinner was better than Stars Jake Oettinger. Roope Hintz return the Dallas lineup immediately gave a Stars a noticeable but unsustainable bump.  Adam Henrique returned to the Oilers lineup gave them a sustained rise in play. Henrique enabled Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch ,who was excellent in the series , the ability to roll at least three lines. It made splitting McDavid and Draisaitl easier. Inserting rugged Sam Carrick into the lineup enabled Edmonton to matchup better physically. Edmonton playing Corey Perry and Evander Kane on the second and third lines minimized Dallas’s depth. The Stars older plays looked old. Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene didn’t bury great looks. Jamie Benn was physical but not dynamic. Joe Pavelski was on a banana peel to retirement. The Stars young guns, Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven  were too green to make a difference. All World Defensemen Miro Heiskanen was worn out by the end of this series. Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson will have other chances to make the Final. This is McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and the Ryan Nugent- Hopkins time to shine.
The Florida Panthers have best defensive forward in the NHL. Selke winner Sasha Barkov has stopped Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak and Artemi Panarin. Connor McDavid is better player than they are. McDavid also has Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl is a top five player in the world.  Zach Hyman is the perfect line mate for McDavid. He goes right to the net. Florida has the best blueline the Oilers have played against, but Edmonton will score. Unfortunately for Edmonton so will Florida. Not only will Barkov, Bennett and Tkachuk score so will Carter Verheaghe, Anton Lundell and  fifty goal scorer Sam Reinhart. Edmonton’s top defense pair Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm are Cup worthy but then there is a drop off. Darnell Nurse is overly criticized but he’s mistake prone.  Florida’s best defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour control every aspect of the game. The gap between Ekblad and Montour and Florida’s other defensemen is not as pronounced as the gap in Edmonton. Florida’s relentless, physical and nasty forecheck will wear down Edmonton. If the Panthers stay out of the box and not give the Oilers vaunted powerplay life the Panthers have a very good chance in this series. Edmonton will get a few pucks past Bobrovsky. Florida will get more by Skinner. Betting against McJesus? Yes.
PANTHERS in 6.
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