The time has finally come for the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals! This year’s matchup is quite unique with two teams vying for their first ever Stanley Cup. Out of the East are the Florida Panthers who are participating in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since the 1996 postseason. Representing the West is the Vegas Golden Knights who are making their second appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in just six seasons as a franchise. Both clubs are deserving, but only one can cement their names into the history books as a champion.
Florida Panthers
Paul Maurice’s Panthers have been the ultimate underdog story in this year’s postseason. After making the playoffs by a single point, many thought their stay in the postseason would be short lived against a record breaking Bruins team. But the Panthers would prove everyone wrong and shockingly knock out the Bruins in seven games. They followed that up by winning eight of their next nine games to win the East.
The biggest contributors to the Panther’s success have been Matthew Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky. Tkachuk is having a postseason for the ages with a team leading 21 points and a huge showing in the conference finals. He scored three of the four game winning goals against the Hurricanes and had a primary assist on the only one he didn’t score himself.
With Tkachuk leading the way on offense, Bobrovsky has been a force behind the crease. Since taking over for Alex Lyons, the veteran netminder has compiled a 2.21 GAA with a .935 save percentage. He’s come up extremely clutch for the Panthers who wouldn’t be here without his elite performances thus far.
All in all this is a tough team that has proven time and time again they can hang around with anybody. With a deep offensive roster and a top notch netminder the Panthers are not to be taken lightly in this final series.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have continually displayed why they were the Western Conference’s best team throughout this postseason. Under new head coach Bruce Cassidy they’ve been putting in a total team effort. Their offense is highly efficient and they’ve exhibited a strong defensive game throughout the postseason.
Jack Eichel in particular has thrived in his first career postseason to the tune of a team leading 18 points. He’s also tied with Mark Stone for a team leading three power play goals. Along with Eichel the Golden Knights have also had the luxury of six other players going for double digit points. Their offensive depth has been the key to their success so far and will continue to serve them well.
In goal, Adin Hill filled in quite nicely for Laurent Brossoit who got injured in the semi-finals. In 11 appearances Hill has posted a 2.07 GAA and a .937 save percentage. He also posted two shutouts against the Stars in the conference finals. Hill has been a tremendous performer backing an already rock solid defensive unit for the Golden Knights.
With the Golden Knights there are close to no major flaws to talk about. They’ve been dominant across the board and can win games in a variety of ways. Having a great coach and an experienced roster, the Golden Knights are a notable threat to win it all this season.
Prediction
What makes this series difficult to predict is the similarities between each team. They both carry deep offensive rosters and have a red hot goalie to back them. But when it’s all said and done the Golden Knights should be this year’s champions.
This is no disrespect to the Panthers who are an amazing team who will certainly not go down quietly. However the Golden Knights have been on a hard fought journey to get back to this spot after losing five years ago. They’re hungry to finish what they started and have a deep team firing on all cylinders to help them do so. Also helping their case is the fact that several players on the roster as well as head coach Bruce Cassidy have been to and won on this stage in years past.
The Panthers will give the Golden Knights their toughest test of this postseason run but the Golden Knights will ultimately prevail in a long series.
Prediction: Golden Knights in 7
Check out our NHL page for more updates!
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers like Justin!
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- PlatoAiStream. Web3 Data Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- Minting the Future w Adryenn Ashley. Access Here.
- Buy and Sell Shares in PRE-IPO Companies with PREIPO®. Access Here.
- Source: https://thegamehaus.com/nhl/stanley-cup-finals-preview-and-prediction/2023/05/31/
