By Tyler Sonderholzer
The 2022-2023 National Hockey League (NHL) season comes down to its final stage, the Stanley Cup Finals. After two months of teams playing the best they can be, there are two teams remaining, the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers. Both teams are looking to win their first Stanley Cup, yet they have had very different paths to the finals.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights have been in the league for five years and are already in their second Stanley Cup Finals, previously losing in 2018 in their first year of existence. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games, in the second round they beat the Edmonton Oilers in six games and in the Western Conference Finals the Knights defeated the Dallas Stars in six games.
The Knights have been one of the best teams in the league all season with their high-flying offense and great defense. However, not only was the team’s top goalie, Robin Lehner out for the season before it even began, but the Knights are currently on their fourth-string goalie with injuries to Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit.
This is the team’s second final appearance as they last made it in 2018, their first year of existence, but lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers are on a playoff run of a lifetime; after being the eighth and last seed in the Eastern Conference, they knocked off the best team in NHL history, the Boston Bruins, in seven games and came back from a 3-1 series deficit. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games in the second round and swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The team snuck into the playoffs in the final spot of the Eastern Conference and will have faced four of the top five teams in the league throughout their playoff run.
The Panthers previously made the finals in 1996 but got swept by the Colorado Avalanche
Start Times
Game one of the best of-seven series is on Saturday, game two is on Monday, game three is on June 8 and game four is on June 10. If necessary, game five is on June 13, game six is on June 16 and game seven is on June 19. Games one, two, five and seven will be in Las Vegas while the rest will be in Florida.
Predictions
Currently, the betting odds show that the Knights are favored, however, many pundits feel mixed about who will win. Regardless of who people think will win, it will be a very close and tight Stanley Cup Finals with both teams attempting to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
