Tag: 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Why these 6 players are the most important to watch during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final

The stars will be out during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

It’s safe to say no one was expecting this matchup in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

For the first time since 2019, we’ll have a first-time Stanley Cup champion after the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers battle it out to decide the victor. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are never without surprises, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who could have predicted this matchup at the end of the day.

MORE STANLEY CUP: The 12 NHL teams that have never won a Stanley Cup.

Even still, Vegas and Florida are as star-studded as they come in this league, with playmakers up and down the lineup. The Panthers have, without a doubt, been the most fun team to follow in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with their newfound penchant for dramatic finishes. The Golden Knights, on the other hand, have been a strong — but steady — ship, even going back to the regular season.

But, if you’re a casual hockey fan tuning in for the first time these playoffs, you might be wondering which players are set to make the most impact on hockey’s biggest stage. So, to get you ready, here the six most important players you need to watch out for during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

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Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill made an incredible one-handed save against the Stars in Game 5

Goalie Adin Hill made the save of a lifetime for the Golden Knights on Saturday night.

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill made one of the most beautiful saves you’re likely to see in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs… or in any Stanley Cup playoffs for that matter.

As Dallas Stars winger Joel Kiviranta looked well-positioned to give his team the 3-2 advantage over Vegas in the third quarter, a falling Hill reached out his hand and blocked the shot right before it went into the goal.

It was a true last-second save for Hill, one that kept the game tied as the Golden Knights were trying to wrap up Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday night.

The level of difficulty on this save highlighted why elite goaltending is crucial in the playoffs. Hill showed why he’s a force to be reckoned with on the ice with this incredible stop.

The zoom-in just shows you how stunning Hill’s save really was.

It’s the kind of move that makes a season highlight reel now matter how the playoff series ends.

See Matthew Tkachuk’s stunning last-second goal to clinch a Stanley Cup Final berth

THE PANTHERS CINDERELLA PLAYOFF RUN CONTINUES!

The Florida Panthers are going to the Stanley Cup Final and Matthew Tkachuk is — of course! — the one that got them there.

The Panthers eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday in an unthinkable sweep of the Eastern Conference Final. Game 4 seemed destined for overtime after the Hurricanes tied up the game 3-3 late in the third period. Tkachuk, however, had other plans.

With less than a minute left in the third, the Panthers were given a rare power play opportunity to put the series away. And with just 4.3 seconds remaining in the period, Tkachuk cashed in to give the Panthers the 4-3 lead and the win.

While the NHL reviewed the play, Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen was not interfered with in his attempt to save the puck.

What a goal! Once Tkachuk saw the empty net in front of him with Andersen out of position, it was all over for the Hurricanes.

With the sweep, the Panthers now advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, marking their second overall appearance in the final round. Florida will now have to wait to see which team will be their opponent out of the West, but what an exhilarating run this has been for the Panthers!

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel got the Panthers crowd absolutely hyped ahead of Game 4

Mike McDaniel got HYPED to rally the Florida Panthers crowd with a drum.

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has never been afraid to have some fun off the field.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes, McDaniel sported his custom Panthers jersey and rallied the crowd with a few bangs on the Florida drum.

McDaniel didn’t hold back on pumping up the Florida crowd by really getting into his bangs on the rally drum. The fans seemed to really respond to the the coach’s passion for the hockey team.

If the Miami gig doesn’t work out in the end, he’s got a great career as a Panthers hype man just waiting for him.

Talk about a way to get the crowd going. The Panthers have had a tremendous 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs so far, and perhaps the Dolphins will pick up on that Sunshine State momentum this fall.

At the very least, McDaniel is going to bring plenty of hype back to the Miami locker room.

Nicolas Hague laughed at Max Domi for trying to fight him during Golden Knights’ rout of Stars

The Dallas Stars were NOT having a good Tuesday night.

Things are not going very well for the Dallas Stars during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

The team fell behind 4-0 in the game’s second period in front of the home crowd, and Stars center Max Domi couldn’t even pick a fight on the ice without Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague laughing at him.

Domi hit Hague with a nasty shot as the two were going for the puck, and something Hague did after the hit caused Domi to approach him for a shove and an on-ice scuffle.

However, Hague didn’t really fight back as much as get a good laugh in Domi’s quarreling. The Vegas defenseman even jawed a bit at Domi as the two left the ice and threw a thumbs up his way.

Ouch. It’s bad enough that Hague clearly wasn’t into fighting with Domi like the latter wanted. It’s absolutely brutal for Domi that Hague started laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

Things got so rough for Dallas that Stars fans started throwing trash on the ice to display their displeasure in the team’s performance.

Unless the Stars rallied in the third period, they’d go down 3-0 in the Western Conference playoff series with a possible elimination game on the horizon.

The Stars at night were not big and bright, and the whole vibe in the arena showed it.

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Stars captain Jamie Benn rightfully tossed from Game 3 early for terribly unnecessary cross-check

Jamie Benn deserved to be ejected from the game after this horrendous cross-check.

This isn’t what you want to see from your captain in a must-win playoff series.

On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars were hosting the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. After losing both games on the road in Vegas, the Stars looked to get off on a better foot at home in front of a Dallas crowd. Instead, captain Jamie Benn took himself out of the game mere minutes in after an extremely unnecessary cross-check.

With less than two minutes gone by in the first period and the Stars already down 1-0, Benn laid a hit into Mark Stone. The Stars captain then gave Stone a rough cross-check to the face while the Vegas player was down on the ice, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play.

Benn very well could get another game or two on top as well given how reckless this cross-check was. And on the ensuing five-minute power play, the Golden Knights scored to double their lead. By first period’s end? The Stars were facing a 3-0 deficit and one of their leaders carelessly took themselves out of the game.

NHL fans tore into Benn for the reckless cross-check that cost the Stars one of their best players in Game 3.

NHL fans couldn’t believe there was no penalty on this late high stick during Hurricanes-Panthers Game 3

Did the referees miss this late high stick on Shayne Gostisbehere?

The Florida Panthers are now one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1996, but some NHL fans have questions as to how Game 3 ended.

On Monday, the Panthers bested the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final. Despite the Hurricanes outshooting the Panthers 32-17, Florida held strong off the back of Sergei Bobrovsky’s fantastic performance in net.

However, the ending of Game 3 didn’t sit well with many NHL fans. With the goaltender pulled in the final few minutes of the game, the Hurricanes were breaking out of their own zone when Shayne Gostisbehere was hit with a high stick from Sam Reinhart. Play was stopped before the Panthers scored an empty netter, but after some deliberation, the referees decided that no penalty should be called and that play should continue 1-0.

Here’s how the play went down.

While Gostisbehere exaggerates it, the Hurricanes’ defenseman still gets hit up high with a stick, which is a penalty regardless of the reaction. Of course, the Hurricanes didn’t lose Game 3 because of the no penalty call, but going on a late power play with the chance to tie the game would have benefited them greatly.

NHL fans could not believe this high stick on Gostisbehere was not called a penalty late in Game 3.

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Florida Panthers superfan Brooks Koepka was in attendance at Game 3 day after winning the PGA Championship

Not even a major golf tournament could stop Brooks Koepka from cheering on the Panthers.

It’s been a busy week for Brooks Koepka.

After winning the 2023 PGA Championship on Sunday — his third victory in the tournament — Koepka high-tailed it out of Oak Hill to make his way to Sunrise, Florida. The reason? So he could catch Game 3 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes.

Koepka is quite the Panthers superfan, as he famously heckled Aaron Ekblad with an orange traffic cone at a game not too long ago! Thankfully, it seems Koepka has cooled off a bit now that the Panthers have embarked on this surprising underdog run in the playoffs, as he’s back to cheering on his favorite NHL team.

MORE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Brooks Koepka had a great exchange with Michael Block after the club pro’s fairytale PGA Championship.

No surprise, then, that the TNT broadcast caught Koepka in the midst of an intense moment of clapping late in the second period.

Koepka even brought the Wanamaker Trophy with him for the occasion!

We’ll have to see if Koepka’s championship pedigree can rub off on the Panthers in their quest for their first Stanley Cup.

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Matthew Tkachuk scored yet another game-winning goal for the Panthers in overtime

Matthew Tkachuk won the game AGAIN in overtime for the Panthers.

Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk is having himself a heck of a 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

After closing out one of the longest NHL games of all time with a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in four overtimes, Tkachuk scored yet another overtime goal to get the Panthers a second-straight playoff win over Carolina on Saturday.

It’s just stunning for a player, even one as talented as Tkachuk, to score two-straight overtime goals in a playoff series.

However, that’s exactly what the Panthers star did, and now Florida heads back to the Sunshine State with a 2-0 lead over Carolina in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals. A sweep feels like a distinct possibility at this point.

Tkachuk certainly will always remember the dramatic game winner after playing in four overtimes against Carolina, but this game-winning overtime goal won’t soon be forgotten, either.

Florida fans are probably exhausted after yet another playoff game against the Hurricanes went into overtime, but Tkachuk got things done much, much earlier than he did the other night.

In the end, whether it’s one overtime session or four, the Panthers are surely glad to have Tkachuk on their side when it counts.

2023 Stanley Cup Playoff power rankings: Expect the unexpected in the Conference Finals

Chaos is king in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Conference Finals will be no exception.

And then there were four!

The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially at their midpoint as the Conference Finals loom. The second round of the playoffs saw more heavyweight favorites in the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers fall, making way for the most unconventional Conference Finals hockey fans have seen in some time.

Chaos is king in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but things have been taken to a new level this season. The last time any of the four teams remaining won a Stanley Cup? The Carolina Hurricanes way back in 2006. Not only that, two of the remaining teams haven’t even won a Stanley Cup in franchise history!

Expect the unexpected really is the name of the game here as the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin to wind down. After all, there are only a finite number of hockey games left in the season before a long summer, so why not enjoy it all while it lasts?

Here’s how we rank the four teams remaining in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with a final eulogy for the ones left behind.

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