After one day without playoff hockey, the chase for the Stanley Cup resumes Tuesday night with the start of the conference finals — and the star power still in contention is off the charts.
Leon Draisaitl is the betting favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after he and Connor McDavid got defending Western Conference champion Edmonton through two series against tough opponents. That is also partially the case because the Oilers are Cup favourites according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Mikko Rantanen leads all scorers in the postseason with 19 points in 13 games to get the Dallas Stars into a West final rematch against the Oilers that they hope goes the other way this time.
“They’ve got one of the best playoff players of all time in Mikko Rantanen in their lineup, and that might be one factor that allows them to have the narrative be different this year and beat the Oilers,” retired defenceman and three-time Cup champion Ken Daneyko said.
“He’s a money player. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s built for this.”
Edmonton’s antidote to the Rantanen and the Finns — Mikael Granlund, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell and healthy Miro Heiskanen — is the combination of McDavid and Draisaitl. They have 17 and 16 points, respectively, and will be the Stars’ focal point in the series beginning Wednesday night in Dallas.
“They’re a different team this year,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said.
“They’re a deeper team this year than they were last year. You see they’re getting scoring from a lot of places other than McDavid and Draisaitl, and they still have that element, obviously, every night.”
Yes, 16 different skaters have scored a goal for the Oilers, but they will likely go only as far as Nos. 97 and 29 take them. McDavid was playoff MVP a year ago when they forced Game 7 at Florida and fell just short of the championship, and he may put his teammates on his back to return to the final.
It took the Panthers seven games to get through the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, but they again have the look of a champion going into the East final against Carolina. BetMGM has Florida favoured to reach a third consecutive Cup final.
“Nothing fazes them: They don’t care where they play, who they play,” Daneyko said. “That’s a dangerous animal. That’s a confident bunch and rightfully so.”
Trade deadline pickups Brad Marchand and Seth Jones played a big role in routing the Leafs in Game 7 on Sunday night. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky also looks dialed in a year after backstopping the Panthers to the first title in franchise history.
The goalie matchup in the West could determine the series. Jake Oettinger was not at his best for the Stars in the conference final a year ago, and he was actually outplayed by Stuart Skinner, who lost his job as the Oilers’ starter earlier this playoffs.
An injury to backup Calvin Pickard thrust Skinner back into the net last round against Vegas. All he has done since is stop 67 of the 71 shots he faced, with back-to-back shutouts to close out the series.
“He’s as tough as any goalie with the way he bounces back,” Daneyko said.
“Oettinger’s the more constant for Dallas and one of the best goalies in the league, so a lot of people think you’ve got a little edge there. But Skinner rises to the occasion.”
Oettinger allowed 12 goals on 170 shots over six games in the second round against Winnipeg, including just two in the third period all series.
The biggest reason to believe the Hurricanes can beat the Panthers this time after getting swept by them two years ago is Carolina’s top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis.
Svechnikov has eight goals, one shy of Rantanen for the most in the playoffs, including the series clincher in Game 5 of the second round against Washington. Coach Rod Brind’Amour said they’ve been waiting for this version of Svechnikov, and the 2018 No. 2 pick has come into his own at age 25.
“He’s just been great, there’s no question about it,” captain Jordan Staal said.
“He’s been on it every night, shooting the puck and being physical and just being hard to play against, being the playoff player we know he is. It’s great to see the puck go in for him. He’s going to continue to lead our group.”
