2023 Division Finals Preview

We are now at the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs--the Elite Eight. While last year's opening round saw the status quo take place, what we saw this year was typical of what we are used to seeing in the NHL. We saw a pair of bigtime upsets, we saw two teams win series for the first time in over a decade, and with the results of the opening round, three-quarters of last year's Final Four are out--including both of last year's finalists. As a result of the insanity of the opening round, we have these Division Finals matchups:

Atlantic Division Final

For the first time since 2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the final eight teams standing. While the objective of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is to win 16 games, winning the first four was a cause for massive celebration for the Maple Leafs and their fans, as it was a 19-year monkey that had been finally removed from their backs. As Auston Matthews uttered during the postgame interview, their job is not done. Now, they had to finish their long quest to bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto for the first time in 56 years.

Very few things could outshine what the Leafs did, but the Florida Panthers achieved one of those things. The Panthers didn't let little things like a 43-point standings differential, their opponent having 65 wins, or trailing 3-1 get in their way. The Panthers pulled off what was, without any denial, the single biggest upset of NHL history, and as a result, we have this first-time-ever playoff meeting. The Leafs ousted the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to reach this point.

Metropolitan Division Final

Out of the remaining eight teams, five of them have won the Stanley Cup at least once. Out of those five, however, the Carolina Hurricanes are the most recent winners. That's right. Carolina's only Stanley Cup came in 2006, meaning that none of the teams who won from 2007 until last year are in the Elite Eight. The Hurricanes have reached the second round for the third straight year, and the fourth time in five years, and they did so by ousting the New York Islanders in six games.

The Hurricanes will face off against the New Jersey Devils, who defeated the New York Rangers in a seven-game thriller. The victory was the Devils' first since winning the Eastern Conference Final in 2012, which was also against the Rangers. Out of the four Division Final series, this is the only one with a backstory. The Devils and Hurricanes have met four previous times, with Carolina winning three of those times. All three wins were part of long runs, with the first two coming in 2002 and 2006--both times Carolina reached the Cup Final.

Central Division Final

Nothing topped what the Panthers had done, but the Seattle Kraken were close. In their first-ever playoff appearance, the Kraken ousted the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche, in seven games, becoming the first teah to achieve such a feat. Philipp Grubauer led the charge in net with a stellar performance against the team who had him as their netminder for three seasons, and as a result, the Kraken are one step closer to the ultimate prize.

Seattle will face off against the Dallas Stars, who have improved from their last playoff appearance, though it helps that they faced the yearly disappointing team known as the Minnesota Wild. Dallas' advancement is their first since their long run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, and they are looking to get back there once again.

Pacific Division Final

Oh boy. I'm going to be honest, this series sickens me. It's interesting, yes, but it's nauseating. There are two things that the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers have in common. One, they have toxic fanbases, and two, they both get their asses kissed by the refs...a lot. In fact, the latter is literally the only reason why the Oilers got to this point. It's definitely not because they were better than the Los Angeles Kings, because they weren't. Despite this, the Oilers are the only 2022 Final Four team left in this go-around, but they better advance, or this will be yet another embarrassing blemish in Connor McDavid's stellar career.

The Golden Knights, from what I've seen, don't appear to be messing around. Their foot has been super-glued to the gas after losing Game One to the Winnipeg Jets, and they haven't looked back; they really took advantages of the Jets' woes and weaknesses. They managed to make a former Vezina winner look faulty--imagine what they could do to Stuart Skinner. Yikes!

Regarding TV rights, it's national broadcasts for the rest of the way, as the American regional sports networks are done for the season. ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and TBS will have all of the coverage in the U.S., while Sportsnet will have the games in Canada. If the first round is any indication, the second round should be every bit as thrilling, as the chase for the Stanley Cup marches on!