It is unfortunate that the NHL teams from the Western Conference teams only get to Sunrise once a season \u2014 and their Stanley Cup playoff games last into the wee hours. <\/p>\n
Other than the Edmonton Oilers, with whom Panthers\u2019 fans are quite familiar, the folks in South Florida really do not get to know some of the star players out west.<\/p>\n
With McDavid, Draisaitl & Co. gone and the West down to four teams, there are still a lot of outstanding players still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n
Colorado is certainly one of the favorites to succeed Florida as custodian of the Stanley Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Avalanche are the Presidents\u2019 Trophy winners and the regular-season leader in both goals for and fewest goals against.<\/p>\n
The unquestionable superstar of that team is\u00a0Nathan MacKinnon, who topped the NHL with 53 goals this season. He won the Hart trophy as Most Valuable Player in 2024 and is a probable candidate this season.<\/p>\n
MacKinnon was the Number 1 draft pick in 2013, the year the Panthers selected\u00a0Sasha Barkov\u00a0right behind him.<\/p>\n
An explosive scorer, MacKinnon may just be one of the most exciting players to watch in the NHL.<\/p>\n
Gabriel Landeskog\u00a0has been slowed by injuries but is still a force. He was the second overall draft pick in 2011, right behind\u00a0Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.<\/p>\n
Cale Makar\u00a0is one of the league\u2019s premier defensemen and always an offensive threat. He was the fourth overall pick in 2014 and came to the Avs after two successful seasons at UMass.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is a two-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the league\u2019s top defenseman and is a finalist this season. He scored 20 or more goals in four of his seven NHL seasons.<\/p>\n
Makar and\u00a0Devon Toews\u00a0are one of the top defensive duos in the league.<\/p>\n
Goalie\u00a0Scott Wedgewood\u00a0has never been a household name but had two outstanding seasons in Colorado and has reeled off six straight playoff wins.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s not overlook 41-year-old defender\u00a0Brent Burns\u00a0who is seeking his first Stanley Cup in his 21st NHL season. He is the current active ironman at 1,007 regular season games.<\/p>\n
Minnesota\u2019s superstar is\u00a0Kirill Kaprizov, a relative unknown in the East but he is a guy who scored 40 or more goals in four of his six NHL seasons. He is deadly on the power play, with 19 PP goals in the regular season.<\/p>\n
When defenseman\u00a0Quinn Hughes\u00a0came to Minnesota in a trade with Vancouver during the season, it made the Wild a true contender. Hughes, a former Norris Trophy winner, is a two-way threat and Olympic hero.<\/p>\n
Kaprizov and Hughes lead all playoff scorers with 11 points.<\/p>\n
Matt Boldy\u00a0is a budding star. He has scored six goals so far in the playoffs to tie for the lead.<\/p>\n
Another player to watch is former Panther, Cup winner\u00a0Vladimir Tarasenko. He is past his superstar prime but still can score the big goals, as he proved with Florida \u2014 and is doing with the Wild this postseason.<\/p>\n
The Vegas-Anaheim series has its fair share of bright lights.<\/p>\n
Jack Eichel\u00a0and\u00a0Mitch Marner\u00a0are the top guns for Vegas. Both were acquired via unique trades from Buffalo and Toronto respectively. The two are Vegas playoff scoring leaders.<\/p>\n
Veteran\u00a0Ivan Barbashev\u00a0has quietly reached star status as has\u00a0Pavel Dorofeyev.<\/p>\n
Dorofeyev finished second this season to Dallas\u2019\u00a0Wyatt Johnsonwith 20 power play goals.<\/p>\n
Mark Stone\u00a0is a crusty veteran who can still score the key goal.<\/p>\n
On defense,\u00a0Shea Theodore\u00a0and\u00a0Noah Hanifin\u00a0are offensive threats. Theodore and\u00a0Brayden McNabb\u00a0are original Knights who still get the job done.<\/p>\n
Carter Hart\u00a0has returned to the NHL after a two-year suspension and has surprisingly emerged as the No. 1 goalie.<\/p>\n
Anaheim was a surprise playoff qualifier and an even bigger surprise as the winner of the series with Edmonton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team is a mix of bright young stars like\u00a0Troy Terry\u00a0and crafty veterans like\u00a0Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, John Carlson,\u00a0and\u00a0Radko Gudas.<\/p>\n
Jackson LaCombe\u00a0is a young puck-moving defender who leads the Ducks in playoff scoring and is second only to Quinn Hughes in playoff scoring by defensemen.<\/p>\n
Cutter Gauthier, at age 22, led the Ducks in regular season scoring, with 41 goals and 69 points. He was the fifth overall draft pick in 2022 by Philadelphia and was subsequently traded to Anaheim.<\/p>\n
While in Philadelphia, Vegas coach\u00a0John Tortorella\u00a0basically said he could pick out Gauthier out of a lineup. Bet he can now.<\/p>\n
Center\u00a0Leo Carlsson\u00a0was the second overall draft pick in 2023 and has not disappointed. He was immediately ready for the NHL and improved in each of his three seasons.<\/p>\n
Winger\u00a0Beckett Sennecke\u00a0is a finalist for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n
Under new coach\u00a0Joel Quenneville, Anaheim ended its seven-year playoff drought. With their youngsters, the Ducks look like they could be a force for years to come.<\/p>\n
These are the stars but as everyone knows from past playoff history, anyone can become an instant hero.<\/p>\n
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS\u00a0OFFSEASON<\/p>\n
IIHF World Championship, Switzerland:\u00a0May 15-31<\/p>\n