Last night, two teams took a big step forward in the National Hockey League playoffs, reaching the Final Four.
The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers (the two teams I’m seeing in the finals, by the way) officially emerged from their divisions as winners.
Both teams are now at the halfway point, having closed to within eight wins of the Stanley Cup.
On the Stars’ side, it’s still unclear whether those first four wins will have to come against the Edmonton Oilers or the Vancouver Canucks.
But on the Panthers’ side, we already know they’ll face the New York Rangers in the conference final, starting Wednesday at 8pm in New York.
The first two games of the series will take place at Madison Square Garden, where the atmosphere will be all the crazier.
Mathew Tkachuk himself can’t believe he’ll be playing in the conference final at Madison Square Garden.
However, he’s hoping that his hotel in New York won’t sound the fire alarm, as it did in Boston yesterday.
Tkachuk on facing the NYR:
“It’s playoff hockey in New York. It’s a dream. … Conference Final at MSG? That’s just so cool. We’re excited to start that on Wednesday. Hopefully the hotel doesn’t pull the fire alarm on us.”
– Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 18, 2024
As I explained yesterday, the fire alarm went off in the middle of the Panthers’ players’ nap at their hotel, clearly disrupting their pre-game preparation.
There’s clearly something fishy about all this, but in the end, karma will have struck the Bruins, given that the Panthers won Game #6 and thus eliminated the Bruins.
Tkachuk preferred to laugh about it after the game, but had he lost, he clearly wouldn’t have been happy about the situation.
In the end, Tkachuk and the Panthers find themselves in the conference finals for the second year in a row, and it’s clearly not a simple fire alarm that will stop them.
The Rangers had better not pull the wool over their eyes, as this could further cringe Tkachuk, who is already pumped up.
He showed his excitement and joy to Bruins players and fans in the final seconds of yesterday’s game…
lmao tkachuk pic.twitter.com/UDWUeQn04p
– Nathan “Grav” Murdock (@NathanGraviteh) May 18, 2024
Also of note from the end of yesterday’s game, the beautiful handshake between Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand.
Bennett had hurt Marchand earlier in the series, but from what we can see, Marchand doesn’t seem to hold a grudge against Bennett.
This seems like a positive interaction, but I’d like to see a reverse angle if possible. https://t.co/IN2thofFZw
– Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) May 18, 2024
En Rafale
– It was indeed an excellent series.
Maurice: “I would pay money to see Florida and Boston play. After 82 games, there would be nothing left of these guys.”
– Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 18, 2024
– Charlie Lindgren changes his mind and joins the United States at the World Championship.
Charlie Lindgren initially turned down invite to play for U.S. at world championship, but now is joining the team in Czechia
– Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 18, 2024
– Without him, the Bruins never get this far, even though he should have stopped the Panthers’ winning goal last night.
Fact: Jeremy Swayman was the Bruins’ best player.
Fact: The winner shouldn’t have gone in.
Fact: Goaltending is cruel. https://t.co/pDw8odQaAV
– Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) May 18, 2024
– Read more.
In Montreal, 17 players had one-year contracts. We can expect some of them to be back, but they could theoretically all have to play elsewhere, or even hang up their skates.
Explanations 
https://t.co/VlOXgNWs6X
– Simon-Olivier Lorange (@SO_Lorange) May 18, 2024
– To be continued.
Right now, he’s performing like a Cy Young Trophy candidate. https://t.co/ssT0Nl3Ixf
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) May 18, 2024
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