Four teams are on the doorstep of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers will square off in a Western Conference Final rematch in the 2025 NHL playoffs, while the defending champion Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes meet in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three years.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
The Panthers, the Atlantic Division’s No. 3 seed, have reached the conference final for the third straight year, with a chance to make a third straight Cup Final. Florida has kept its repeat bid alive by beating the No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning in five games and the No. 1 Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. The Panthers, who can join an exclusive group of back-to-back Cup winners, overcame a 2-0 series deficit against the Leafs and won Game 7 on the road in emphatic fashion.
The Hurricanes are looking to avoid a repeat of the 2023 conference final, when they were swept by Florida. Carolina, the Metro Division’s No. 2 seed, needed just five games to bounce both the No. 3 New Jersey Devils and the East-leading Washington Capitals. Frederik Andersen has been stellar between the pipes for Carolina, boasting a 1.36 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage in nine playoff starts.
Get top local stories delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW’s News Headlines newsletter.
Now, the Hurricanes need to get past the defending champs in order to reach their first Cup Final since the franchise’s lone championship triumph in 2006.
The Oilers, last year’s Stanley Cup runners-up, are also eyeing a return trip to the Cup Final in search of the franchise’s first championship since 1990. Connor McDavid and Co. dropped their first two games of this postseason, but have only suffered one loss since.
Edmonton, the Pacific Division’s No. 3 seed, overcame a 2-0 first-round series deficit against the No. 2 Los Angeles Kings with four straight comeback wins before taking down the No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights in five games. McDavid and co-star Leon Draisaitl have combined for eight goals and 25 assists across 11 playoff contests.
The Stars are playing in their third straight conference final and fourth since 2020. But Dallas has been eliminated from this round the last two postseasons, most recently falling to Edmonton in six games in 2024.
Dallas, the Central Division’s No. 2 seed, first outlasted the No. 3 Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game thriller and then bounced the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets in six games. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen has racked up a playoff-high 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) as he attempts to help deliver the Stars their first title since 1999 and second overall.
So, when will the conference finals start and who has home-ice advantage? Here’s what to know:
The conference final round begins with Panthers-Hurricanes on Tuesday, May 20, followed by Game 1 of Oilers-Stars on Wednesday, May 21.
Dallas and Carolina have home-ice advantage due to their superior regular-season records.
The West Final will air across ESPN and ABC, and can be streamed live on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
Panthers-Hurricanes games will be shown on both TNT and truTV. They can also be streamed live on TNTDrama.com, the TNT app and Max.
Editor’s note: The original version of this story was published on May 15.
