Draisaitl and McDavid vs. Rantanen a matchup to watch in Western Conference Final

Stephen Whyno · The Associated Press

· Posted: May 19, 2025 4:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

After 1 time without playoff hockey, the pursuit for the Stanley Cup resumes Tuesday nighttime with the commencement of the league finals — and the prima powerfulness inactive successful contention is disconnected the charts.

Leon Draisaitl is the betting favourite to triumph the Conn Smythe Trophy arsenic playoff MVP aft helium and Connor McDavid got defending Western Conference champion Edmonton done 2 bid against pugnacious opponents. That is besides partially the lawsuit due to the fact that the Oilers are Cup favourites according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Mikko Rantanen leads each scorers successful the postseason with 19 points successful 13 games to get the Dallas Stars into a West last rematch against the Oilers that they anticipation goes the different mode this time.

"They've got 1 of the champion playoff players of each clip successful Mikko Rantanen successful their lineup, and that mightiness beryllium 1 origin that allows them to person the communicative beryllium antithetic this twelvemonth and bushed the Oilers," retired defenceman and three-time Cup champion Ken Daneyko said.

"He's a wealth player. He's big, he's strong, he's built for this."

McDavid and Draisaitl

Edmonton's antidote to the Rantanen and the Finns — Mikael Granlund, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell and steadfast Miro Heiskanen — is the operation of McDavid and Draisaitl. They person 17 and 16 points, respectively, and volition beryllium the Stars' focal constituent successful the bid opening Wednesday nighttime successful Dallas.

"They're a antithetic squad this year," Stars manager Peter DeBoer said.

"They're a deeper squad this twelvemonth than they were past year. You spot they're getting scoring from a batch of places different than McDavid and Draisaitl, and they inactive person that element, obviously, each night."

Yes, 16 antithetic skaters person scored a extremity for the Oilers, but they volition apt spell lone arsenic acold arsenic Nos. 97 and 29 instrumentality them. McDavid was playoff MVP a twelvemonth agone erstwhile they forced Game 7 astatine Florida and fell conscionable abbreviated of the championship, and helium whitethorn enactment his teammates connected his backmost to instrumentality to the final.

'Dangerous' Florida

It took the Panthers 7 games to get done the Toronto Maple Leafs successful the 2nd round, but they again person the look of a champion going into the East last against Carolina. BetMGM has Florida favoured to scope a 3rd consecutive Cup final.

"Nothing fazes them: They don't attraction wherever they play, who they play," Daneyko said. "That's a unsafe animal. That's a assured clump and rightfully so."

Trade deadline pickups Brad Marchand and Seth Jones played a large relation successful routing the Leafs successful Game 7 connected Sunday night. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky besides looks dialed successful a twelvemonth aft backstopping the Panthers to the archetypal rubric successful franchise history.

Otter vs. Skinner

The goalie matchup successful the West could find the series. Jake Oettinger was not astatine his champion for the Stars successful the league last a twelvemonth ago, and helium was really outplayed by Stuart Skinner, who mislaid his occupation arsenic the Oilers' starter earlier this playoffs.

An wounded to backup Calvin Pickard thrust Skinner backmost into the nett past circular against Vegas. All helium has done since is halt 67 of the 71 shots helium faced, with back-to-back shutouts to adjacent retired the series.

"He's arsenic pugnacious arsenic immoderate goalie with the mode helium bounces back," Daneyko said.

"Oettinger's the much changeless for Dallas and 1 of the champion goalies successful the league, truthful a batch of radical deliberation you've got a small borderline there. But Skinner rises to the occasion."

Oettinger allowed 12 goals connected 170 shots implicit six games successful the 2nd circular against Winnipeg, including conscionable 2 successful the 3rd play each series.

Svechnikov showcase

The biggest crushed to judge the Hurricanes tin bushed the Panthers this clip aft getting swept by them 2 years agone is Carolina's apical enactment of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis.

Svechnikov has 8 goals, 1 shy of Rantanen for the astir successful the playoffs, including the bid clincher successful Game 5 of the 2nd circular against Washington. Coach Rod Brind'Amour said they've been waiting for this mentation of Svechnikov, and the 2018 No. 2 prime has travel into his ain astatine property 25.

"He's conscionable been great, there's nary question astir it," skipper Jordan Staal said.

"He's been connected it each night, shooting the puck and being carnal and conscionable being hard to play against, being the playoff subordinate we cognize helium is. It's large to spot the puck spell successful for him. He's going to proceed to pb our group."