Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs, eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are wild-card spots based on the best remaining records in each conference.

It looks like the Florida Panthers will appear in the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season. Paul Maurice's squad has jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

Florida Panthers' Brad Marchand, left, is separated by officials from Carolina Hurricanes' Shayne Gostisbehere (4) during the third period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker) AP

The Carolina Hurricanes swear they have enough offense on their team to reach the Stanley Cup Final. "Easily," winger Andrei Svechnikov said. "I think we got lots of offense. We got lots of the skill.

The Florida Panthers have just rolled into Raleigh and embarrassed the Carolina Hurricanes in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final. In Game 2, the Panthers jumped all over the Hurricanes right out of the gate and cruised to a 5-0 win.

The NHL playoffs have reached the conference finals , with four teams ready to battle for the Stanley Cup. The defending champion Florida Panthers face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, while the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars meet up for a rematch of the 2024 West final.

Thanks to the FanDuel traders, we already know which team will be the betting favourite in all four possible matchups for the Stanley Cup Finals. This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday May 20th, 2025.