NHL Playoff News

The 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs continue to roll right along, currently eight teams that still have a chance to win the title. That is going to be halved by the end of next week, though some teams are looking to punch their ticket to the conference finals sooner. 

There may be a surprise champion this season, many of the top teams having either been eliminated or close to it. Here’s a look at some of the biggest storylines involving each series. 

Leafs Falling Precipitously

The Toronto Maple Leafs are down, 3-0, in their series with the Florida Panthers, meaning they have to win four games in a row if they plan to advance. Toronto was a big favorite heading into the series, but the Panthers have been better at every single turn. 

Things get even tougher, as the Maple Leafs will be without goaltender Ilya Samsonov in Wednesday’s Game 4 road encounter. Toronto thus turns to rookie Joseph Woll, trying to snuff out the Panthers’ six-game winning streak in the postseason.  

Woll lost Game 3 in overtime over replacing an injured Samsonov. The Leafs have received nothing out of their premier scorers (Marner, Matthews, Tavares and Nylander) in this series, and without a change, Toronto may just as well remain in south Florida and book tee times. 

Matt Murray, out after a concussion, serves as the second goalie.

Be-Deviled at Home

The New Jersey Devils have been a nice story throughout the season, but the only story Tuesday night was their coach blasting them. Lindy Ruff said he was “disappointed” in his team’s effort after Game 4’s 6-1 Newark debacle against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Things unraveled quickly, despite Jersey’s Jack Hughes getting the first goal of the game.  Carolina rattled the Devils to the tune of five second-period goals, four in just over five minutes. The carnage was complete. 

Carolina will now look to close the sale back home in Game 5 Thursday night. In the first two games at Raleigh, the Hurricanes outscored the Devils by a composite of 11-2. New Jersey was able to rally to get past the New York Rangers in a seven-game, opening-round series, but will have to improve in a hurry to extend this round, 

Dallas and Seattle and…

The Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken have been engaged in a strange series through four games. While each team has two wins, each of the games hasn’t resembled any of the others.  

Seattle had a great chance to grab a commanding lead in the series, leading the visiting Stars, 2-1, in Game 4. Dallas then flipped the script en route to a 6-3 win to even the series. 

Dallas entered favored over the Kraken, and will host at least two more games in what’s become a best-of-three. As per NHL series odds, Dallas is a -220 choice (Seattle at +180).