The Dallas Stars are the overwhelming favorite to reach the Stanley Cup Final from the Western Conference, according to a panel of NHL.com writers and editors.
Of the 15 staff members who made their conference final selections, 12 believe the Stars will beat the Edmonton Oilers.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Final is at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET: TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Eastern Conference is a much more split down the middle, with eight of the 15 predicting the New York Rangers will defeat the Florida Panthers. Game 1 is at Madison Square Garden at Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Here are their picks:
Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
Eastern Conference Final
NYR vs. FLA: New York Rangers
Western Conference Final
DAL vs. EDM: Dallas Stars
Second-round record: 3-1
Overall record: 9-3