Eastern Conference Final Recap

Eastern Final

New Jersey Devils - 3 @ Florida Panthers - 2

• New Jersey wins series 4-0

The New Jersey Devils have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final after a sweep of the Florida Panthers. 

It took 6 games for the Devils to get out of both the first and second round, but really seemed to find their game in their series against the Panthers. Jacob Markstrom, who has been good throughout the entire playoffs, was especially great. He allowed just 5 goals in the 4 games. He is a bonafide Conn Smythe candidate at this point. 

Perhaps even more impressive in the series has been the play of Alex Radulov. He more than doubled his postseason output with 7 points in the series (4-3-7). Of his 4 goals, 3 of those were game-winners. That includes his overtime goal in Game 2 and series-winning goal in Game 4.

The Panthers looked like they might extend the series early in the game. After a scoreless first, they got back-to-back goals from Trevor Zegras and Jonathan Huberdeau. Whether or not you believe in the "2-0 lead is the worst lead in hockey", the fact is it proved true for the Panthers as they then conceded two goals before the second period ended to square things at 2-2.

That set the scene for more Radulov dramatics. It was a pretty play that started when Nik Ehlers picked off a pass by Cale Makar. He quickly got the puck to Radulov who gained the zone. A tic-tac-toe passing play involving Barkov and Ehlers gave Radulov the time and space to rip one past Frederik Andersen.

THREE STARS

Alex Radulov (NJD): 1 goal (GWG), -1, 4 shots, 1 takeaway, 20:42 TOI
Zach Werenski (NJD): +1, 4 hits, 2 blocked shots, 1 takeaway, 21:09 TOI
John Klingberg (NJD): 1 goal, +1, 5 shots, 2 blocked shots, 20:12 TOI