It cannot be denied that it is a very eventful period of time in the world of sports. The NFL football draft has sent numerous aspiring collegiate players to a professional team, the World Cup is approaching, the MLB baseball season is officially underway, and the NBA basketball playoffs are climaxing. Although a rather under the radar sport in the city of Coral Gables, the National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup conference finals have begun, and it has been a great source of entertainment and attention across the country. As the Eastern and Western Conference Finals skate it out, the Stanley Cup finals follow close behind.

The past four games of the Eastern Conference have been the most exciting of the season. The Washington Capitals started the conference finals with confidence beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first two games. However, the Lightning struck back to lead the series 3-2. The Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning both have exceptional teams with very talented rosters, allowing for an exhilarating series between the two contenders. Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Capitals is one of the best players in the NHL and, in just this season alone, has made 27 goals and 56 assists as an offensive player. On the other side of the rink, Tampa Bay’s goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, has made some of the craziest saves in the playoffs. Vasilevskiy’s defensive prowess is considered to be the key to stopping the Capitals from making it to the finals. Game 6 is just around the corner, and with a winning goal, Tampa Bay can vie for a championship or have the series elongated by the Capitals and push the series to Game 7.

“Hockey is an underrated sport, especially in Miami. I can’t wait to see who wins the Stanley Cup finals,” sophomore Oraida Rodriguez said.

The Western Conference Finals are a whole other story. The first game of the series led to a win for the Winnipeg Jets boosting the team’s confidence. The sport of hockey is a major part of the culture in Winnipeg, a city in Manitoba, Canada, that has a population of around 800,000 people. For over 30 years, the small town of Winnipeg dresses in all white and cheer to their heart’s content to create “White Noise” to support their home team. With so much pressure coming from their opposition’s home crowd, the Vegas Golden Knights were able to beat the Jets with a 4-1 series victory, meaning the Vegas Golden Knights have achieved their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season.

“I’m really happy the Golden Knights were able to make it to the finals. I think they deserve it since they have played amazingly throughout the whole season,” junior Victor Hernandez said.

As the conference finals come to a close, be sure to watch the Stanley Cup Finals as the Vegas Golden Knights will battle the victor of the series between the Capitals and the Jets in what is destined to be an impressive matchup.

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