2026 Conference Finals Preview

The Final Four is all set, folks! As I stated before, there is always something special about the last round before the final round. Whether it's the Conference Championship (NFL), League Championship Series (MLB), or the Conference Finals (NHL & NBA), that certain round is always extra special. As I said before, it's the last true playoff round, because I've always believed that the playoffs are the rounds that precede the championship.

Four teams left, all with eight wins, all needing just four more to play for the big one. Let's take a look at this year's Conference Final matchups:

Eastern Conference Final

Twelve days. That's how long the Carolina Hurricanes will have waited before they take the ice. That's the longest layoff in NHL history. Sweeping the first two series will do that. The Hurricanes brought out the brooms against the Ottawa Senators (Metropolitan Semifinals) and the Philadelphia Flyers (Metropolitan Final), with Game Four of that series being played on May 9. Taylor Hall seems to have found the Fountain of Youth, leading the team with 12 points (3G/9A). Logan Stankoven is truly showing out, only eight points in eight games, but seven of them went in the net! Frederik Andersen also has that same Fountain of Youth: 8-0 record, .950 SV%, 1.12 GAA, two shutouts. I want to say I remember Leafs fans scapegoating him for their losses, too.

While the Hurricanes had an easy path, the Montréal Canadiens had to do things the hard way. Carolina swept their way to the East Final, playing the minimum eight games. Montréal? They played the maximum 14 games. Needed the full seven against the Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic Semifinals) and the Buffalo Sabres (Atlantic Final), but one thing they didn't need: home ice. Out of their eight wins, six took place outside of Bell Centre, including both Game Sevens. Regarding stats, If I had said beforehand that on a team with Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield on it, Alex Newhook would the goals leader, you'd think I was crazy. Lane Hutson is leading in points with 14 (2G/12A) in 14 games, and while Newhook (a 2022 Cup Champion) has nine points, seven of them went in the net--including series clinchers in both rounds! Newhook learned quite a bit playing with Artturi Lehkonen in Denver.

This will be the eighth playoff meeting between the two clubs, and the third since the Hurricanes relocated. When they were the Hartford Whalers, they were the Canadiens' punching bag. Five playoff meetings, all won by the Habs. Since the team moved to Raleigh, the Canes and Habs have met twice and won both times. The meetings took place in 2002 and 2006--the two years that the Canes reached the Final.

Western Conference Final

People have said that the Colorado Avalanche have had an easy road, but we haven't. Our opponents were better than Carolina's, and even so, we don't really make things easy. An 8-1 record, yes, but the series were arduous. We swept the Los Angeles Kings (Central Semifinals), but the first two games were too close for comfort. And then there's the Minnesota Wild (Central Final). The best Wild team ever, TBH. Avs beat them in five games, but again, it wasn't easy; we had to do a lot to win that series. This was a full team effort, but as usual, Nathan MacKinnon led the way. 13 points, seven of them goals, including that beauty that tied Game Five. Martin Necas is right behind Mack with 11 points (G/10A), with both of them leading a team that has seventeen different goal scorers!

The Vegas Golden Knights are back here again, yikes. Six-game victories over the Utah Mammoth (Pacific Semifinals) and the Anaheim Ducks (Pacific Final), and as a result, Year Nine has Vegas in the Final Four for the fifth time in their brief history. And the man leading Vegas to this point? None other than Mitch Marner with 18 points (7G/11A). Leafs fans, are you finally ready to admit that Marner was never the problem and that you guys should have kept him? You traded Marner to Vegas for Nicolas Roy, and then you dealt Roy to the Avs. Now they're both facing each other in the WCF.

Colorado and Vegas' only other playoff meeting came in 2021; a second round series won by Vegas. That was the series that saw Nathan MacKinnon say afterwards, "I've been here almost nine years, and I haven't won shit." He's won plenty since then.

And there are the prizes for the Conference Champions: the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence Campbell Bowl. Since 1981, the trophies have been award to the respective playoff Conference Champions; the Wales Trophy went to the winner of the Wales/Eastern Conference Final, while the Campbell Bowl went to the winner of the Campbell/Western Conference Final, with 2021 being one exception, as that COVID-affected year saw no conferences, and the Bowl actually went to the Canadiens for winning their series. And we all know the superstition behind them; don't touch the trophies! Though, we all know that's a load of junk.

Regarding TV coverage, ESPN will air the West Final, while TNT will air the East Final, which I found odd considering this was the set up from last year. I thought that they would rotate the Conference Finals, but as it turned out, ESPN has first choice when it comes to which Conference Final they want, and they clearly wanted the Avs/Knights series. This will be an amazing Conference Finals, and being an Avs fan, I am so ready for this! Four wins away from the Cup Final; truly amazing!