Our NHL writers, analysts and editors weigh in with their predictions for the conference finals of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs -- plus their picks to win the Cup -- and rank the final four teams. Scroll down to see their explanations for each pick.
Linda Cohn, SportsCenter anchor
Final four power rankings:
1. Vegas Golden Knights
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Winnipeg Jets
4. Washington Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in seven games
Western Conference finals: Golden Knights beat Jets in six games
Stanley Cup Final: Golden Knights beat Lightning in six games
The Lightning have the edge over the Capitals in forward-line depth and experience -- bolstered by battle-tested defensemen -- which will help them overcome a valiant effort by Braden Holtby. But I've ridden Vegas' money train for this long. Why get off it now? The Golden Knights showed in the first two rounds that they can beat two differently styled teams. Winnipeg will be the toughest test, but Vegas still has Marc-Andre Fleury, the best goalie left in playoffs. He will be the game-changer. My chips are in. Life as we know it changes forever -- or perhaps just the rules for building an NHL expansion team.
Greg Wyshynski, senior writer
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in six games
The most compelling Stanley Cup Final matchup on the table is the Capitals versus the Golden Knights, for reasons that are obvious (Ovechkin, expansion team) and less obvious (GM George McPhee versus his old team). But when do we ever get nice things? The Jets and Lightning are just deeper and better than their compelling conference final foes. That said, the sweet Golden Knights magic will push the West series to the brink, and Vegas' lack of home-ice advantage will propel the Jets to the Final.
Emily Kaplan, national hockey reporter
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in six games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in seven games
Tampa Bay dismantled a talented Boston Bruins team in the second round -- and made it look easy, with four straight wins. The Lightning have a ton of weapons outside their big two of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov (hello, Brayden Point), including players on the cusp of breaking out (Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde and Alex Killorn). Both the Golden Knights and Jets have proved that they can win in tight, defensive grinds and also score in bunches. While both teams boast depth, the Jets' top two lines trump Vegas in terms of talent, and Winnipeg's defensive players are superior. The Lightning paced the NHL all season long, and yet they seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time. Plus, Andrei Vasilevskiy is the best goalie we're not talking about this postseason.
Barry Melrose, NHL analyst
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Golden Knights
3. Jets
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Golden Knights beats Jets in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Golden Knights in six games
John Buccigross, SportsCenter anchor
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Capitals
4. Golden Knights
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in five games
Stanley Cup final: Lightning beat Jets in seven games
Adnan Virk, ESPN anchor
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in five games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in six games
As the lone hope from Canada, the Jets will have Vegas rolling snake eyes, while Tampa is clearly the most balanced team and will end the Capitals' surprise run -- and then outlast Winnipeg to win the Cup.
Steve Levy, SportsCenter anchor
Final four power rankings:
1. Capitals
2. Golden Knights
3. Jets
4. Lightning
Eastern Conference finals: Capitals beat Lighting in seven games
Western Conference finals: Golden Knights beat Jets in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Capitals beat Golden Knights in seven games
Because we are going to see absolutely everything happen in our lifetime, it's Alex Ovechkin's turn -- and Barry Trotz has put in the time.
Chris Peters, hockey prospects expert
Eastern Conference finals: Lighting beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in six games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in seven games
Tampa Bay's handling of Boston reaffirmed my belief that it would be the team to beat in the East. The Jets, meanwhile, are one of the few teams that can match Vegas' speed and have more scoring threats. A Winnipeg-Tampa Bay final would match two of the most offensively gifted teams in the NHL this season, and I think Tampa's experience throughout the lineup would be a difference-maker in a tight series.
Victoria Matiash, NHL fantasy expert
Final four power rankings:
1. Jets
2. Lightning
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Jets beat Lightning in six games
Having favored the Predators to win it all since the very beginning, I'm switching allegiance to the team good enough to knock them out. Boy, oh boy, that entire Jets lineup was impressive -- especially in the neutral zone -- when push reached shove in Game 7. Right now Paul Maurice's squad appears fully capable of finally putting a period on Vegas' magical run-on sentence, before edging out the best team in the Eastern Conference for the ultimate prize.
Tim Kavanagh, hockey editor
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in five games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in six games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in six games
The Lightning have been this season's chameleons, able to adjust to anything their opponents have dished out, in part because of their depth. No matter who Tampa Bay faces, coach Jon Cooper and his staff should be able to gain the upper hand.
Ben Arledge, Insider/prospects editor
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in six games
I picked the Bolts and Jets to reach the final from the start of the playoffs, and I don't see any reason to change now (although I thought twice this time around after Vegas proved me wrong in each of its two series). Tampa Bay just disposed of a good Bruins team, and Winnipeg outlasted the Cup-favorite Predators. The Lightning and Jets have two of the most dominant offenses in the league, terrific offensive contributors on the blue line and a pair of exciting young goalies in the net. And I'll stick with Tampa Bay as my Cup winner given its experience advantage.
Vince Masi, Sports and Information research specialist
Final four power rankings:
1. Lightning
2. Jets
3. Golden Knights
4. Capitals
Eastern Conference finals: Lightning beat Capitals in six games
Western Conference finals: Jets beat Golden Knights in seven games
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Jets in six games
The Lightning have been the best puck-possession team in the playoffs, controlling it 54 percent of the time at 5-on-5 and I think that will be the main factor for them against the Capitals. Meanwhile, Fleury's 5-on-5 save percentage this postseason is an absurd .965 while his expected save percentage according to Corsica.hockey has been .926. No goalie has a larger positive differential in those percentages this postseason. That has to even out some time, right? ... RIGHT?! From an analytics perspective, everything Winnipeg has done well in the playoffs so far, Tampa has been just slightly better. I give a slight edge to Vasilevskiy, who will steal a game on the road and allow Tampa to win the Cup at home in six games.
Aimee Crawford, ESPN the Magazine senior editor
Final four power rankings:
1. Capitals
2. Golden Knights
3. Lightning
4. Jets
Eastern Conference finals: Capitals beat Lightning in seven games
Western Conference finals: Golden Knights beat Jets in six games
Stanley Cup Final: Capitals beat Golden Knights in seven games
OK, so the Capitals may not profile as Stanley Cup champs on paper. But now that their arch-nemesis and perennial playoff foil, the Pittsburgh Penguins, are in the rearview mirror, Ovi and the Caps can relax and exploit the one thing the otherwise well-rounded Lightning are not good at: killing penalties. Tampa Bay's penalty kill ranked 27th in the league during the regular season, and hasn't improved much in the playoffs (the Lightning have allowed eight goals on 31 power plays this postseason). Meanwhile, the Caps boast one of the best power-play units in the NHL and have converted on 13 of 42 (31 percent) of their postseason opportunities. Washington has been good at even strength, too -- and Braden Holtby has returned to his all-time great postseason form in the crease. I picked them from the start, so I'm sticking with the Caps.