Now a veteran of more than 50 NHL playoff games, does not think the approach should be any different the deeper he and the Vegas Golden Knights venture into the postseason.
鈥淲e know we need to be better, and you want to continue to elevate your game both individually and as a team the further you go,鈥� Eichel said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our goal.鈥�
Easier said than done. Big boy hockey has arrived in the third round, with three of the top five still playing in the conference finals. Vegas faces league-best Colorado in the West, while gets the winner of .
Western Conference final: Colorado vs. Vegas
Game 1: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Favorite: Colorado (2-5)
The for the best regular season and spent 156 consecutive days atop the NHL standings since Nov. 1, the longest run in four decades. They in the first round and beat Minnesota in five games, after falling behind 3-0 on the road.
Now, the difficulty level rachets up.
鈥淚 would expect Colorado鈥檚 stiffest challenge is going to come here in this next series because Vegas has been around the block,鈥� former player and coach-turned-TNT analyst Ed Olczyk said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got an experienced coach. They鈥檙e getting goaltending that they didn鈥檛 get for a lot of the regular season.鈥�
Backstopped by Carter Hart and led by Mitch Marner, the Golden Knights are in the West final for the fourth time in their nine years of existence. It’s their first under coach John Tortorella, and oversaw a and more success in the playoffs.
鈥淲e feel really good about ourselves,鈥� Tortorella said. 鈥淚n playoffs, it鈥檚 not just the X’s and O’s and all. It鈥檚 how you feel, and the confidence level you have. I think we鈥檙e in a good spot.鈥�
Colorado counterpart Jared Bednar is not worried about how his players will handle the spotlight getting brighter. The Avalanche are four years removed from , while in ’23.
鈥淲e have the exact same expectations as Vegas does,鈥� Bednar said. 鈥淲e have very similar experience, too: probably close to half the roster winning a Stanley Cup a couple years ago, no success since, and here we are facing each other. So, pressure on us is no different than the pressure on them.鈥�
On the injury front, Vegas captain Mark Stone has been out since leaving Game 3 against Anaheim with an undisclosed injury. Avalanche star Cale Makar has been dealing with an apparent right arm or shoulder injury while fellow defenseman Sam Malinski and forward Artturi Lehkonen missed time late in the Minnesota series.
Eastern Conference final: Carolina vs. Buffalo or Montreal
Game 1: Thursday, 8 p.m. ET (TNT, TruTV)
Favorite: Carolina (4-11)
The Hurricanes are the first team to sweep through the first two rounds since the NHL went to four best-of-seven series in 1987. Their gift is 11 full days off before starting the East final.
鈥淥bviously that鈥檚 not great,鈥� Olczyk said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not ideal, but you鈥檇 rather have that than play back-to-back seven-game series and probably having guys being taped up to just get out there.鈥�
Carolina captain Jordan Staal feels the same way, shrugging of the concern about rust and saying, 鈥淚f anyone in the league was in a playoff series and they had the opportunity to win in four or seven, they would pick four.鈥�
One more victory would tie the 1985 Edmonton Oilers for the longest winning streak to start a playoffs.
With not making it after and other perennial contenders like Toronto and Tampa Bay out of the way, the sea has parted for the Hurricanes to get over the hump. They’ve won at least a round in each of Rod Brind’Amour’s eight years as coach but have not yet reached the Stanley Cup Final.
鈥淭hey’re perfect 鈥� no blemishes,鈥� Olczyk said, pointing to the and strong scoring depth as contributing factors. 鈥淚 felt that it was them: It was Carolina and everybody else. And could they do it when they were the favorites and when the path was opened, could they take advantage? And they have taken full advantage.鈥�
Whoever comes out on top between the Sabres and Canadiens will have a quick turnaround from Game 7 on Monday night to playing in Raleigh 72 hours later. Montreal last reached the third round in 2021 when divisional playoffs were in place to get through pandemic border restrictions, while Buffalo has not gotten this far since consecutive trips to the East final in 2006-07.
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AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver, Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed.
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