In our first-round predictions, we went 6-2. In our second-round predictions, we went 2-2. Now it’s the nitty gritty, sort of, as the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs have reached the “Frozen Four” round of the conference finals. And we have some doozies, which match our emotions against our logic—and those are always the hardest matchups to predict accurately. Nonetheless, here we go with our best guesses. Enjoy!

Eastern Conference Finals: Florida vs. New York—The Rangers have home ice. The Panthers have the SRS advantage. New York has a very slim regulation-wins edge. Florida has the distinct goal-differential primacy. The Rangers lost in this round 2 years ago, while the Panthers lost in the Cup Finals last year. Both teams could be described as being on a mission. We like Florida little more, though, based on clear margins in SRS and goal differential. The challenge is how many games it will take. Crossing fingers: Florida in six.

Western Conference Finals: Dallas vs. Edmonton—We want both these teams to win, and that can’t happen. Boo! We also know both teams are tired, which could impact quality of play. The Stars have the SRS edge and home ice; Dallas also owns the advantages in RWs and goal differential. All this screams “Dallas” from helmet to blade, but the Oilers lost in this round 2 years ago as well, while the Stars lost here last year—in addition to losing the Cup Finals in 2020. We think it’s gonna be a fight, again: Dallas in seven.

Editor’s Note: as usual, we will check back before the Cup Finals to see how well we did here.