Stanley Cup Runneth Over: Why You Should Be Watching | Deadspin.com

Not watching Stanley Cup playoffs? It’s time.

It is no surprise the Great One summed up perfectly the Western Conference final series between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. Stanley Cup Runneth Over: Why You Should Be Watching | Deadspin.com

“The only thing you can figure out about this series, is you can’t figure it out,” Wayne Gretzky said after Wednesday’s 5-2 Oilers victory.Stanley Cup Runneth Over: Why You Should Be Watching | Deadspin.com

The same assessment sums up the Eastern Conference affair between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers, and the result is top-tier excitement as the chase for the Stanley Cup championship simmers to a boil.

Here are five reasons to tune into the remaining league semifinal series and the upcoming Stanley Cup Final:

Raining best-of-3s: Just when it appeared the Stars were going to run away with Wednesday’s Game 4 and take a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Oilers roared back and evened the series.  

Dallas and Edmonton were the West’s best clubs from Jan. 1, and have delivered high-quality hockey that has displayed both the talent levels but resiliency necessary to claim a title.

The Rangers — the league’s regular season champs — and Panthers are also tied 2-2 in their series, befitting the two heavyweight-caliber clubs.

Now, both series come down to clubs needing to win two of three games remaining. Do not be floored to see one or two Game 7s.

Call Them Comebacks: Seven of the eight conference finals games heading into Thursday’s Game 5 between the Rangers and Panthers have seen at least one lead erased. Four of those games were won by clubs that trailed.

Three of the four Western Conference clashes have seen multi-goal leads disappear, and another of the Rangers-Panthers games has been that much of a roller-coaster.

Remember the dead-puck era of the early 2000s when scoring first all but sealed victory? This is a 180-degree turnaround and providing thrill-a-minute action. 

Clocking overtime: The past three games between the Rangers and Panthers have needed more than 60 minutes to decide a victor and Game 1 of the Stars-Oilers series went to double overtime.

Sudden-death overtime in the playoffs has always been able to keep fans on the edge of their seats, and this year’s continues to deliver the heart-stopping action.

Intensity Spike: The days of gloves dropping and fists flying are in the past, but that does not mean a shortage of bad blood.

The Panthers have their share of pests, among them Matthew Tkachuk, Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg, but the Rangers are more than willing to counter with bone-crushing defenseman Jacob Trouba and hulking Matt Rempe always willing to keep the peace — or create trouble. 

This series even saw New York’s Chris Kreider grabbing Tkachuk’s mouthguard and nearly tossing it over the glass.

The Stars and Oilers have resisted any shenanigans, but things are always bubbling. Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse is happy to deliver a crushing check, while forwards Evander Kane and Corey Perry are well known cross the line. Dallas is happy to answer in kind, with captain Jamie Benn happy to play the school yard bully and Mason Marchment never afraid to get his nose bloodied, or bloody an opponent.

Stanley Cup Runneth Over: Why You Should Be Watching | Deadspin.com

The Oilers continue to be led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are racking up point totals that have put them among Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, while defenseman Evan Bouchard is reaching rare air with the likes of Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch. Meanwhile, the Stars are watching young guns Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston take their place among the next wave of stars. 

In the East, Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin continues to show why he is arguably the best in the game, while Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad are seen as struggling while posting a point-per-game pace. Meanwhile, the Panthers feature possibly the league’s most complete player in Aleksander Barkov leading a team with Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart lighting up the scoresheet.