It’s down to four for the National Hockey League.

In the East, it’ll be a Southeast Division reunion, with the Hurricanes and Panthers set for a showdown for the Prince of Wales Trophy and a trip to the fourth round. And in the opposite conference, it’ll be the Stars and Golden Knights battling for the Clarence Campbell Bowl and the right to represent the West in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. (Sidenote: It’s insane how much cooler the Campbell looks compared to the Prince of Wales. It’s like night and day.)

It’s a final four of non-traditional markets and teams without much history linking ’em to the Bruins, so just where should your rooting interests lean for the next month plus?

That’s a great question, and one that came up on the latest edition of The Sports Hub Underground with myself and Matt Dolloff.

Let’s take a deeper dive…

• (Click here to subscribe to the Sports Hub Underground podcast.)

• Carolina Hurricanes

  

  May 11, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes players celebrate their overtime victory against the New Jersey Devils in game five of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena. (James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports)

• Why you should root for them: I find that the Canes are a rather likable team if you’re a fan of hockey. I do believe that Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin are two of the more underrated players in the league at their respective positions. And while you may dislike Rod Brind’Amour and some of his theatrics behind the bench when a penalty is called against his team, there’s no denying his status as one of the best coaches in the league. He has the Hurricanes playing a brand of hockey that is exciting and engaging. The Hurricanes have also rid themselves of Tony DeAngelo, so that’s cool, too. And maybe you hate Connecticut and want to rub it in their face, I don’t know, man. You do you.

  Why you shouldn’t root for them: There’s a bit of bad blood between the Bruins and Hurricanes after three postseason meetings in four years from 2019 through 2022. The Bruins and Hurricanes are also two of the best teams in the NHL, and perhaps the top two teams in the East, so there’s a natural resistance to them getting a Cup before the Bruins.

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  May 9, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (22) celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils in Game 4 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Prudential Center. (Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports)

• Best thing about them winning: It’s a copycat league, and you should love the idea of the Bruins trying to borrow some pages from the Hurricanes’ playbook. For one, their forward group is a relentless one, with the Hurricanes one of the best forechecking teams in the NHL. The Bruins have experienced that firsthand over the last two seasons. The Hurricanes also generate a ton of their offense from the backend, and have done so in this postseason, too, with seven goals from their blue line through the opening two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (The Bruins, by the way, were one of just two teams in the field of 16 to go the entire playoffs without a goal from a defenseman.)

  Worst thing about them winning: Their Twitter account will become next-level insufferable. No but really, the worst thing about a Hurricanes championship would be that it makes Carolina just another team to have won more Cups than the Bruins over the last 50 years (Carolina would have 2006 and 2023 compared to Boston’s 2011). It could also serve as a landing spot for veterans looking to win a championship (think what Tampa Bay was doing during their window), and the Bruins are going to almost need some cheap talent in 2023-24 given their cap situation.

  Old friends and connections: Ex-Bruins winger Ondrej Kase (2020-21) is on the Hurricanes’ roster, though he has not played since Oct. 12 due to concussion issues. That’s the only ex-Bruins connection on Carolina’s roster. Beyond that, former Bruins standout Sergei Samsonov currently works for the organization in a player development role.

• Florida Panthers

  

  May 12, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Panthers forward Nick Cousins (21) celebrates the winning goal in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)

• Why you should root for them: There’s a bit of comfort — even in the most uncomfortable of years, which is what 2022-23 feels like for the Bruins — in losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, right? For some, it may very well be the only thing that takes the sting out of a first-round exit following a historically good regular season. The Panthers would also be vying for their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and maybe you’d like to see someone else welcomed to the club.

  Why you shouldn’t root for them: Let’s be real, the Panthers aren’t exactly a suuuuuper likable team, and your experience with them for seven games in round one confirmed as much. Matthew Tkachuk is basically Florida’s Brad Marchand, and there’s plenty of other villains behind him. I mean, take your pick: Sam Bennett, Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins, Marc Staal, Radko Gudas. You can respect them as a hard-nosed team, but that doesn’t mean you have to like them.

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  May 12, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers defenseman Marc Staal (18) celebrates with forward Nick Cousins after an overtime wind in Game 5 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)

• Best thing about them winning: It could provide some hope for the future for the Bruins after winning the Presidents’ Trophy this past regular season. It was this time last year that the Panthers found themselves done after just two rounds after blitzing the entire league for an 82-game run as the league’s top club. What did the Panthers do? They rejiggered their core — they brought in Tkachuk at the expense of Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar — and got right back on the horse and stunned the hockey world as an underdog. The Bruins may very well have to do that in 2023-24, and if the Panthers were to win the Cup this year, Don Sweeney and the Bruins have a full season of “look at what the Panthers did last year” answers when it comes to their team’s direction and ceiling following a Presidents’ Trophy-winning season.

  Worst thing about them winning: It would almost serve as confirmation that the Bruins’ path to a Stanley Cup was there for them had they been able to hold on for one more minute in Game 7. I say that with complete respect for Florida and what they have accomplished through two rounds, but if the Panthers roll through the field for a Stanley Cup, you’d never be able to convince that the Bruins wouldn’t have done the same had they not blown a lead in Game 7. That’ll sting for a long time.

  Old friends and connections: On the ice, there’s no real connection to the Bruins. The Panthers do have a pair of Massachusetts natives on their roster, however, with Colin White and Casey Fitzgerald. Off the ice, the Panthers’ front office features former Boston fourth liners Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. Ex-Bruins goaltender Robbie Tallas, who spent six years with the organization during his playing career, is also the team’s goaltending coach.

• Dallas Stars

  

  May 15, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) and teammates celebrate after Johnston scores against the Kraken during the third period in Game 7 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)

• Why you should root for them: I might be simplifying this one beyond belief, I know, but they’re just a well-built hockey team. If you have questions about the quality of the playoffs, you want the Stars to be involved in it. They’re a high-level hockey team, and can win in a variety of ways. (I’m also tempted to say that of the possible options with the field sliced down to four, a Stanley Cup Final between Dallas and Carolina would produce the best hockey-viewing experience.)

  Why you shouldn’t root for them: Is anybody gonna talk about how the Stars’ home jersey color scheme is just the original versions of the Blackhawks’ St. Patrick’s Day warmup jerseys? No? Just me? Anyway, maybe you dislike Max Domi enough to not want him to see lift a Stanley Cup. Or maybe you’re a fan of schadenfreude and would like to see Stars head coach Pete DeBoer’s perfect Game 7 record (7-0) suffer its first loss in the worst fashion humanly possible?

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  May 15, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29), Max Domi (18), and Wyatt Johnston (53) celebrate after the Stars defeat the Kraken in Game 7 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)

• Best thing about them winning: More playings of “Puck Off” by Pantera, baby. Honestly though, the Stars may be the closest copy to the Bruins left in this postseason. They have some older forwards who are still getting it done, as well as some younger forwards who are coming into their own, they have a No. 1 defenseman and a strong supporting cast (especially on the penalty kill), and they have the best goaltender remaining in the field. A Dallas Cup win would be proof that the Bruins’ model is working and doesn’t need a major overhaul to hang with where the league is trending.

  Worst thing about them winning: The Stars would have officially won more Stanley Cups than the Bruins in the post-Seguin trade era. The Bruins obviously lost that trade — and, to be honest, it’s rather amazing that they haven’t it lost by more than they have so far — but the scoreboard would officially favor the Stars.

  Old friends and connections: There’s obviously Tyler Seguin (2010-2013), as well as Colin Miller (2015-2017), and one-time P-Bruin Luke Glendening. Off the ice, 2011 Stanley Cup champion Rich Peverley works for the Stars in a player personnel role, while one-time Bruins netminder Marty Turco (remember that?) has a front office role with the franchise.

• Vegas Golden Knights

  

  May 14, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague (14) and goaltender Adin Hill (33) celebrate defeating the Oilers in Game 6 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Walter Tychnowicz/USA TODAY Sports)

• Why you should root for them: If you’re a backend sizist (not like Uncle Luke) and want the Bruins to fully embrace the idea of a blue line full of tall men, the Golden Knights are your team. Of the Golden Knights’ top six defensemen, Alec Martinez is the smallest, at 6-foot-1 (and he certainly plays bigger than his frame). And similar to a potential Stanley Cup championship for the Panthers, this would be the first in the history of the Golden Knights, so maybe that’s worth your investment.

  Why you shouldn’t root for them: Vegas took a quick turn from ‘Golden Misfits’ to All-Star Collectors. With their assets and cap space, the Golden Knights amassed a collection of talent that is now headlined by Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo. Prior to their seemingly never-ending string of cap crunches, that core also at one point featured the likes of Max Pacioretty and Marc-Andre Fleury (both of whom were dumped like they were nothing). It simply no longer feels like you’re rooting for the plucky underdogs, and when you don’t have a dog in the fight, don’t you always root against the favorite?

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  May 14, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9), right wing Jonathan Marchessault (81), and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) celebrate a goal during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. (Walter Tychnowicz/USA TODAY Sports)

• Best thing about them winning: I’m not going to lie to you, I really enjoyed covering the Bruins during the Bruce Cassidy era. He was refreshingly open, and whether or not he was merely “playing the game” to the media, he was a person that I enjoyed writing about and talking to on a daily basis. I think fans felt that, too. To see him land on his feet with a Stanley Cup in his first year after losing what was an obvious dream job would be one hell of a story. Oh, and a Vegas victory would ensure that the Stanley Cup makes a trip to Chelmsford sometime this summer.

  Worst thing about them winning: The narrative of “Sweeney and the Bruins were wrong to fire Bruce Cassidy” will officially become real in the public eye. Listen, I think two things can be and are indeed true here: Cassidy is a good to great coach in this league (the results speak for themselves at this point), and the Bruins needed a new voice in the locker room. At a certain point, the message doesn’t get through, and I think the Bruins hit that point. (I also believe the idea that the players forced Cassidy out — or that he had this horrible relationship with all of the players, and especially the leadership group — has become a biiiiit overstated since his departure, but that’s a story for another day.) The Golden Knights winning a Stanley Cup with Adin Hill in net would also make you wonder if the Bruins should truly invest $9 million or more at the goaltending position, especially if it leads to valuable departures elsewhere on the roster.

  Old friends and connections: In addition to Cassidy behind the bench, the Golden Knights ice a roster that features former Bruins wingers Phil Kessel (2006-2009) and Reilly Smith (2013-2015). And not that it necessarily matters this time of year, with all broadcasts going national, but the Vegas television broadcast team does feature former Bruins radio play-by-play voice Dave Goucher, and with ex-Bruins defenseman Shane Hnidy as the color commentator.

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