Repeat Stanley Cup finals are rare in the NHL, and even more so since the league started to expand. In the last 40 years, there has only been one instance where two teams have met in the final in back-to-back seasons. That was 2008 and 2009 when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings met in consecutive years.

Looks like it’s about to happen again.

A broken clock is right twice a day, and my prediction last week between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers looks pretty good right now. I won’t pat myself on the back too much, though. The rest of my playoff predictions haven’t turned out so well. That’s playoff hockey for you.

Let’s take a look at how the conference finals have gone so far:

Edmonton Oilers lead the Dallas Stars 2-1

If not for a fluky third period by the Stars in Game 1, they would be on the brink of getting swept by an Oilers squad that looks really good right now. It helps when you have the best player in the world and through three games, the Stars have no answer for Connor McDavid. He’s up to five points, four of which have come at even strength, and has been flying around the ice every game.

Edmonton’s goaltending continues to be Jekyll and Hyde, as Stuart Skinner is either lights out or really bad. There has been no in-between with him. If anything will slow them down, it’s their goaltending.

With Dallas, Mikko Rantanen has hit a goal-scoring slump, which was to be expected after it seemed like every one of his shots was going in the net for about five games. Rantanen isn’t the problem, though. He has 10 more postseason points than the next closest player on the roster. Dallas was lauded for its depth and that depth has been quite bad for a while now. Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, and Jamie Benn have combined for 22 points in the playoffs. Rantanen alone has 21. Johnston sits at a minus-17 while Duchene is a minus-13.

Those are some ugly numbers.

Jake Oettinger historically has faded as the playoffs advance and that’s held true so far. He’s looked very human so far.

One last note: don’t you think Toronto would really benefit from having a guy like Zach Hyman on their roster? Letting him go for nothing continues to haunt that franchise.

Florida Panthers led the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 entering Game 4 Monday

Bullying still exists and this series is evidence of that.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a team truly built for the playoffs like the Florida Panthers. They will grind you down and intimidate you every single night. On top of all that, they have skill to boot. It’s just a matter of time before teams try to build their teams just like the Panthers. Easier said than done, but it’s becoming pretty obvious size (and attitude) does matter this time of year.

It helps when you face a team willing to roll over and fade away. Carolina hasn’t looked interested in playing in two of the three games and its performance has been embarrassing. The Hurricanes always felt like a very robotic team that plays a very specific game and when it comes time to adjust, they’re not capable of doing that. The Panthers have punched them in the mouth and they don’t know how to respond.

Carolina absolutely could use a Rantanen on their team, but not having him isn’t the reason they’re losing this series. It does point to a greater issue, though. After they moved Rantanen to Dallas, a lot of what was said from Carolina’s perspective was that Logan Stankoven was a better fit for the Hurricanes system. That’s probably true, which points to a bigger problem. If your system is built more for Stankoven’s and not a talent like Rantanen, that could explain why you can’t get over the hump when you have to face a really good team.