It is holiday season for NHL fans as the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing. Sixteen of the NHL’s best teams are facing off for the most famous trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup. The first round has finished up the last few games and the second round is just beginning.

The Western Conference’s teams include Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Nashville, Minnesota, Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. The Dallas Stars were paired up against the second wild card team, the Minnesota Wild. Dallas won a hard-fought series 4-2, knocking off the Minnesota team that was on a down year.

The San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings have been long-time rivals so there was a lot of pressure to win the battle between the two Californian teams. The Sharks dominated the rivalry series, defeating Los Angeles 4-1. The Nashville and Anaheim series was won by Nashville taking the series 4-3. The Nashville Predators eliminated a Ducks team that persevered through a sluggish start to their season to win the Pacific Division.

Finally, the last match up in the western conference featured two of the league’s largest rivals, our St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks. The series went to game seven which was hosted in St. Louis. The Blues won with a score of 3-2, right wing Troy Brouwer with the series-winning goal.

The Eastern Conference’s teams are Florida, the New York Islanders and Rangers, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Tampa Bay and Detroit. The Tampa Bay Lightning were the first team to advance to the second round. The Lightning made quick work of the Detroit Redwings, defeating them 4-1. The Lightning were lead by Steven Stamkos and St. Louis native and goaltender Ben Bishop. The New York Islanders, a wild card team, were paired with the Atlantic Division champions, the Florida Panthers. In a battle of north vs. south, the Islanders pulled off an amazing upset in a six-game series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins came into the playoffs red hot and defeated the New York Rangers in five games. The President Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals, played a resilient Philadelphia Flyers team for their first round series. The Capitals won the series in six games.

The second round is happening now and all NHL fans are looking forward to the Stanley Cup Finals!