The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs are heating up as the field narrows down to the final four teams. In the Eastern Conference finals, the New York Rangers are set to clash with the Florida Panthers, while in the Western Conference finals, the Dallas Stars will face off against the Edmonton Oilers.

Game 1 between the Rangers and Panthers is scheduled for Wednesday night at 8 PM ET on ESPN/ESPN+, while the Stars and Oilers will kick off their series on Thursday at 8:30 PM ET on TNT.

As the anticipation builds for these matchups, ESPN hockey experts have weighed in with their predictions on which teams will advance to the next round in pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

Eastern Conference Predictions:

• Sean Allen: Panthers in six
• Blake Bolden: Panthers in six
• John Buccigross: Panthers in seven
• Ryan Callahan: Rangers in seven
• Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Panthers in seven
• Sachin Chandan: Rangers in seven
• Ryan S. Clark: Panthers in seven
• Linda Cohn: Rangers in seven
• Ray Ferraro: Rangers in seven
• Emily Kaplan: Rangers in seven
• Tim Kavanagh: Rangers in seven
• Hilary Knight: Rangers in seven
• Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Panthers in seven
• Steve Levy: Rangers in seven
• Vince Masi: Panthers in seven
• Victoria Matiash: Panthers in seven
• Sean McDonough: Rangers in seven
• Mark Messier: Rangers in seven
• AJ Mleczko: Panthers in seven
• Mike Monaco: Panthers in six
• Arda Öcal: Rangers in six
• Kristen Shilton: Panthers in seven
• P.K. Subban: Rangers in seven
• Bob Wischusen: Rangers in seven
• Greg Wyshynski: Panthers in six

Consensus pick for the Eastern Conference: Rangers (13 out of 25 picks)

Western Conference Predictions:

• Sean Allen: Stars in six
• John Buccigross: Stars in seven
• Ryan Callahan: Stars in six
• Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Stars in six
• Sachin Chandan: Stars in six
• Ryan S. Clark: Stars in seven
• Linda Cohn: Stars in six
• Ray Ferraro: Stars in six
• Emily Kaplan: Stars in seven
• Tim Kavanagh: Stars in six
• Hilary Knight: Stars in six
• Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Stars in six
• Steve Levy: Stars in six
• Vince Masi: Oilers in seven
• Victoria Matiash: Stars in six
• Sean McDonough: Stars in six
• Mark Messier: Oilers in seven
• AJ Mleczko: Stars in seven
• Mike Monaco: Stars in seven
• Arda Öcal: Oilers in six
• Kristen Shilton: Stars in six
• P.K. Subban: Oilers in seven