Heat is rising and ice is thinning. This year’s frenetic, exhilarating NHL postseason has been shaved down to its final four sides. Bring on a pair of stacked conference finals, where the winners will advance their Stanley Cup dreams and the losers will toil into a long summer.The West has narrowed between recent Stanley Cup stewards. The Colorado Avalanche won it all in 2022, while the Vegas Golden Knights followed them with the 2023 title. Paced by Nathan MacKinnon, who enters these conference finals on a six-game scoring streak, Colorado has taken just one loss through its first two series. And thanks to playoff points leader Mitch Marner, Vegas is feeling itself with consecutive 4-2 series wins over the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks.Meanwhile, the East comes down to two teams with drastically different journeys to reach the conference finals. From one end of the rink skate the Carolina Hurricanes, who debuted in 1997. Behind Logan Stankoven’s seven goals in eight games, Carolina has glided to two straight series sweeps.The Hurricanes are countered by the Montreal Canadiens, an Original Six member dating back to 1909. Montreal arrives after surviving back-to-back Game 7 stunners — Alex Newhook netted the go-ahead goal to knock out the Tampa Bay Lightning, then scored the overtime clincher to best the Buffalo Sabres. The Canadiens now shoulder Canada’s 33-year championship drought.Here’s the full schedule for each matchup. The round begins on Wednesday, May 20, with a possible hold through Tuesday, June 2.2026 Stanley Cup playoffs conference finals scheduleAll times are ET.West: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado AvalancheU.S. broadcasters: ESPN/ABC and ESPN Unlimited