After closely monitoring the eastern fantasy hockey newsreel all season long we've arrived at the conference final with clearly the two best teams out east. The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers deserve to be here and should be looked at as the class of the conference – for a number of reasons. Elite coaching, balanced depth, experienced goaltenders, quality special teams, you name it and both clubs have it – and then some.

With anticipation building and Game 1 looming Wednesday night from Madison Square Garden, we're taking a dive into five key matchups that will determine the outcome of what is sure to be an absolute battle between the Cats and Blue Shirts.

Road Warriors vs. Home Heroes

Much like special teams and goaltending, springtime hockey precipitates the critical need to get wins away from home. It might sound like another played-out narrative or boring cliche, but a team's ability to get road Ws is right up there at the top of the list of necessary champion characteristics. This is one of the classic cases of something's gotta give, as the Panthers registered 26 road victories to tie the Dallas Stars for the most in the NHL and the Rangers had 30 wins on home ice to finish only one behind the Colorado Avalanche who paced the league with 31. Whoever blinks first might be the team finding itself on the links battling bunkers instead of taking on either the Edmonton Oilers or aforementioned Stars.

New York's 2nd Line vs. Florida's 2nd Line

In today's NHL and fantasy hockey realm, designation of lines and which trio on what club is the "top line" really doesn't matter as much as time on ice and ability to put up points while snuffing out the opposition's attack. When you start digging into the Eastern Conference showdown, one of the angles that needs to be discussed is just how good both of these teams’ second units are. On the Rangers side of things, you have a dangerous line of Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, and Alexis Lafreniere who have combined for seven goals this postseason, while the Panthers are rocking with Anton Lundell flanked by Matthew Tkachuk and postseason savant Carter Verhaeghe. Florida's second line has seen a bit more flux than New York's, as Lundell and Sam Bennett have both spent time with Verhaeghe and Tkachuk while the Trocheck-Panarin-Lafreniere combo has been producing for most of the season. Regardless, these six forwards will be the difference-makers that will affect the balance of the series.

Speaking of which, double-circle Lafreniere's name for a major fantasy hockey breakout next campaign, he's getting better with each passing game and is shaping up to be an excellent sleeper-type draft pick in a couple months.

Paul Maurice vs. Peter Laviolette

If you like intense coaches who demand the absolute best out of their teams then this coaching showdown is sure to please as both Paul Maurice and Peter Laviolette are Hall-of-Fame-worthy bench bosses that sit fourth and seventh, respectively, in all-time wins. Much like the point above on lines, Laviolette and Maurice will be hoping to push the right buttons and get the perfect combinations to take their clubs over the top and punch a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final. The ensuing chess match between these two hockey masterminds is going to play into the series at some point. Whether on special teams or via line matching, it's only a matter of time before the coaching battle heats up.

Igor Shesterkin vs. Sergei Bobrovsky

Likely the most obvious but equally as important, the goalie matchup is a juicy one with both Shesterkin and Bobrovsky holding the innate ability to steal a series as two of the best goalies in the NHL over the past handful of seasons. As much as both Bob and Shesty deserve that love, both netminders have question marks pending: has Bobrovsky been tested enough this postseason, and can he improve on the mediocre .902 save percentage that he's working with so far? Will the Rangers get the first- or second-half Shesterkin? The 28-year-old 'tender put up a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde regular season but finished on a heater that carried over into the playoffs to the tune of a .923 SV.% and 2.40 goals-against average. Bobrovsky saw a lot more pucks last playoffs and was a major reason the Panthers made it all the way to the final while Shesterkin is only one season removed from winning the Vezina – one of them is going to make an impact in a major way.

Panthers' Physicality vs. Rangers' Resiliency

Not to take anything away from New York or the Rangers' ability to throw their weight around, but this is a Paul Maurice-coached club. The Panthers are a feisty, nasty bunch who rarely miss a chance to lay the body and impact the outcome of games via its physicality. The Blueshirts finished the regular season with the 11th-most hits in the NHL while the Cats came in with a whopping 2,348, good enough for tops in the league; Maurice's men will definitely be looking to set the physical tone from the opening puck drop while deploying their relentless forecheck. Will the Rangers be able to take the beating that is assuredly coming while dishing out their own punishment from the likes of Matt Rempe, Jacob Trouba, and Will Cuylle? Or will the super pests of Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Nick Cousins impose their physical will and get under the skin of New York's stars? We'll find out Wednesday at the Garden.