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Forget the distance — this year’s Stanley Cup Final is as electric as they come. Two fantastic teams hitting their stride when it matters most, with incredible stories to tell.

Here’s a look inside how both teams got here and lessons on what makes them special.


When the Florida Panthers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final last spring, their emotional leader, Matthew Tkachuk, went around the locker room and repeated three words to his teammates: “We’ll be back.”

The road to the 2023 Final was both emotionally and physically taxing for the Panthers, who sneaked into the playoffs as the last seed and then shocked everybody — except themselves. Our broadcast crew will never forget our pregame chat last year with coach Paul Maurice ahead of Game 5 of the first round in Boston, with the Cats trailing the series 3-1. “We’ll see you back here in Boston,” he said calmly, before walking away.

Florida’s list of players fighting through significant injuries last playoffs was as ugly as it gets. Tkachuk, who suffered a broken sternum in the finals, needed his brother, Brady, to help him get out of bed after a pregame nap before Game 4. Teammates helped him put pads on and tied his skates.

Sam Bennett had two separate injuries; Radko Gudas played through a high ankle sprain. Top defenseman Aaron Ekblad played with a broken foot since the first round — plus two separate shoulder dislocations and a torn oblique. Ekblad and fellow defenseman Brandon Montour (torn labrum) missed the first month of the 2023-24 season recovering from offseason surgeries.

About two weeks after the season ended, a few players, including Carter Verhaeghe, rented ice in Florida. When GM Bill Zito returned from the NHL draft and saw the players skating, he was incredulous. “What are you guys doing?” he asked. They wanted to get back to work.

Several players, including captain Aleksander Barkov and leading scorer Sam Reinhart, returned to training camp in even better shape. Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov credited the team’s conditioning for why they’ve been able to wear down teams in the third period. And, as Ekblad told me after eliminating the New York Rangers, they are far healthier this time around.

The Panthers are built mostly from trade acquisitions, free agents and waiver pickups. And each player Florida brought in was targeted for a reason: they’re ultracompetitive, and have no problem playing Maurice’s aggressive style that’s constantly applying pressure.

Maurice built a clear identity of how this team should play — it is relentless. Tkachuk told me the reason it works is because there is “total buy-in.” I asked him after the Eastern Conference finals how hard it is to play in the Panthers’ system. “It is pretty hard,” he admitted, then let out a huge smile: “But we think it’s pretty hard to play against.

Last year, Maurice said every round felt like an achievement because nobody expected them to be there. This postseason, he said the celebrations after every win and every round have been more muted. In fact, Maurice said the loudest postgame locker room moment so far was when Niko Mikkola awarded the game puck to Jonah Gadjovich, who rejoined the team after his wife gave birth to twins. Gadjovich hasn’t played in one game these playoffs, but it’s just another testament to how close this team is.

They know who they are, and most importantly, they now know what it takes to go all the way.


Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl haven’t shied away from the pressures their team faces, especially in a highly scrutinized Canadian market. After also being eliminated by the Golden Knights last spring, they both declared: Cup or Bust in 2024.

And then, it was a horrific start to the season. They began 2-9-1, tied for last place in the league. That lead management to fire coach Jay Woodcroft to try to get things going. Enter Kris Knoblauch, who has a calming demeanor. Knoblauch, who spent five years running the New York Rangers’ minor league affiliate, is known for his communication style in empowering players. One of his former AHL players told me that when he was struggling, Knoblauch prepared a mixtape of his best highlights — to remind him that he was a great player. Another example of Knoblauch’s relationship skills: Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski, who was Knoblauch’s AHL captain, told me in December that his old coach texted him five times since taking the job, just to check in.

Knoblauch was also McDavid’s junior coach. And even though McDavid is the best player in the world and could command preferential treatment, he never wants to be treated differently than anybody. I’m told that McDavid hated the narrative that he was behind the coaching change — especially since McDavid’s former agent, Jeff Jackson, took over as CEO of hockey operations for the Oilers last summer.

McDavid fought through an injury early in the season. And as Jackson told me in December, when the team began turning things around, it was McDavid’s work ethic that led the way.

“Connor is our leader and our hardest-working player,” Jackson said. “He’s dogging on pucks, creating turnovers on the backcheck. He gives it every single night, and we take his lead. He is relentless.”

That, perhaps, foreshadowed these playoffs. I’m told that McDavid is once again playing through something — which perhaps explains why he barely wanted to shoot the puck in early rounds. He overcompensated with work ethic, and has looked more comfortable, and more his dazzling self, as these playoffs have continued.

The Oilers, too, have remained resilient. They overcame three series deficits against Vancouver, and trailed 2-1 in the series and 2-0 on the scoreboard in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals before completely shutting the Stars down.

Defensive structure is the biggest noticeable difference for Edmonton, as it enters the Cup Final allowing just 25.1 shots per game, third fewest among playoff teams. The Oilers also haven’t given up a power-play goal in two of the three series they’ve played so far.

Hall of Famer Paul Coffey runs the defense and joined the bench staff during the early-season shake-up. Jackson told me it worked because Coffey had been around the organization (as a senior adviser) and already had a relationship with many of the defensemen, who trusted him and knew him. Jackson asked Coffey if he was willing to upend his life (he and his wife were living in Toronto) to join the team full time. It’s a move that paved the way to this postseason run.

Coffey comes to the rink every day and says the same thing: “How are we going to get better today?”

With incremental improvements, the Oilers have peaked at exactly the right time.


In commissioner Gary Bettman’s NHL, parity rules all. He wants all 32 teams to be treated equally, with each given a fair chance to win. Hence, the hard salary cap. However, a big topic surrounding the Stanley Cup Final is the perceived advantages teams have in states without an income tax, such as Florida.

Compare that to Edmonton — or any of the seven Canadian cities with teams — where provincial tax rates are significantly higher, and you realize not all teams are playing with the same set of financial rules. California and New York also have high tax rates.

Even though every team has the same amount to spend ($83.5 million this season), the athlete’s dollar goes much further in Sunrise, Florida — or Vegas (last year’s Cup winner), Dallas (Western Conference finalists in each of the past two seasons), Tampa (two Stanley Cups since 2020), Nashville or Seattle. The two Florida-based teams have appeared in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past five seasons.

These figures don’t factor in cost of living, which fluctuates across the league. Or the potential for endorsement deals, which are often more flush in Canadian markets. But consider these figures, courtesy of Cap Friendly: A $1 million base salary in Florida has a net income of $624,103 — versus $553,447 in Edmonton. It encourages players to take less money to play on teams like Florida, knowing they’re still coming out ahead.

One potential solution to allow for flexibility would be to introduce a luxury tax, similar to what the NBA has. Teams have the ability to spend more than the cap, but are taxed — and that money is allocated in revenue share to teams who aren’t going over the threshold. This could help grow the league’s financial health overall, and improve players’ salaries, which have remained somewhat stagnant.

That potential change would need to be approved by the league’s board of governors. I checked in with a few sources in the NHL league office and BOG, and came to this conclusion: There is virtually no appetite to change the salary cap system — with very little interest from owners in introducing a luxury tax. I was told the issue has been raised on occasion, but never garnered much interest or support.

That’s because the league sees way too many variables to factor in what makes certain markets attractive to certain players. What’s more, we can cherry-pick examples of lesser-taxed teams being successful (as I did above for effect), but consider: Florida has been in the league for three decades and has never won the Stanley Cup. For years, it was considered one of the most dysfunctional franchises. Success isn’t as much about manipulating the system as it is putting good systems in place in terms of strong leadership, roster management, drafting, support staff, etc.

I think even the league would agree the current rules are imperfect. But it’s working just fine, and unlikely to change any time soon.


A more relevant story to explore during the playoffs is spending outside of the salary cap. There’s no limit on how much a team can invest in staffing and resources. It’s a race that’s been going on behind the scenes for years. In the NHL, there’s a widening gulf between the haves and have-nots in terms of what they are willing to spend to gain a competitive advantage.

Edmonton and Florida are both teams on the “haves” list — though that’s a new place for Florida to be. My understanding is that owner Vinnie Viola basically told Zito there’s a blank check for anything that can help the team win (within reason, of course). That has allowed Florida to do what many higher-end teams have done for years, such as spending extra nights at a hotel after a game if it means giving the players more rest. That’s a swing of tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, every season.

The Panthers have a four-person goaltending excellence department; a reminder that there are no guidelines to how many coaches or front office members a team can employ. They promoted their team psychologist from part-time to full-time two years ago.

One of Zito’s biggest recent hires was Chris McLellan as VP of sports performance. McLellan, an Australian, holds a PhD, was previously a professor and has worked in the National Rugby League. Zito told me that McLellan has no biases from being a hockey lifer — he asks questions, and doesn’t feel beholden to do things a certain way just because that’s the way they’ve always been done. It has allowed the Panthers to try some creative things which they think have helped players immensely.

Edmonton owner Daryl Katz is equally generous. The Oilers have perhaps the nicest home locker room in the league, rivaled only by Detroit. Edmonton had been known for sometimes being stuck in old-school ways, but a series of recent hires progressed the team forward. Jackson is modernizing their analytics department, bringing in Michael Parkatti in September to oversee the group.

This week, Edmonton announced Kalle Larsson was joining as senior director of player development. Larsson spent 11 years with the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints, and I’m told he had several opportunities to go to the NHL sooner but chose the Oilers.

Most notably, the Oilers brought in George Mumford — a world-renowned mindfulness expert and sports psychologist, who worked with NBA legends Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan — as a consultant this year. Stuart Skinner was benched earlier in the playoffs. The goalie proved over the past three games of the Dallas series (.947 save percentage) he’s someone the team can trust.

In the celebration on the ice after the win, Mumford hugged Skinner, saying: “My man.”

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Stars rally in Game 1: Grades for both teams, players to watch for Game 2

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Stars rally in Game 1: Grades for both teams, players to watch for Game 2

Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers was actually like two games in one.

The first 40 minutes belonged to the Oilers, who looked absolutely unstoppable. They built a 3-1 lead against an overwhelmed Stars team, whose only goal was on a Tyler Seguin breakaway.

Unfortunately for Edmonton, a playoffs-long trend continued for their penalty kill. It was torched for seven goals in the opening three games against the Los Angeles Kings. It gave up three goals in the first two games against Vegas. In Game 1 of the conference final, it was like a defibrillator for the Stars, who barely had a pulse after going down 3-1 after two periods. Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene all scored power-play goals in the first 5:58 of the third period to rally Dallas to the lead. The Stars never looked back, taking Game 1 by a 6-3 score.

How did both teams perform? What are the big questions facing each team ahead of Game 2 on Friday night?

The Oilers had it all in hand — just to let a win slip through their fingers.

Edmonton had been idle for a week after finishing off Vegas in five games in its second-round series. And at first, the Oilers looked well rested in a fairly clean road game considering the lengthy layoff. Edmonton had a snafu in the first period letting Tyler Seguin free on a breakaway that he converted into a tying goal but other than that, Edmonton put on a defensive clinic to keep the Stars at bay through 40 minutes. The Oilers power play did — as Connor McDavid predicted — arrive at last, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring Edmonton’s first road goal with the man advantage in the postseason to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead, which they extended to 3-1 going into the third. That’s when the wheels fell off.

Edmonton gave up three power-play goals in less than six minutes to sit in a one-goal deficit they never came back from. The Oilers could have recovered on special teams themselves but didn’t convert with their own third-period tries and finished 1-for-3 with the extra attacker. Edmonton’s bench was rightly deflated even before Seguin scored a dagger late in the final period to ice the Stars’ victory. It was a tale of two teams for the Oilers — and the worst of the two prevailed. — Shilton

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Stars score 3rd straight goal to take lead over Oilers

Matt Duchene notches the Stars’ third power-play of the third period to give them a lead.

The Stars’ power play gets an A-plus. It was Honor Society-worthy. It was the valedictorian of Game 1. Dallas was absolutely cooked against McDavid and Leon Draisaitl until their three power-play goals to open the third period. The Stars became the second team since 1934 — when goals by type were first tabulated by the NHL — with three goals on the man advantage in the opening six minutes of a playoff period. They became the first team with three power-play goals in the third period of a playoff game since the San Jose Sharks scored four in Game 7 against the Golden Knights in 2019 — back when Peter DeBoer was the Sharks’ head coach, incidentally.

The rest of the Stars’ game gets a C-plus. The first two periods were not what you want to see against Edmonton, with defensive lapses and high-danger chances handed to the Oilers. Edmonton looked like a team that had won eight of its past nine playoff games. The Stars made Stuart Skinner much too comfortable. The third period belongs in the Louvre, not only for the power-play goals but for a key penalty kill against the Oilers, Sam Steel’s dagger and another strong final stanza by Jake Oettinger, who was 6-for-6 on shots.

It’s a great win, especially when one considers how well teams that win Game 1 fare in their series — teams to win Game 1 of a best-of-7 Stanley Cup playoff series have won the series 68% of time. But not every game is going to have the undisciplined play the Oilers had to start the third or the power-play success. Dallas needs to be better, but the good news is that they got the ‘W’ in a game where they weren’t quite at their best. — Wyshynski


Three Stars of Game 1

Two goals and an assist, including the opening goal for Dallas, his first breakaway goal since November, the team’s fourth this postseason, most of any team so far.

One goal and an assist. His 13th career multi-point game in the playoffs, tied with Sergei Zubov for the most by a defensemen in Stars/North Stars history.

3. Power play goals

The Oilers went 1-3 and the Stars 3-4. Dallas had three power play goals in a row in the third period, their most in the 3rd period of a playoff game in Stars/North Stars history. — Arda Öcal


Players to watch in Game 2

The Oilers netminder has endured a rocky postseason run already, going from the team’s starter, to its backup and then reclaiming the No. 1 role. Skinner appeared dialed in early against the Stars and then was — like the rest of his team — shaky down the stretch. Dallas’ fourth goal was particularly poorly tracked by Skinner, who couldn’t track the puck and was slow to react as Matt Duchene tallied the eventual game-winner. Skinner continued to look rattled from there and displayed less of the confidence he’d shown earlier in Game 1.

Calvin Pickard — who took over starting duties from Skinner in the first round — didn’t travel with the Oilers while continuing to rehab an injury he suffered in Game 2 against Vegas. It’ll be on Skinner to rebound to get Edmonton back on track in Game 2. — Shilton

A lot of quiet sticks got loud in Game 1 when Dallas needed it: Tyler Seguin, Matt Duchene and Sam Steel all tallied goals in the Stars’ stunning win. But one player remains curiously quiet, considering his reputation as a playoff standout: Johnston, their outstanding 22-year-old center. His Game 3 goal in a 5-2 rout of Winnipeg was his only point of that series, and he didn’t register a point in Dallas’ rally against Edmonton. The problem for Dallas is that he hasn’t added much at the other end, struggling defensively. He got walked by Leon Draisaitl for the first Edmonton goal. Depth is already vital in this series. The Stars could use Johnston to deepen it further. — Wyshynski


Big questions for Game 2

Can the Oilers clean up their act?

Edmonton was in control of Game 1 until penalty troubles eroded the positive efforts. Will that total lack of discipline become a factor again in Game 2? The Stars were a commanding 3-for-4 with the extra attacker on Wednesday and that’s no surprise given their regular season and playoff success on the power play. Dallas went into this series with the third-best power play of the postseason — and tops amongst remaining squads — at 30.8% while Edmonton had the third-worst penalty kill (66.7%). That’s a tough battle for the Oilers to win when they’re giving up multiple man advantage tries. Dallas proved (repeatedly) they’ll make Edmonton pay for every mistake and Edmonton made too many in Game 1. — Shilton

Is it time to worry about the Finnish Mafia?

The Dallas Stars wouldn’t be in the Western Conference Finals without Mikko Rantanen. And he wouldn’t have entered this round leading the playoffs in scoring without the chemistry he developed with fellow Finns Mikael Granlund and Roope Hintz. But this line hasn’t produced an even-strength goal since Game 5 against the Winnipeg Jets. Granted, they were cooking on the power play in the third period, with Granlund scoring and Hintz and Rantanen assisting on Duchene’s goal. You take that every day. But Dallas was at its most dominant when this line was leading the charge. The Stars are facing a pair of generational talents. They have a superstar of their own in Rantanen. He needs to bring that level of excellence at 5-on-5. — Wyshynski

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Stars use 3rd-period flurry to take G1 from Oilers

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Stars rally in Game 1: Grades for both teams, players to watch for Game 2

DALLAS — There’s mounting a comeback, and then there’s what the Dallas Stars did by rallying against what might be the greatest comeback team in NHL postseason history.

The Stars, down 3-1 to start the third period Wednesday night, looked to be on their way to losing their ninth Game 1 in their past 10 playoff series, only to score five unanswered goals to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 to open the Western Conference finals.

It gave the Stars their sixth comeback this postseason — compared to the Oilers, who set an NHL record earlier in these playoffs with five consecutive comeback wins.

“You score a goal and help your team win, it feels great, but the wins are the best feeling this time of year,” said Stars forward Matt Duchene, who scored his first goal of the postseason. “They’re short-lived. The losses are short-lived. That’s a great comeback win for us. Every team we’ve played so far has a very different makeup to them and a different feel. There’s things we can do better. The nice thing is when you win a game in the playoffs without your A-game, it feels like you want to take it and run with it.”

Edmonton opened with a goal midway through the first period from star center Leon Draisaitl before a turnover saw Tyler Seguin score his first of two goals on a breakaway to tie it with 4:38 remaining.

Stars forward Mason Marchment received a tripping penalty, which opened the door for the Oilers to take a 2-1 lead just 25 seconds into their power play through Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Evan Bouchard then scored 100 seconds later for a 3-1 lead.

It appeared Bouchard’s goal had the Oilers in position to win their fourth consecutive playoff game against the Stars, whom they also faced in last year’s Western Conference finals. It also would have been the Oilers’ third straight victory this postseason, part of a string of contests that had seen them lose only once since their Game 2 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings in the quarterfinals.

Instead? The third period proved to be something of a convergence point that saw the Stars answer some questions while posing a few more for the Oilers.

Dallas entered the conference finals facing concerns about whether it had enough scoring depth to match Edmonton. Prior to Game 1, there were five players who accounted for 81% of the Stars’ goals, compared to the Oilers, who had 14 different forwards score at least one goal.

Edmonton, on the other hand, watched its penalty kill struggle in the second round with a 9.1% success rate. That was the worst of any team in the semifinal round, and it was a jarring juxtaposition from 2024, when the Oilers killed 94% of their penalties.

And Wednesday, Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Duchene combined to score three straight power-play goals. Those were the first goals this postseason for Heiskanen and Duchene. Seguin, who hadn’t scored in 10 straight games, scored his second goal pushed it to 5-3, while Esa Lindell‘s empty-netter was his first of the postseason and increased the Stars’ edge to 6-3.

“Everyone was talking about our lack of secondary scoring and in the last round … you have to give Winnipeg some credit,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “They defended their ass off in that series against us. They’re the best defensive team in the league. None of our guys were going to have big numbers in the Winnipeg series but I felt confident that they were going to get going.

“Even in that Winnipeg series, particularly late in that series, we started to see some real signs of creating real chances.”

Three of the Stars’ four wins against the Colorado Avalanche in the quarterfinal round were comebacks, including their dramatic Game 7 that saw star winger Mikko Rantanen score against his former team. So were two of their four wins against the Jets. It established a precedent that the Stars could do it again this postseason.

But to do it against an Oilers team that had shut out the Vegas Golden Knights over the final two contests of their five-game series?

“We played with some more energy,” Granlund said. “I think no one was happy with the first two periods of how we played. We know we’re going to raise our level for the first game. The third period was good. The power play was good, but we’ve got some better games ahead of us.”

The Oilers losing a two-goal lead in Game 1 led to another question: What made it difficult for them to find the type of openings that have allowed them to be such a persistent threat this postseason even while trailing?

“We were short-handed for about six minutes in the third period, and that makes it a little more difficult to come back,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I just think we took a step back. They had the momentum and the energy from the crowd. Obviously, we’re very disappointed. After the first two periods, we felt it was a good start and then it just turned in the third period.

“We’ve had some heartbreaking losses in the playoffs, and we’ve been able to rebound nicely.”

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Coach: Canes must be smarter about retaliation

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Coach: Canes must be smarter about retaliation

RALEIGH — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said his players have to be smarter about retaliating against the Florida Panthers‘ trademark agitation.

“We know that’s how they do things,” he said on Wednesday, after Florida took a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-2 win. “Find a way not to let that get to you. Stick to what is going to win us games.”

At issue for the Hurricanes in Game 1 was center Sebastian Aho‘s roughing penalty against Florida’s Anton Lundell at 6:59 of the first period, which negated a Carolina power play and led to Carter Verhaeghe scoring the first goal of the game on a Panthers’ power play. Aho took a swing at Lundell after the Panthers center cross-checked him. The referees whistled the retaliation but not the initial stickwork that provoked it.

“I mean, the first penalty is bad call, right? You’re going to have those. But that’s my thing: Retaliation penalties are not going to get it done,” Brind’Amour said. “We did a pretty good job with [retaliation], but it just takes one. That’s my point. You can’t have that one, because that really puts you behind the game and now it’s different.”

The Hurricanes are 5-0 when scoring first in the playoffs and 3-3 when they don’t. Carolina’s penalty kill had stopped 14 of 15 power plays at home and 28 of 30 overall in the playoffs until Game 1, when Florida went 2-for-3 with the man advantage.

“They made us pay. It’s a good team that knows how to score goals and finds way to win games when you make mistakes,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. “We’ve got to limit those mistakes.”

Another example of the Hurricanes’ retaliation, though a less costly one for Carolina, came in the third period when defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere deliberately shot a puck at Florida forward Brad Marchand. In this case, the Panthers got the worst of it, as Marchand was given a double minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.

“Just heated. I was pretty pissed off. He tried to take a run at me. I shot the puck at him. We had a little [tussle],” Gostisbehere said.

After Game 1, neither Panthers players nor coach Paul Maurice would discuss the incident in detail.

“It happens. It’s what it is. I mean, we block shots all the time, so what’s the difference?” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said.

That attitude extends to the Panthers’ composure on the ice. While the Panthers have earned their reputation as an irritating, physical opponent — attributes that helped them win the Stanley Cup for the first time last season — they can dish it out and take it.

Look no further than the Florida crease in Game 1, where the Hurricanes crashed the net of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with frequency. At one point, forward Andrei Svechnikov‘s hip collided with Bobrovsky’s head. But the goalie wasn’t knocked off his game and his team didn’t retaliate.

“It’s OK. It’s the playoffs. They try to get under the skin. I just focus on my things and try not to think about that,” Bobrovsky said after his Game 1 win.

Maurice praised his netminder’s composure.

“Sergei’s not a kid. He’s been through it. He’s been bumped. He’s just developed a skill set that it just doesn’t bother him,” the coach said. “No one likes getting elbowed in the head, but it won’t be the first time or the last time.”

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals is Thursday night in Raleigh. The Hurricanes have now lost 13 straight games in that round of the playoffs, including five straight to the Panthers.

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