That, and the competition isn’t as fierce. ;) West >> East.
Agreed, seems that way, didn't stop Vancouver from not winning the Cup!
Maybe now that’s the case, but it wasn’t always the case. It kind of goes in cycles. I think the longest “Eastern Conference winning streak” for the Stanley Cup in my days as a hockey fan was the stretch from 1991-95 when the Penguins, Canadiens, Rangers and Devils won five straight. Then the Western Conference won four straight (Colorado, Detroit twice, and Dallas) before the Devils won their second Cup in 2000. It was pretty balanced for a stretch after that, but it seems like the Western Conference has had 3-4 of the top five teams in the NHL in most years since the mid-2000s.