I can't root for any of the three remaining Pacific division teams so I'm reluctantly rooting for the Stars.
For the East, I may get on the Panthers bandwagon. I had them written off back in 2022 after, as the leading President's trophy winner, they couldn't clobber an injured-ridden Kings team the way the Avs would that season so that game was the main sign for me where I question if they had what it takes to go far. Then that suspicion was confirmed after they got swept by the Bolts in round 2. This season, after making major big moves when it comes to changing head coach and making a big trade, after battling injuries, being up and down throughout the season, after Matthew Tkachuk gave them a Hart-nominated season, this Panthers team got a lot of fight in them. They also beaten the Bruins and Leafs, so it's hard to root against a team for doing that.
That being said, I got nothing against the Hurricanes. Rod Brind'amour has been a great coach for them and despite the team not making huge trade deadline decisions, turns out they were right to bank on this group and not need to make major adjustments to the roster and here they are. Same goes for the Panthers. They couldn't do anything at the deadline due to minor injuries that they couldn't get LTIR space for, no cap space, and no good draft capital to trade. Just them clicking at the right time despite teams like the Senators and Sabres coming up the rear.
Maybe the most popular narratives that making big bold moves at the trade deadline that people really really want to latch onto doesn't actually equal post-season success. Some cases can be true, but that's not the case this season in various examples.