Though neither the Vegas Golden Knights nor Carolina Hurricanes emerged as the NHL’s top teams during regular season play, both franchises have dominated throughout their playoff campaigns.
The two hottest clubs in professional hockey are now set to battle for the Stanley Cup championship.
The Golden Knights completed a sweep of Presidents’ Trophy winner Colorado in the Western Conference Final and have captured 19 victories in 24 contests since John Tortorella assumed coaching duties in late March. Meanwhile, Carolina has secured 12 wins in 13 playoff games, including a four-game winning streak that eliminated Montreal and secured their Cup final berth.
“I probably would give an edge to Vegas, but I don’t feel that secure in that,” former player-turned-NHL Network analyst Mike Rupp said. “Both teams are just playing this demonstrative way right now that it feels like it’s the right matchup here in the finals.”
Carolina enters the championship series as slight betting favorites, likely due to their home-ice advantage and impressive recent performance. Tuesday night’s opening game takes place in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes posted a perfect 8-0 record through their first two playoff rounds, sweeping both Ottawa and Philadelphia. Their lone setback against the Canadiens may have resulted from an 11-day break between rounds, but Carolina has remained undefeated since that wake-up call.
Vegas faced more challenges while defeating Utah and Anaheim before easily handling the injury-riddled Avalanche. The Golden Knights will enjoy a full week of rest between rounds.
“I worry about, just you lose your edge just a little bit, that’s a big disadvantage,” Tortorella said Friday. “That’s the key for us. As a coach, you’re always worried about that. I think our players, the group is good, and I think they understand that because they’ve been in this before, most of them.”
Carolina reaches the championship round for the first time since 2006, when current coach Rod Brind’Amour served as team captain. For Vegas, this represents familiar territory – their third final appearance in less than a decade of existence and second in four years, following their 2023 Stanley Cup victory.
Twelve players from that championship team remain with Vegas.
“That feeling, you want that feeling back,” said defenseman Shea Theodore, who has been with the team since the inaugural season in 2017-18. “It feels different, but I think the feeling in the locker room with the guys and how we are with one another, it feels very similar to that — that group in ’23 — how close we are, and it’s just exciting to be back.”
Expect a defensive battle with limited scoring opportunities. Both the Golden Knights and Hurricanes rank among the stingiest defensive teams remaining in the playoffs.
“Both these teams defend at a high level,” former goalie and now NHL Network analyst Cory Schneider said. “They work at a high level. They don’t give you much room and space and time. I don’t want to say it’s going to be a boring final, but it’s definitely going to be a bit of a grind and whoever comes out on top is going to be the team that can sort of survive that grind.”
Brind’Amour’s demanding coaching approach has finally delivered results in his eighth season leading the team. While Carolina advanced at least one round in each of the previous seven seasons, they consistently fell short of reaching the finals.
The Hurricanes have reached this stage without relying on offensive firepower.
“So far, it’s worked, but this where they run into trouble,” Schneider said. “This is why in years past they haven’t quite broken through to the finals is because they play such a high-intensity style that emphasizes shot quantity over quality, so that doesn’t always lead to goals. They’ll possess the puck and throw a million pucks on net, but they don’t always get great looks and high-end scoring chances and they don’t have a ton of elite finishers.”
