STANLEY CUP FINALS

We are down to two teams in the chase for the Lord Stanley Cup, the most prestigious trophy in sports. Remember like the Blarney Stone. do not kiss or lick it because you really don’t know where it’s been. The conference finals were a big snooze fest. I picked Avalanche and Hurricanes in the conference finals games. I went 1-2 in the conference finals match ups. For the entire post-season, predicting each series has given me a 6-8 record to this point. Even if I get the Stanley Cup final prediction right, I will still come away with a losing record. Even though I will get back up off the ground from being thrown off the back of the horse. I will dust myself off and roll the dice on my Stanley Cup pick with all the fixings. Make sure you bet the opposite.

LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS CAROLINA HURRICANES

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Golden Knights eliminated: 1st round, Mammoth, 2nd round, Ducks, 3rd round Avalanche.

Hurricanes eliminated: 1st round, Senators, 2nd round, Flyers, 3rd round, Canadiens

BOTH TEAMS CHASING THEIR 2ND STANLEY CUP

Both teams are (1-1) all-time in the Stanley Cup finals. This will be the 3rd time for both these teams making it to the Stanley Cup finals. The Golden Knights won theirs a few years ago in 2023. While the Hurricanes you have to go back to 2006 when they hoisted the Cup.

TEAM HISTORY

The Golden Knights became an expansion team in the NHL and their first season was the 2017-18 season. Since the birth of the Golden Knights, they have missed the post-season 1 time. They have made post-season 8-9 years in the league. Add three Stanley Cup finals to the equation which is pretty impressive. If you are a fan of another team, it just sickens you reading those stats.

The Carolina Hurricanes were originally the Whalers of New England playing in a different league than the NHL. The Whalers played in the WHA (World Hockey Association.) In 1974 they relocated to the state of Connecticut and became the Hartford Whalers. The WHA ceased operations and the Whalers went to the NHL in 1979. In 1997, the Whalers relocated to North Carolina and changed their name to the Hurricanes.

THE SKINNY

After the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have lost 1 game in the post-season so far. The Hurricanes are 12-1 and have been playing solid defense in each series. You have to be impressed by the Las Vegas Golden Knights who swept away the Colorado Avalanche in the conference championship. The Avalanche came in as Cup favorites to win it all. The roster is loaded with talent. To lose all 4 games and get swept, you have to think Vegas is doing something right.

GOALIES

We know both the Hurricanes and Golden Knights can play solid defense. Both teams have proven that in the first three rounds. Up to this point, both goalies have been solid. Frederik Andersen for the Hurricanes has had a solid track record in the Stanley Cup post-season and he has lost only 1 game between the pipes this NHL post-season. Andersen has played in way more post-season games than the Golden Knights goalie, Carter Hall. Hall has started 11 games this post-season and has only lost two of those matches. In the 11 starts, the Vegas goaltender has a save percentage of .940 which is remarkable. He has allowed only 1.82 goals against average. Hart has only started 18 games in regular season for the Golden Knights. Andersen has played more games during regular season than Carter and has played deep into the post-season the last few years.

The Golden Knights were very happy to have Mitch Marner in the Avalanche series as he was questionable due to an injury for the conference finals. Marner is a two way play-maker on the ice and has tallied up 21 points so far this post-season. You could say that the Golden Knights have the three best players from both teams. Starting with Marner & then let’s not forget about Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Then the Golden Knights have some unsung heroes as well in Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev who have tallied ten goals each during this post-season. Can Vegas light the lamp against a great defense like the Hurricanes? They really dismantled Colorado. It is possible.

The Hurricanes can get you with 4 different lines they have. It’s the second line the Canes have that they have done the most Van Damage with. Line number two features Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, and Logan Stankoven. This line for the Canes has tallied 43 points this post-season. Nineteen goals and 24 assists. The Canes can score goals. They have the snipers. They may have the experienced goal tender in post-season. They cleared their hurdle in the conference championship by finally prevailing after a few years of going home short of the finals. Can the Canes light the lamp versus a great defense like the Golden Knights have?

This will be a great series to finish off the hockey year and the 2025-26 season. It will be better than both conference championships that were just played as those series were one sided. How does an expansion team win their second Cup in such a short history? The Golden Knights have to be Vegas lucky. It’s not even the same head coach who took the expansion team to the finals in the very first year. John Tortorella has been some kind of hockey whisperer to his team as he only managed 8 games in regular season with this bunch. My heart wants the Hurricanes to win it all. My gut feeling is Golden Knights will win this series. It will go the distance. I’ve bet against the Golden Knights in each round and lost. Maybe picking them will reverse their fortune.

OUR PREDICTION: GOLDEN KNIGHTS IN SEVEN