SERIES SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Game 1: Tuesday, June 2 at 5 p.m. | Lenovo Center
Game 2: Thursday, June 4 at 5 p.m. | Lenovo Center
Game 3: Saturday, June 6 at 5 p.m. | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
Game 4: Tuesday, June 9 at 5 p.m. | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
Game 5 (if necessary): Thursday, June 11 at 5 p.m.| Lenovo Center
Game 6 (if necessary): Sunday, June 14 at 5 p.m. | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
Game 7 (if necessary): Wednesday, June 17 at 5 p.m.| Lenovo Center
REGULAR SEASON SERIES VS. CAROLINA
The Golden Knights won both matchups against the Hurricanes in the regular season. At their first meeting on Oct. 20 at T-Mobile Arena, Vegas captured a 4-1 victory over Carolina. The Golden Knights saw goals from four different players: Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, Ivan Barbashev, and William Karlsson. Barbashev (1G, 1A) and Mitch Marner (2A) led the way with multi-point performances each, while in net, Akira Schmid turned aside 22 of 23 shots in relief. Sebastian Aho notched the lone goal for the visiting Hurricanes.
A week later, Vegas visited Carolina for the clubs’ final meeting of the regular season on Oct. 28 at Lenovo Center. The Golden Knights came away with a 6-3 comeback win fueled by a three-point performance by Eichel (2G, 1A). Carolina scored first on the power-play before Dorofeyev scored twice to give Vegas a 2-1 lead heading into the second period. Jordan Martinook scored for the Hurricanes in the middle frame to make it 2-2, and Logan Stankoven notched a tally less than three minutes into the third period to make it 3-2 for Carolina. The Golden Knights answered with four straight goals from Eichel (2), Brett Howden, and Tomas Hertl to earn the victory.
Eichel (3G, 1A), Barbashev (1G, 3A), and Marner (4A) all posted four points for the Golden Knights against the Hurricanes in the two contests. Eichel and Dorofeyev (3G) were among six different skaters who scored a goal for Vegas against Carolina this season. Sebastian Aho (1G, 1A) recorded two points for the Hurricanes while Martinook, Stankoven, and Andrei Svechnikov each scored goals against the Golden Knights.
THE ROAD TO THE FINAL
The Golden Knights eliminated the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks in six games each to advance to the Western Conference Final for the fifth time in franchise history. Vegas and Colorado met for the second time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after previously meeting in the 2021 Second Round. The series began at Ball Arena, where the Golden Knights captured a 4-2 and a 3-1 victory over the Presidents’ Trophy Winners and took a 2-0 lead back to Vegas. In Game 3, the Golden Knights trailed the Avalanche 3-0 heading into the first intermission. Mark Stone got Vegas on the board 19 seconds into the second period, and William Karlsson notched his first goal since returning from injury to make it 3-2. Keegan Kolesar tallied his first goal of the postseason to tie the contest at three entering the final frame. Tomas Hertl gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the game less than nine minutes into the third period, and Brett Howden sealed the win with an empty-net goal for Vegas to complete its three-goal comeback in franchise history. In Game 4, Stone opened the scoring with a goal less than five minutes into the game to give Vegas an early 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period, Cole Smith notched his third goal of the postseason late in the final frame to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 edge. Landeskog got the Avalanche on the board with two minutes remaining in regulation, but Carter Hart stood tall, stopping 20-of-21 shots to secure the series sweep for Vegas. Mitch Marner enters the Stanley Cup Final as the league leader in points with 21 (7G, 14A), while Howden and Dorofeyev top the standings with 10 goals each. Hart posted a .944 save percentage to go with a 1.75 goals-against average in the four-game series against the Avs to lead Vegas to a 12-4 record this postseason.
Carolina cruised past the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in back-to-back series sweeps to meet the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes saw their first loss of the postseason in Game 1 after the Canadiens stormed to a 6-2 victory. Carolina rallied with back-to-back 3-2 overtime victories in Games 2 and 3 that featured Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov as the overtime heroes to take a 2-1 series lead. The Hurricanes took over in Games 3 and 4, outscoring the Canadiens 10 to 1 to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006. Frederick Andersen has been the backbone of his team in net, boasting a 12-1 record to go with a .941 save percentage, a 1.41 goals-against average, and three shutouts. Taylor Hall (5G, 11A), Jackson Blake (5G, 10A), and Logan Stankoven (9G, 3A) sit as Carolina’s point leaders entering the Stanley Cup Final.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Golden Knights have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in nine seasons, tied for the most by any club since 2018. The Golden Knights have now reached the postseason eight times in their first nine seasons. Vegas has qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four consecutive seasons, including the organization’s first Stanley Cup title in 2023 when the Golden Knights defeated the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Florida Panthers to win the championship. The Golden Knights’ 15 series victories and 74 wins are the most in the NHL since 2018. Vegas has won at least one playoff series in six of its eight postseason runs. The Golden Knights’ roster features 11 players who have their names etched into the Stanley Cup, including 10 from the 2023 championship team. 12 Vegas players have competed in the Stanley Cup Final for a combined 91 games played.
CAROLINA HURRICANES PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Hurricanes are competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eighth consecutive year, the NHL’s second-longest active streak. Carolina defeated Montreal 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Final to advance to its third Stanley Cup Final and first since 2006. The Hurricanes and Whalers franchises have compiled an all-time playoff record of 118-111 with a .515 winning percentage. Carolina has made two previous trips to the Stanley Cup Final since relocating from Hartford, first in 2002, when the Hurricanes fell to the Red Wings, 4-1. Four years later, a Carolina team captained by Rod Brind’Amour, defeated Edmonton in a series that required all seven games to capture its first Stanley Cup. Twenty years later, Brind’Amour now leads Carolina as head coach with a 59-43 (.578) record through 102 postseason games since 2018-19. With the Hurricanes’ Eastern Conference Championship, Brind’Amour became the seventh individual in NHL history to captain a franchise to reach the Stanley Cup Final and then do it as head coach. Current Carolina captain, Jordan Staal (2009, Pittsburgh Penguins) and forward, William Carrier (2023, Vegas Golden Knights) are the two players on the Hurricanes roster who have earned their name on the Stanley Cup. Staal, Carrier and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are among the three Carolina players who have competed for the Cup, with a combined 22 games played in the Final, and Sebastian Aho sits as the Hurricanes franchise leader with 92 points (38G, 54A) in 102 games played.
