Stanley Cup Final Preview: Canes vs. Golden Knights

RALEIGH, N.C. - Coming out on top in the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes now turn their attention to their final foe, taking on the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

The two clubs have never met in the postseason. The Golden Knights went 2-0-0 in the 2025-26 season series, but Carolina is 9-7-0 all-time against Vegas.

The Canes arrive at the decisive duel with 12 wins in 13 playoff games. Sweeping the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds, Carolina then took care of Montreal in five games to reach the Final for the first time since winning the Cup in 2006. Allowing by far the fewest goals per game on average (1.62) of any team this postseason, the Canes have smothered opponents defensively while overwhelming them at the other end to come out on top in all but one outing.

Vegas, meanwhile, edged Utah and Anaheim in six games each before pulling off a stunning four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. Already a stout defensive outfit, the Golden Knights' offense has risen to the occasion as well — Mitch Marner (21 pts) and Jack Eichel (18 pts) pace all skaters in scoring this postseason, while Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden co-lead the playoffs in goals with 10 each.

The best-of-seven series will begin on Tuesday at Lenovo Center.

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Revisiting The Regular-Season Meetings...

• October 20: Carolina suffered its first loss of the season at T-Mobile Arena, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Golden Knights.
• October 28: The teams' second meeting in just over a week went back and forth before Vegas pulled away late, taking a 6-3 win at Lenovo Center.

It's been a little more than seven months since the Hurricanes' 5-0-0 start to the regular season hit its first speed bump in Vegas, followed a little over a week later by defeat in the rematch in Raleigh. Carolina utilized 23 players in the two games as a rash of injuries began to afflict its lineup, opening the door for players like Bradly Nadeau, Charles Alexis Legault, Joel Nystrom and Domenick Fensore as K'Andre Miller, William Carrier, Shayne Gostisbehere and more missed time.

Sebastian Aho was the lone Carolina skater with multiple points in the season series, logging a goal and an assist across the two matchups. Three others — Jordan Martinook, Logan Stankoven and Andrei Svechnikov — scored goals, and eight players recorded at least a point.

Frederik Andersen got the start in both battles, stopping 22 of 25 in Vegas and 29 of 34 when the two clashed in the City of Oaks.

On The Other Side...

Seemingly clicking on all cylinders, on one hand, it's not a surprise for the Golden Knights to be making its third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in nine years. On the other hand, after making a coaching change with eight games remaining in the regular season, it's a little eye-popping.

The move from Bruce Cassidy to John Tortorella has proved to be a stroke of genius, as the veteran-heavy roster has turned in the most goals (58) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and has averaged the fewest allowed among Western Conference teams (2.38/GP).

A deep team that features an embarrassment of riches among its forward group, a blue line including Shea Theadore and Rasmus Andersson, as well as former Hurricanes Noah Hanifin and Dylan Coghlan, has shown expertise at keeping its opposition to the perimeter.

Mix in a hot goaltender in Carter Hart, and some strong special teams, and it's tough to see where exactly their weaknesses are.

A worthy opponent, the head-to-head clash against Carolina sets up for what should be a cinematic chess match.

The Special Teams Story...

Carolina's Power Play In The Regular Season: 24.9% (4th)

Carolina's Penalty Kill In The Regular Season: 80.5% (11th)

Carolina's Power Play In The Playoffs: 7-for-56 (12.5%)

Carolina's Penalty Kill In The Playoffs: 49-for-53 (92.5%)

Penalty-killing continues to be part of Carolina's bread and butter after navigating 11 of 13 shorthanded scenarios in the Eastern Conference Final. But the Canes would undoubtedly like to see fewer of those situations going forward as they're averaging the fourth-most shorthanded time on ice per game (6:53) of any playoff team.

On the other hand, the Hurricanes have struggled to make the most of their 4.31 power-play opportunities per game, the second-most in the postseason. However, timely tallies have helped make up for a lack of volume. Notably, the team has power-play goals in back-to-back games, after Sebastian Aho kicked off Carolina's Game 4 romp in Montreal and Shayne Gostisbehere helped pile on in a series-clinching Game 5.

Vegas' Power Play In The Regular Season: 24.6% (6th)

Vegas' Penalty Kill In The Regular Season: 81.4% (6th)

Vegas' Power Play In The Playoffs: 11-for-46 (23.9%)

Vegas' Penalty Kill In The Playoffs: 42-for-48 (87.5%)

The Golden Knights were strong on both sides of the equation during the regular season and have continued humming along in the postseason.

Forward Pavel Dorofeyev has played a key part in that, scoring 20 goals on the man advantage between October and April, second-most among all skaters in the NHL. In the postseason, he's added four more, co-leading all skaters in the playoffs, along with teammate Mark Stone.

As for their penalty kill, the team's biggest strength is staying out of the box. No team was shorthanded fewer times during the regular season (204), and they've averaged just three times shorthanded per game during their first three rounds.

In Net...

Carolina: Frederik Andersen, Brandon Bussi, and Pyotr Kochetkov

Entering Round 1, it felt like a true coin flip between Andersen and Bussi for the first game of the series. The veteran option got the decision and never looked back.

"Zilla" has been an absolute rock over 13 games, giving up a total of just 20 goals. His .931 save percentage and 1.41 goals against average lead all backstops thus far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (min. 5 GP).

Rod Brind'Amour has said multiple times that the team feels confident in Bussi if they have to turn to him at some point, but as the final round begins, the net is all Andersen's.

Vegas: Carter Hart and Adin Hill

Brought in mid-season after being reinstated by the NHL, some instability in the crease opened the door for Hart to take the reins in December. An early-January injury put him on the shelf for nearly three months, but since returning, he's been an ace.

Winning his final six starts of the regular season, he's rolled that into a 12-4 postseason with a .924 save percentage. Dating back to April 2, he's allowed more than two goals in just six of his last 22 appearances.

A true X-factor in the team's sweep over Colorado, he turned in performances of 36, 30, and 32 saves before going 20-for-21 in the series finale.

Players To Watch...

Carolina: K'Andre Miller

Amid several breakout performances from Hurricanes skaters this postseason, Miller has turned heads with his two-way toolkit. Leading the team's D-corps with a career-high eight points (all assists) this postseason, Miller also paces the entire team with a +14 rating in the playoffs and continues to produce highlight-reel efforts both offensively and defensively.

There's always an adjustment period for players who change teams as they get used to their new surroundings, and Miller was no different as he left the only NHL team he had known before this season. But since arriving in Raleigh, he's been a natural fit with Rod Brind'Amour's group, and is now showing just how comfortable he is in Carolina.

Vegas: Mitch Marner

Freed from the city of Toronto last summer, the dynamic winger has enjoyed a wealth of success in his new home. After 80 points in 81 regular-season games, he's followed it up with a postseason-leading 21 points through three rounds.

Doing so mostly in a second-line role next to Brett Howden and William Karlsson, Marner is just one example of the amount of talent on a forward core that also features Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl, among others.

How They See It...

Sebastian Aho on reaching the Stanley Cup Final in just 13 games…

“I think it’s helpful, because we play hard, but at the same time, I feel like we skated really good these last four games. The first game of the (Montreal) series, it is what it is, but I think our team really feels like we’re doing the right things. We’re skating hard, we’re checking hard, all that stuff. So I do think it helps that we haven’t played extra games.”

Jordan Staal sharing his experience of the emotions of Game 1 in the Stanley Cup Final...

"A lot of the series are the same. Maybe there's more magnitude and more noise outside the game, but [once] you get into those puck drops, they feel eerily similar, usually. The game that we have and the trust that we have in it, as soon as we see the puck drop, it's what we've got to rely on, and we let the rest of the noise take care of itself."

Taylor Hall on Frederik Andersen's postseason...

"Just his calming presence back there and how well he plays the puck [are great]. He just doesn't scramble around the net. It's nice when you have a guy like that just settle things down. He just seems to make that big save when we need him to. He's been great up to this point. We're going to need him to keep on his game. I'm just really happy for a guy like that."

K'Andre Miller when asked if he sees himself as a difference-maker for this team...

"I don't look at it like that. I think this team has done a really good job of building pieces. I think we've done a great job of getting better each game, from the beginning of the year. [We] really just build off those stepping stones. We have a great leadership group that leads the way, and that does it the right way, so it's been pretty easy for me to just be part of it and pull that rope our way."

Logan Stankoven on the Vegas Golden Knights...

"They do a good job of keeping the puck to the outside. They've got some big defensemen, obviously some very dangerous forwards up front, and a hot goaltender. It's going to be a challenge for us. If we keep bringing the game that we have right now, that puts us in a good spot. I've played against them. I know what to expect. It's going to be a hard series."