Stanley Cup Final preview: Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes

The Stanley Cup Final will feature the Carolina Hurricanes of the Eastern Conference and Vegas Golden Knights of the Western Conference in a best-of-7 series, which starts Tuesday at Lenovo Center. Today, NHL.com previews the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (1M) Carolina Hurricanes 

Golden Knights: Defeated Utah Mammoth 4-2 in first round; defeated Anaheim Ducks 4-2 in second round; defeated Colorado Avalanche 4-0 in Western Conference Final

Hurricanes: Defeated Ottawa Senators 4-0 in first round; defeated Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 in second round; defeated Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in Eastern Conference Final

Season series: VGK: 2-0-0; CAR: 0-2-0

Game 1: Tuesday at Carolina (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC)

In some ways, the 2026 Stanley Cup Final is a study in contrasts.

The Carolina Hurricanes have waited 20 years to get back to the Cup Final after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in 2006 for the franchise’s first championship. 

In the interim, there have been down times and, more recently, a run of disappointments in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including four unsuccessful trips to the Eastern Conference Final, three of them coming in current coach Rod Brind’Amour’s eight seasons.

But Carolina has stayed the course, keeping its core together and sticking with Brind’Amour, learning and growing from the setbacks.

The Vegas Golden Knights, on the other hand, are in the Cup Final again three years after winning it all in 2023. This is their third time in the championship round in the franchise’s nine-year history. 

Each trip to the Final has been made with different pieces in the core and a different coach. This time, it is John Tortorella, who replaced Bruce Cassidy, the coach of the Cup-winning team, with eight games remaining in the regular season. 

But now that the teams are here in the final round, similarities also emerge. 

Each team is on an absolute heater. 

Carolina has only lost once in three rounds, in the opening game of the Eastern final against the Montreal Canadiens after an 11-day layoff. 

“Great team, they've lost one game in playoffs,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “They come hard. They do a lot of pressuring. Being sharp with our decision-making is going to be huge. Get into our game as soon as possible.”

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, have won six straight and are coming off a four-game sweep of the Colorado Avalanche, who won the Presidents’ Trophy for having the best regular-season record in the NHL and finished 26 points ahead of Vegas in the standings. 

And each team plays a suffocating defensive style that fuels its offense and frustrates the opponent.

“Obviously, they’ve taken down a few really good teams and (play) a different kind of style defensively,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. “They don't give you much around the net. 

“It's hard to get to the net and they’ve got skill and a good power play, and the goalie's playing well, and, obviously, all the things that you need to get where you're at in the (Final).”

Goalie play is driving each team, with Carter Hart of the Golden Knights and Frederik Andersen of the Hurricanes each having played the entire way in the postseason. 

Vegas is a bit more adept offensively. Forward Mitch Marner leads the NHL this postseason with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists), and center Jack Eichel is second with 18 points (two goals, 16 assists), with each playing 16 games. Vegas has five other players with 10 or more points. 

“They do a good job of keeping the puck to the outside, and they’ve got some big defensemen and, obviously, just some very dangerous forwards up front, and a hot goaltender,” Carolina forward Logan Stankoven said. “So, it's going to be a challenge for us. I think if we keep bringing the game that we have right now, it puts us in a good spot.”

Taylor Hall leads the Hurricanes with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists), Jackson Blake has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists), and Stankoven has 12 points (nine goals, three assists), each in 13 games. Together, they form Carolina’s second line and are the only players on the team with 10 or more points. 

“They're a fast team,” Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said. “They play a hard system, and it seems like everyone's on board. So it presents a big challenge. But I think if we get to our game, we like our game.”

Vegas won both regular-season games between the teams, but those were played in October.

This is the Cup Final in June, and the stakes are far higher for each team as it tries to write the next chapter in its legacy. 

Game breakers

Golden Knights: Eichel is playing some of the best hockey of his career and stepping up in big moments. To understand his ability to break open a game, look no further than Game 2 of the Western final. The Avalanche were trying to nurse a one-goal lead to the finish line, and that dream died with one flick of the wrist by Eichel in the right face-off circle midway through the third period on a transitional break. Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood called it a perfect shot: a few inches off the ice, off the far post and in. It tied the game, and Vegas went on to win 3-1 and never looked back.

Hurricanes: Nobody on Carolina is playing better than Hall. He has scored 14 of his team-leading 16 points at even strength and also has scored an overtime goal, but his impact is being felt in every aspect of the Hurricanes’ play. He is plus-11, the best rating of any Carolina forward, and has made several big hits in this playoff run, bringing to the fore a side of his game that is not always present.

Goaltending

Golden Knights: Hart has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his past 11 playoff starts. He gave up three goals in the first period of Game 3 of the Western final and then shut out the Avalanche the rest of the game, allowing for a 5-3 come-from-behind victory that all but sealed the series. He is 12-4 this postseason and has stopped 440 of 476 shots, a .924 save percentage. His 2.22 goals-against average is third in the playoffs among goalies who advanced past the first round. Adin Hill, who has not played once since April 9, is the backup.  

Hurricanes: There has been nobody better than Andersen at stopping pucks this postseason. He has faced 289 shots and has stopped 269, a .931 save percentage that leads all goalies who have played beyond the first round. His 1.41 GAA also leads the League in these playoffs (minimum five games), as do his three shutouts. He allowed five goals to the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern final and then allowed five goals across the final four games. Backup Brandon Bussi made 39 starts during the regular season but hasn’t played since April 14.

Numbers to know

Golden Knights: With 10 goals each, Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden are the NHL’s only double-digit scorers this postseason. Vegas is the fifth team since 1998 to enter the Final with multiple 10-goal scorers. The Edmonton Oilers (2024), Washington Capitals (2018), Pittsburgh Penguins (2009) and Detroit Red Wings (2008) are the others; aside from the Oilers, each won the Cup that season.

Hurricanes: Carolina (12-1) is the first team to reach the Cup Final with fewer than two losses since 1987, when all four rounds went to a best-of-7 format. The previous best of two losses entering the Final has been achieved eight times during that span, most recently by the Avalanche in 2022, when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games for the Cup. 

They said it

“They are playing really well, structured team, you know, deep. They play fast, compete hard. It’s a good challenge for us.” -- Golden Knights center Jack Eichel

“It's a different animal. I'll just say that. That's for sure. You can't get this far without being top notch. So, we know that's going to be a huge challenge, but give us a day.” -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour on the Golden Knights after Carolina won the Eastern Conference Final

Will win if …

Golden Knights: They dominate on special teams. The Hurricanes haven’t let any of their three opponents use the power play to swing the series; they have allowed just four power-play goals in the postseason, the last coming when they were ahead comfortably late in Game 5 against the Canadiens. But the Golden Knights have used a timely power play to help in their march to the Final, converting at 23.9 percent. Additionally, no team is more dangerous on the penalty kill than Vegas (87.5 percent), which has scored a playoff-best four short-handed goals. That number that looks even better considering the Golden Knights have allowed six power-play goals in 16 games.    

Hurricanes: Their top line continues to find its way. In the first two rounds, Carolina won despite the trio of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov, which was lukewarm at best. The unit started to find its offensive footing in the third round and was responsible for the winning goal in Games 3 and 4 against the Canadiens. Jarvis has eight points (three goals, five assists), and Aho (four goals, three assists) and Svechnikov (three goals, four assists), each has seven. The trio has been outstanding in shutting down the top line of the opposition and will need to do so again against the Golden Knights, but a bit more offense will be paramount for the Hurricanes to have the best possible shot of lifting the Cup for the first time in 20 years.

How they look

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Pavel Dorofeyev

Brett Howden -- William Karlsson -- Mitch Marner

Tomas Hertl -- Colton Sissons -- Mark Stone

Cole Smith -- Nic Dowd -- Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson 

Kaedan Korczak -- Dylan Coghlan

Carter Hart

Adin Hill

Scratched: Brandon Saad, Akira Schmid, Reilly Smith, Ben Hutton, Jaycob Megna, Braeden Bowman

Injured: Jeremy Lauzon

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis

Taylor Hall -- Logan Stankoven -- Jackson Blake

Nikolaj Ehlers -- Jordan Staal -- Jordan Martinook

William Carrier -- Mark Jankowski -- Eric Robinson

Jaccob Slavin -- Jalen Chatfield

K'Andre Miller -- Sean Walker

Shayne Gostisbehere -- Alexander Nikishin

Frederik Andersen

Brandon Bussi

Scratched: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Mike Reilly, Pyotr Kochetkov

Injured: None