Thirty-two teams began the season with Stanley Cup aspirations. Now, only two remain.
The two hottest teams in hockey are the last ones standing, as both the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes have boatraced everyone in their respective conferences to arrive at Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight.
The 2023 Stanley Cup Champions in the Golden Knights shocked the world by sweeping the President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes nearly swept through their entire playoff bracket, going 12-1 with their only loss being Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
This series is expected to be a barnburner, with Carolina being a slight favorite at -147 odds.
With Carolina hosting Game 1, which of these juggernauts will make a statement in tonight’s opening match?
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First Pick: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Vegas Golden Knights – Under 5.5 goals
Rundown: With odds set at +103, expect this to be the only time in this series to get this under at such a good price.
After sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round and having a whopping 12 days of rest between rounds, the Hurricanes were caught sleeping in Game 1 of the Conference Finals, allowing four goals in the first period of a 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Other than their lone loss of the postseason, Carolina has not allowed more than two goals in any other playoff game.
The Hurricanes are the clear best defense in the league, and their smothering neutral-zone defense combined with elite goalie play has made them untouchable, despite an only mediocre offensive performance in the Conference Finals.
Frederik Andersen has been the best goalie through these playoffs with an incredible .932 save percentage.
Meanwhile, on the Vegas end of this series, while the early goings of the Golden Knights’ playoff run was spurred by elite offense, they have tightened up dramatically on the defensive end the deeper they have gone in the playoffs.
Vegas held Colorado to just seven goals in four games in the Conference Finals, and match up well with a Carolina offense that has underwhelmed relative to how great their postseason has gone.
Second Pick: Vegas Golden Knights ML (+138) over Carolina Hurricanes
James Guillory-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (5) checks Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake (53) during the third period at Lenovo Center.
Rundown: The closeness between these two teams will make each game incredibly difficult to pick across this series, and the lean might be going with the underdog in each game.
But in order for the Hurricanes to win this series as projected, they’re going to need to see more from their top unit.
Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov have not quite performed up to standard through this postseason, combining for three goals, six goals and five goals in each respective series.
Carolina’s depth and second unit has been otherworldly and carried the offensive load, but will that get them past Vegas?
I expect a strong start for Vegas in this series, as Carolina’s top unit takes a game to adapt.