![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25294105722569-678x381.jpg\" "\\"Hurricanes")
\nHurricanes left wing Eric Robinson and Golden Knights center Colton Sissons battle for the puck during their game Oct. 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Candice Ward \/ AP Photo)<\/p>\n
\nHurricanes left wing Eric Robinson and Golden Knights center Colton Sissons battle for the puck during their game Oct. 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Candice Ward \/ AP Photo)<\/p>\n
RALEIGH \u2014 The Hurricanes let out a collective sigh of relief after breaking through to reach the Stanley Cup final.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of years with a lot of pain,\u201d Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook said after Carolina won Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final over Montreal to advance to the final two for the first time since 2006. \u201cI just felt like we had teams that could have got there and just not doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also plenty of understanding that the work isn\u2019t complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe enjoyed it for an evening and maybe for a little day off,\u201d captain Jordan Staal said Sunday morning. \u201cBut waking up this morning knowing what we have ahead and the challenge we have ahead is exciting, and we\u2019re looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights stand in their way. Vegas eliminated both Utah and Anaheim in six games before shockingly sweeping the Presidents\u2019 Trophy-winning Avalanche in the Western Conference final.<\/p>\n
The series starts Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Lenovo Center.<\/p>\n
The forwards<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes\u2019 line of Logan Stankoven centering Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake has been the best trio in the playoffs. They have combined for 43 points in 13 games, and their 70.34 expected goal percentage at 5-on-5 is unheard of.<\/p>\n
The problem Vegas presents is the talent is spread throughout the top nine. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone all play on different lines, which will challenge Carolina\u2019s ability to dominate the way it did against the thinner lineups of Ottawa, Philadelphia and Montreal.<\/p>\n
Still, the Hurricanes snuffed out Montreal\u2019s attack \u2014 led by 101-point captain Nick Suzuki.<\/p>\n
Carolina\u2019s fourth line should also hold an edge, but coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour will need his top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis to continue to trend in the right direction.<\/p>\n
The X-factors are Nikolaj Ehlers, who brings dynamic talent to Carolina\u2019s checking line, and Brett Howden, who has 10 playoff goals after scoring 12 in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Vegas has the top-end talent. The Hurricanes have the depth. It\u2019s a pretty balanced matchup.<\/p>\n
Advantage: Even<\/p>\n
The defense<\/p>\n
K\u2019Andre Miller has emerged as a star in the postseason, leading Carolina in ice time and the playoffs in plus\/minus (plus 14). And oh yeah, the Hurricanes also have Jaccob Slavin.<\/p>\n
That gives Carolina a great chance at slowing down the Knights. Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield have complemented the Hurricanes\u2019 top two defensemen well, and the third pairing of Shayne Gostisbehere and Alexander Nikishin is back to looking dangerous offensively after a slow start to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
After going without a point in the first six games of the postseason and having two through 10 games, Gostisbehere totaled two goals and two assists in the last three games of the conference final. Nikishin is also starting to fire the puck. The rookie had 20 shot attempts in the last four games of the Montreal series after combining for 15 in his first seven games.<\/p>\n
Vegas\u2019 defense is led by Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson. But all three have struggled analytically this postseason. Only Theodore (49.12% Corsi for, 55.64% expected goals) is still afloat at 5-on-5, while Hanifin (43.87% CF, 41.75% xG) and Andersson (42.32% CF, 43.29% xG) have terrible underlying numbers.<\/p>\n
Brayden McNabb and Kaedan Korczak have done better, and former Hurricane Dylan Coghlan is making a name for himself this postseason.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights\u2019 D has been bailed out by their goaltending. They may need to be again to have a chance.<\/p>\n
Advantage: Clear Carolina edge<\/p>\n
The goalies<\/p>\n
Frederik Andersen is redefining \u201cPlayoff Freddie\u201d for those who have slandered him in the past with that nickname. The veteran goalie has shown his mettle all postseason, particularly in the clinching Game 5 win against the Canadiens. Andersen stopped 23 of 24 while playing with a heavy heart after his longtime agent, Claude Lemieux, died by suicide a day earlier.<\/p>\n
He is 12-1 with a .931 save percentage, 1.41 goals-against average and three shutouts in the playoffs, numbers that have him on a short list of Conn Smythe candidates as playoff MVP.<\/p>\n
Vegas goalie Carter Hart has had obstacles of his own. After being suspended by the league and not playing all of last season, Hart signed with the Golden Knights and returned after being found not guilty in a sexual assault trial involving five players from Canada\u2019s 2018 world junior hockey team.<\/p>\n
Hart struggled in December and January but caught fire at the end of the season after coming back from an injury. In the playoffs, he\u2019s 12-4 with a .924 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average.<\/p>\n
According to MoneyPuck.com, Hart has 7.7 goals saved above expected this postseason, fourth among goaltenders. Andersen, meanwhile, is second at 11.5, trailing only Montreal\u2019s Jakub Dobes. Dobes ended the playoffs at 13.3, though he totaled that in six more games than Andersen.<\/p>\n
Hart will be the fourth goalie Carolina has faced this postseason who is ranked in the top five in the statistic. Andersen is the other goalie in the top five.<\/p>\n
Advantage: Slight Carolina edge<\/p>\n
Special teams<\/p>\n
Carolina is a tale of two special teams. The Hurricanes\u2019 power play has sputtered to 12.5% \u2014 half the proficiency they had in the regular season. The penalty kill has made up for it, killing 49 of 53 power plays, a 92.5% that ranks among the best of any team to advance this far in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights\u2019 penalty kill has been solid as well. Vegas has killed off 42 of 48 (87.5%) this postseason, including limiting Colorado to one power play goal in the four-game Western Conference final sweep.<\/p>\n
The power play has also clicked, converting 23.9% of its opportunities. Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev are tied for the postseason lead with four power play goals each, and Vegas\u2019 five-forward top unit with those two riding shotgun with Eichel, Marner and Tomas Hertl oozes talent.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights lead the playoffs with four shorthanded goals. Carolina has one in the playoffs, but it led the league with 12 in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Advantage: Slight Vegas edge<\/p>\n
Overview<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes have outscored their opponents 30-13 at 5-on-5 this postseason, even outproducing their lofty expected goals numbers (60.69%). Vegas, meanwhile, has more modest underlying numbers but had more high-danger five-on-five goals (22) than any team this postseason.<\/p>\n
Vegas won both meetings during the regular season, but Carolina was battered, and Andersen certainly wasn\u2019t at this level.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights are riding high under new coach John Tortorella, who went 7-0-1 with Vegas down the stretch in the regular season and has guided his new team to the Stanley Cup final.<\/p>\n
Rod Brind\u2019Amour seems to have his team on a mission, and if the Hurricanes can continue their suffocating style, the Knights will have their hands full.<\/p>\n
Prediction: Hurricanes in 6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hurricanes left wing Eric Robinson and Golden Knights center Colton Sissons battle for the puck during their game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-707692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}