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.”