Carolina Hurricanes or Vegas Golden Knights? Key Factors That Will Decide Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup Final matchup is set: The Beasts from the East will face the Pillow Fight (Pacific) Division champs.

In a matchup that follows absolutely dominant victories in the conference finals, the Carolina Hurricanes will face the Vegas Golden Knights in a series that kicks off on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Oddsmakers have the Hurricanes as favorites, and they do have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series, but this could be a down-to-the-wire clash.

With that in mind, here are three reasons why both teams can come out on top.

Why Carolina will win:

• Team play. There are myriad reasons the Hurricanes have lost only once en route to the finals. So many come down to how well they are coached and how well they execute. Carolina may not boast the biggest stars, but they are collectively such a dominating club. In simplest terms, they out-shoot and out-chance their opponents because of their relentless play and ability to find and exploit opponents’ weaknesses.

• Defensively, they are the best team in the league right now, by a country mile. Through their 13 playoff games, the Hurricanes have surrendered only 21 goals, and one of them was with their net empty. And once clubs actually generate shots, goaltender Frederik Andersen has been amazing, having posted a 1.41 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. He allowed more than two goals in only one outing.

• Improved talent. Among the reasons Carolina petered out in past playoff runs was a lack of offensive touch. Basically, the top players were unable to put them over the hump and the supporting cast could not take the load. This club, however, has benefited from the development of young players Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake and additions such as Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman K’Andre Miller. As a result, there is not just one line to shut down.

Why Vegas will win:

• Championship experience. This the third trip to the finals in only the franchise’s ninth season, and there are still players from the misfit club that made it this far in the 2017-18 inaugural campaign that shockingly lost out in the finals. There are 13 players still on the team from the Cup-winning squad of 2023. That experience goes a long way when the Stanley Cup is on the line.

• Better special teams. As much as these clubs have flexed their offensive skills, their defensive play is the foundation of their success. Do not expect too many high-scoring affairs, and that means power-play prowess can be the difference. Carolina has been outstanding on the penalty kill so far (a 92.5 percent kill rate), but Vegas is not far back at 87.5 per cent. The big difference is the power play. While Carolina has struggled with the man-advantage (12.5 percent: 7-for-56), Vegas has been consistently strong (23.9 percent: 11-for-46). The Golden Knights also have scored four short-handed goals, three by Brett Howden.

• Offensively, Vegas has more depth actually producing. When you think of the Golden Knights, the names that likely first come to mind are Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, and they are all delivering as expected. However, the leading goal scorers are Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev, who both have 10 goals, more than anybody on the Hurricanes roster. Also, the Golden Knights have received more offensive contributions from their defense corps.