Golden Knights vs Hurricanes Sets Up a Heavyweight Stanley Cup Final

The stage is officially set in the Stanley Cup Final with the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the Carolina Hurricanes.

Vegas made it this far by being the surprise team out of the Western Conference. Not in the sense of being inexperienced or not talented enough to do it, but because the Golden Knights had a more up-and-down regular season by their standards and then completely dominated in the playoffs, most recently sweeping the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 and emphatically punching their ticket to the Final.

Then in the East, the Hurricanes are a team that has been a contender for several years now and finally put together the kind of roster that could get over the hump.

And this is the true clash of two teams that have everything it takes to get it done.

There is also a unique element here in the sense that both teams completely dominated the conference finals. Again, the Golden Knights won 4-0, while the Hurricanes won 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. So these are two teams that are well-rested, hot, deep, have strong goaltending, and play somewhat similar styles.

For all intents and purposes, this is setting up to be one of the most competitive Stanley Cup Finals in recent years. There have, of course, been some close series on this stage, but there have also been several blowouts over the last half-decade. This one feels different.

Carolina is composed, deep, and structured. Vegas is the team that has been here before and knows what it takes to win championships. The Golden Knights have kind of been the silent beast throughout all of this.

This is not a fluke final. It is two battle-tested teams, even if they were not the exact two squads many expected to make it this far. Both are more than deserving of a title, and whichever team comes out on top will have absolutely earned it.