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FIFA World Cup 2026 posterStanley Cup Finals: Vegas vs Carolina odds preview, storylines to watch
Logan Swinkels • June 2nd, 2026 3:24 pm
Vegas Golden Knights face the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals | Photo: NHL
No matter who the final two are, this is my favourite time of year in sports: the Stanley Cup Finals.
The intensity ramps up, the referee's whistle at times gets stuck in their pockets, and the NHL determines who are the new kings of ice hockey.
Gone are the back-to-back champion Florida Panthers, they didn't even make the playoffs this season - and back-to-back bridesmaids, the Edmonton Oilers, were knocked out in the first round by a young and exciting Anaheim Ducks outfit.
Instead we have the Vegas Golden Knights, who found a way to shutdown the regular season's outright best team, the Colorado Avalanche, to book a best-of-seven title decider against the Carolina Hurricanes, who stormed their way through the Eastern Conference to get there.
The Stanley Cup is widely-touted as the hardest trophy in sports to win - both teams have been built with different approaches to get their chance. Here are the storylines and markets to watch out for when the puck drops Wednesday (NZ Time).
Vegas Golden Knights
With eight games left in the regular season, the Golden Knights were in danger of missing the playoffs while on a 27-game slide of 8-15-4 (wins-losses-overtime losses), until they pulled the trigger on a coaching change to dump Bruce Cassidy in favour of renowned hard-ass John Tortorella.
Vegas changed their system under Tortorella, becoming more aggressive in their defensive pressure to create faster zone exits and more opportunities down the other end of the ice to utilise their star power in Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel - improving to finished top of a weak Pacific Division.
Marner is a scriptwriter's dream. After years of being labelled as a playoff choker with the Toronto Maple Leafs by media and fans alike, in his first season on the strip he has shown that he can contribute when it matters and currently leads the playoffs in scoring with 21 points, with Eichel second on 18.
It's their third Finals appearance in just nine years of existence under principal owner Bill Foley, who will be looking to continue the party after his Auckland FC won the A-League in May. Their home arena feels like a fortress and I see them winning in six games on home ice.
Carolina Hurricanes
Rod Brind'Amour won the Stanley Cup as captain of the Hurricanes back in 2006, and now - 20 years later - he has a chance to do it all over again as a coach.
The franchise icon coaches this team to play the way he did: an elite two-way game where defence and attack are equally important, do the dirty work in the corners, and beat your opponent with elite fitness to be the last one standing.
The Hurricanes have only allowed four shorthanded goals these playoffs when they've had a man (or two) in the penalty box, with a league-leading 92.5% penalty kill success rate. Behind them is Danish goalie Frederik Andersen, another former Maple Leaf looking to shake off the 'chocker' tag, with a playoff-best 1.41 goals against average per game.
Carolina have only lost one game these playoffs, Game 1 of the Conference Finals against Montreal, before previously sweeping the Ottawa Senators in the first round, and the Buffalo Sabres in the second - that's just how dominant they have been.
While they don't have any 'superstars' like Vegas, they do have a collective of highly-skilled forwards ready to step up and if they employ a similar defensive strategy to clog up the shooting lanes and limit the number of shots on goal like they did against Montreal, they will frustrate the glitzy Golden Knights.
Their top line trio of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis are great when firing, but it's the second line of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake that has carried the load with 43 points combined through the first three rounds. In short, there are scoring threats throughout the lineup.
If they manage to pull off an upset on the road in Game 6, Hurricanes lift the Cup at home in a Game 7 decider.
Mitch Marner is a clear favourite to win the playoffs MVP award at 2.75 and with his play during this run, it's hard to go past him. Frederick Andersen is second favourite at 3.50 - making him the first goalie to do so since Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Outside of the favourites, Taylor Hall at 7.00 is winding back the clock as the 2010 No. 1 draft pick and making a case for himself with 17 playoff points so far.
An outsider that has real potential to come through is Jack Eichel at 15.00.
Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov (6.50) and Seth Jarvis (7.00) are the favourites, while linemate Sebastian Aho is paying 12.00.
Logan Stankoven's breakout campaign with 9 goals for the Hurricanes has him at 11.00 is another strong option.
Vegas' Pavel Dorofeyev (9.00) and Brett Howden (21.00) are currently tied for top goal scorers in the playoffs, but the odds don't reflect that.
Dorofeyev has the benefit of being on the top line alongside Eichel, while Howden is paired with Marner and OG Golden Knight William Karlsson during 5-on-5. On the powerplay, Dorofeyev gets the more favourable minutes.
All betcha odds are current at the time of publishing - R18, please gamble responsibly.
