The quest for the Stanley Cup began a long time ago, but the battle for who will hold it aloft begins now. From the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes: Steady, reliable, a consistent force through the regular and postseason. Out of the West emerged the Vegas Golden Knights, a team that refused to fade into obscurity, and re-affirmed itself as a Cup contender with a late-season coaching change that transformed them into a juggernaut.
It’s a fascinating cup battle that will break us out of two grinding years of the Florida Panthers’ physical success. No doubt there will be a lot of these teams throwing their weight around, but the chess match between Rod Brind-Amour of the Canes and John Tortorella of the Knights will make this a fascinating series. Sure, it won’t be the Avs vs. Habs final people wanted — but there’s no doubting that this is the Stanley Cup Finals these teams deserve. Now we break down every key area of the head-to-head matchup to see who has the edge.
EDGE: Vegas Golden Knights
There is no questioning that the top-end talent of the Knights eclipses what Carolina is bringing to the table. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone each individually embrace the role of “star” much better than the Hurricanes, whose entire ethos is not banking on star players.
That hasn’t traditionally been a good thing for Carolina when it comes to the playoffs or the Stanley Cup Finals. Games this deep in the season require someone to stand up and put the team on their back when things aren’t working, which is a dimension the Canes lack.
This gives Tortorella a lot of schematic freedom when it comes to this game. In the last few series, he’s spread his three huge stars over the top three lines to bring depth and balance, but against Carolina he could very well run an Marner/Eichel/Stone line as his top grouping and just hope to overwhelm the Canes defense. It’s not a bad path forward, especially when Carolina lacks the guys to step up and meet them in this regard.
If this turns into a star-based finals then the Golden Knights are in a great spot to hoist the cup once more.
EDGE: Carolina Hurricanes
This is what Rod Brind-Amour’s team is known for, and what they used to such effect en route to their 12-1 postseason record this year. All four lines of forwards the Hurricanes bring to the table are dangerous in different ways, particularly the second and third grinder lines the team uses to wear out opponents on the forecheck.
Against Montreal those units were:
- Line 2: Taylor Hall / Logan Stankoven / Jackson Blake
- Line 3: Nikolaj Ehlers / Jordan Staal / Jordan Martinook
What makes these two lines so scary is how they blend forecheck prowess with a single finesse wing. Blake and Ehlers have capitalized all season from loose pucks, jostled opportunities, and chances in front of the net. The Canes play all four lines with almost equal ice time, which means consistent mismatching where some teams might adhere to a line vs. line mentality.
The emergence this season of Stankoven as a legimitate Top 6 forward, and Blake taking strides as a future scoring machine helped propel this team into the playoffs and it’s an area where Vegas could have trouble if they’re allowed to be dragged into deep water.
That’s not to say Vegas don’t have depth, because they absolutely do — it’s just not as pronounced. If we map across the third line it’s going to be a brutal series for Vegas center Colton Sissons, who will be tasked with taking on Jordan Staal.
EDGE: Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have been an absolute wall outside of their one loss to Montreal, which felt far more like a product of their extensive time off, rather than any true problem. Across 12 playoff wins the Hurricanes have only allowed 15 goals, which isn’t a product of their goaltending, I assure you.
Jaccob Slavin and K’Andre Miller’s rangy stick play has been a nightmare for teams trying to generate offense in the zone. They’re both accompanied by more traditional stay-at-home defensemen as needed. Where the Canes’ defense gets so dangerous is when their physicality moves the center of play up the ice. This is what the team is built to do, with both defensemen playing up on the blue line and condensing the ice to just the offensive zone. From here they love to push the tempo, prevent line changes, and let the forwards pounce on free pucks.
The Golden Knights have a lot of ability on their defensive end, but much like the depth they just lack the array of stick and physical skills that the Carolina defense brings to the table.
EDGE: Vegas Golden Knights
This one isn’t even remotely close. Carter Hart is a phenomenal goalie (even if you understandably hate him), and he can be a difference maker in this series. We saw in the ECF that the Hurricanes often had times dealing with Jakub Dobeš, and Hart is another order of magnitude better at this point in his career.
The way Hart stonewalled the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals was beyond impressive, as he functionally disarmed the entire Colorado attack to allow his forwards to win the game. The level of frustration he brought out in Nathan McKinnon and Martin Necas could have a profound effect on Carolina, especially Andrei Svechnikov who is known for being a hot-head.
On the other side we have Freddie Andersen, who is extremely mediocre. Andersen has a difficult job staying ready when he doesn’t see a lot of shots because of the Canes’ defense — but even so, there’s a tendency to let in mind-boggling goals that 90% of NHL goaltenders should make with ease.
EDGE: Vegas Golden Knights
Powerplay often equates to top-line star power, and that’s why Vegas is so scary. Having Eichel, Marner, and Stone on ice at the same time means that shots can come from anywhere, and all three are adept at fighting through traffic in front of the net. More critically, all three players are good enough puck handlers that they will likely have much less of a problem dealing with Carolina’s PK than the Canadiens did.
This postseason the powerplay for the Canes has been flat-out bad.
EDGE: Carolina Hurricanes
We can flip this to the defensive side as well, but what makes the Canes’ PK unit so good is the forechecking of Staal and Martinook up top. They’re just pests on the puck for knocking it down ice and forcing resets, burning the clock constantly while Slavin and Jordan Chatfield block shots around net. It’s a brutal unit to go up against, and nobody has has answers for it so far, with Carolina only allowing four goals on 53 opportunities this postseason.
It’s really impossible to pick between these guys. John Tortorella’s injection of energy into the Knights turned them into a cup team overnight, and he’s a brilliant in-game strategist who can diagnose the pace of play and come up with plans to either accentuate them, or flip the script.
With Carolina there’s Rod Brind-Amour, who has the entire Canes organization playing exactly like he played the game. They’re puck-focused, they’re aggressive, and their conditioning is second-to-none. There’s also a pattern where the Canes have been brilliant between periods, often able to change the course of a game in a single intermission.
When the dust settles there’s nothing between these guys. They’re both brilliant.
The West has had a lot of problems dealing with the physicality of the Eastern Conference over the past few years, and that is a major concern here as well for Vegas. Throughout the playoffs Carolina has been asserting their will on the forecheck and through their defense to set the tone for a series, and right now it feels like the team can do that again.
For the Golden Knights to have a real shot they will need to generate a lot of opportunities on Freddie Andersen and run up the score quickly, because the Canes do lack the ability to score in pressure situations to get back in games where they’re behind. The good news for Carolina is that they’re not often behind, and set the tone as a result.
This is going to be a fantastic series, but the Knights don’t have a legitimate megastar who can take over games like Connor McDavid or Nate McKinnon. They have the talent edge in this area, but not quite enough to get them over the top. It won’t be easy, but in the end…
