This may all sound like an exercise in futility, but the Vegas Golden Knights do have to consider what life is like at the end of the rainbow.<\/p>\n
Granted, that rainbow is the two month-long slugfest that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so maybe there\u2019s a bit more of a black and blue tint to it.<\/p>\n
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Nevertheless, the Golden Knights have a one in eight shot of representing the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final from a strict mathematical standpoint. Starting with the Utah Mammoth<\/a>, Vegas will be duking it out from the best of the West (or at least in the \u2018pillow fight\u2019 that is the Pacific, as Connor McDavid<\/a> so eloquently put it) for the right to lift hockey\u2019s Holy Grail. For a season with so much chaos and turmoil, the Cup would make the strife all worth it in the end.<\/p>\n However, even if the Golden Knights make it to the end, one more test still awaits.<\/p>\n The Eastern Conference\u2019s depth has been made apparent, with expected playoff teams like the Florida Panthers<\/a> and Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> checking for tee times instead of puck drops. Even teams like the Washington Capitals<\/a> would have made their way to the playoffs if only the District of Columbia migrated to the other side of North America. Needless to say, all eight teams in the East earned their spots this postseason, and many of them would be worthy adversaries in the Final.<\/p>\n However, not all series are created equally, and some contain stories that practically write themselves while others require a bit more legwork from the NHL\u2019s marketing department. The Stanley Cup being on the line brings some allure simply on its own, but some extra storylines are never going to dial back the intrigue.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n With all eight teams in the East set to do battle, here is the ranking on how much interest a series between them and the Golden Knights would contain.<\/p>\n 8. Carolina Hurricanes<\/a><\/p>\n Just because the hockey will certainly be good does not necessarily capture the imagination.<\/p>\n Should the Hurricanes make it, it would be the first time head coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour\u2019s team has come out of the wilderness of the Eastern Conference Final. A former champion looking to return to its former glory facing a team hoping to finally make good on years of potential would be fun, but this movie feels a little too similar to 2023. Sure, the Golden Knights were trying to make good on Bill Foley\u2019s \u2018Cup in six\u2019 musing, but the series against the Panthers turned into a five-game shelling.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n It is highly doubtful Carolina would go down in that few games, but the NHL might be watching from between their fingers if one team takes a 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n 7. Boston Bruins<\/a><\/p>\n If Bruce Cassidy was still patrolling the Vegas bench, this series would be a lot closer to the top half than towards the bottom of these rankings.<\/p>\n With that no longer the case, you would have to reach to get a convincing hook. Assistant coach Joel Ward getting revenge for some racist tweets after eliminating the Bruins as a member of the Capitals in 2012? Jack Eichel<\/a> and Noah Hanifin<\/a> winning a Cup in their own backyard? Mitch Marner<\/a> avenging the Maple Leafs by proxy?<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n There is at least enough in the series to keep it interesting, but there is still a fair amount of work to be done from a selling standpoint.<\/p>\n 6. Ottawa Senators<\/a><\/p>\n The Golden Knights and Senators have largely been the same team this season: overall solid rosters with good underlying numbers, but almost undone with shoddy goaltending.<\/p>\n On top of being a clash of similar styles, very few fans can forget the Evgenii Dadonov<\/a> saga in 2022. A trade that saw Dadonov as a cap dump to the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> in exchange for the LTIR contracts of John Moore and Ryan Kesler<\/a> was voided due to Anaheim being on the player\u2019s no-trade list\u2026which Ottawa forgot to inform Vegas about. The deal caused Ottawa to forfeit their first-round pick this season, only to have it reinstated under the condition that it is automatically the 32nd and final pick of the round.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Needless to say, the Golden Knights might not mind a chance at revenge if the Senators go on a Panthers-esque run (one Tkachuk<\/a> brother did it, so why not the other?)<\/p>\n 5. Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a><\/p>\n Outside of being the prohibitive favorite to make it out of the East, how apropos it would be for John Tortorella\u2019s second Stanley Cup to be at the expense of where he won his first.<\/p>\n Outside of that, the Golden Knights and Lightning have plenty in common that make this an interesting clash of parallels. Both have managed to cultivate winning cultures and perennial contenders in non-traditional hockey environments, headed by some of the best talent the game has ever seen. However, while one front office has stayed the course, the other has earned a reputation of winning at all costs to create a little bit of contrast.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Sometimes, all it takes is the best teams on the ice to bring the fans at attention, and this series would definitely qualify.<\/p>\n 4. Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a><\/p>\n Facing Sidney Crosby<\/a> in a playoff series is fascinating on its own, but the Golden Knights have a demon to exorcise if they wind up in the Steel City.<\/p>\n Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner<\/a> has been the cause of their nightmares for almost a year, as the Golden Knights are all too familiar of his back-to-back shutouts to end their season against the Edmonton Oilers<\/a>. Skinner has since shed the blue and orange for black and yellow, but defeating him would be the cherry on top if Vegas goes all the way to the end.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Nothing like a bit of personal rivalry to drive a series up at the box office (and Erik Karlsson<\/a> as a fun reminder of 2019 against the San Jose Sharks<\/a> is an added bonus.)<\/p>\n 3. Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n Speaking of playoff pain, Montreal would be a callback to 2021, when the Canadiens upset the Golden Knights to punch their ticket as the most unlikely Stanley Cup finalist of all time.<\/p>\n Carey Price<\/a> can no longer hurt the Golden Knights, but Vegas was one of the first teams to witness Cole Caufield<\/a>\u2019s rise to the NHL. There is also the small issue of Nick Suzuki<\/a>, who the Golden Knights drafted in their inaugural season in 2017 before shipping him off the following year for Max Pacioretty<\/a>. Montreal has only continued to add to their youth movement since that point, so it would truly be a case of the old guard taking on the new blood.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Canadiens are doing excellent work to open up a Cup window, but the sour taste in the Golden Knights\u2019 past from five years ago will make them less interested in passing the torch over so soon.<\/p>\n 2. Philadelphia Flyers<\/a><\/p>\n If Cassidy\u2019s firing from Vegas made the Boston series less intriguing, Tortorella\u2019s hiring has the opposite effect on this one.<\/p>\n However, the real factor that pushed a Vegas-Philadelphia series into the stratosphere is the presence of Carter Hart<\/a>. Since returning from his exile from the NHL, Hart has re-emerged as the sudden starting goaltender in Vegas. Should Philadelphia be the opponent, Hart would be taking on the very organization that drafted him as the highest goaltender selected in 2016.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Hart is in the process of writing a redemption arc of his career; why not end it in the sweetest way possible?<\/p>\n