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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a fascinating cup battle that will break us out of two grinding years of the Florida Panthers<\/a>\u2019 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<\/a> will make this a fascinating series. Sure, it won\u2019t be the Avs vs. Habs<\/a> final people wanted \u2014 but there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Star PowerEDGE: Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n There is no questioning that the top-end talent of the Knights eclipses what Carolina is bringing to the table. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner<\/a>, and Mark Stone<\/a> each individually embrace the role of \u201cstar\u201d much better than the Hurricanes, whose entire ethos is not banking on star players.<\/p>\n That hasn\u2019t 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\u2019t working, which is a dimension the Canes lack.<\/p>\n This gives Tortorella a lot of schematic freedom when it comes to this game. In the last few series, he\u2019s 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\u2019s not a bad path forward, especially when Carolina lacks the guys to step up and meet them in this regard.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n If this turns into a star-based finals then the Golden Knights are in a great spot to hoist the cup once more.<\/p>\n Forward DepthEDGE: Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n This is what Rod Brind-Amour\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Against Montreal<\/a> those units were:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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\u2019s an area where Vegas could have trouble if they\u2019re allowed to be dragged into deep water.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say Vegas don\u2019t have depth, because they absolutely do \u2014 it\u2019s just not as pronounced. If we map across the third line it\u2019s going to be a brutal series for Vegas center Colton Sissons<\/a>, who will be tasked with taking on Jordan Staal.<\/p>\n DefenseEDGE: Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n 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\u2019t a product of their goaltending, I assure you.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Jaccob Slavin<\/a> and K\u2019Andre Miller\u2019s rangy stick play has been a nightmare for teams trying to generate offense in the zone. They\u2019re both accompanied by more traditional stay-at-home defensemen as needed. Where the Canes\u2019 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n GoaltendingEDGE: Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n This one isn\u2019t even remotely close. Carter Hart<\/a> is a phenomenal goalie (even if you understandably hate him<\/a>), and he can be a difference maker in this series. We saw in the ECF that the Hurricanes often had times dealing with Jakub Dobe\u0161, and Hart is another order of magnitude better at this point in his career.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The way Hart stonewalled the Colorado Avalanche<\/a> 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<\/a> and Martin Necas<\/a> could have a profound effect on Carolina, especially Andrei Svechnikov<\/a> who is known for being a hot-head.<\/p>\n On the other side we have Freddie Andersen, who is extremely mediocre. Andersen has a difficult job staying ready when he doesn\u2019t see a lot of shots because of the Canes\u2019 defense \u2014 but even so, there\u2019s a tendency to let in mind-boggling goals that 90% of NHL goaltenders should make with ease.<\/p>\n PowerplayEDGE: Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n Powerplay often equates to top-line star power, and that\u2019s 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\u2019s PK than the Canadiens did.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n This postseason the powerplay for the Canes has been flat-out bad.<\/p>\n Penalty KillEDGE: Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n We can flip this to the defensive side as well, but what makes the Canes\u2019 PK unit so good is the forechecking of Staal and Martinook up top. They\u2019re 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n CoachingEDGE: Push<\/p>\n It\u2019s really impossible to pick between these guys. John Tortorella\u2019s injection of energy into the Knights turned them into a cup team overnight, and he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n With Carolina there\u2019s Rod Brind-Amour, who has the entire Canes organization playing exactly like he played the game. They\u2019re puck-focused, they\u2019re aggressive, and their conditioning is second-to-none. There\u2019s also a pattern where the Canes have been brilliant between periods, often able to change the course of a game in a single intermission.<\/p>\n When the dust settles there\u2019s nothing between these guys. They\u2019re both brilliant.<\/p>\n Final prediction<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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\u2019re behind. The good news for Carolina is that they\u2019re not often behind, and set the tone as a result.<\/p>\n