Caught up in the NBA playoffs? Gearing up for the World Cup? Don’t forget the Stanley Cup Final starts tonight! We have a great matchup between two top seeds, Carolina and Vegas, and our Tim Rohan previews the series, breaking it down from every angle.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Plus, Germany’s Jamal Musiala is our World Cup spotlight of the day.Stay with us.
We’ll have more Stanley Cup, World Cup and NBA Finals coverage on the way here and on the NBC News website.Stanley Cup FinalDuring the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes ripped through the Eastern Conference like a … well, you can finish the pun yourself.
Carolina swept Ottawa in Round 1, swept Philadelphia in Round 2, lost the opening game of the conference finals to Montreal, and then ripped off four straight wins to reach the Stanley Cup Final.That’s a 12-1 record this postseason.The Hurricanes have relied mostly on their depth.
While Carolina’s first line, led by Sebastian Aho, hasn’t been super prolific, the team’s second line has made up for it.The second line includes Taylor Hall, the former MVP award winner; Logan Stankoven; and Jackson Blake — and they have combined to tally 19 goals and 24 assists in 13 playoff games.Carolina’s goaltender, Frederik Andersen, has also been standing on his head.
He’s started this whole postseason run, while posting a 1.41 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.Vegas, meanwhile, has been a playoff mainstay since the expansion team arrived in 2017.The Golden Knights lost in the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence, won the Cup in 2023, and have only missed the playoffs once since their inaugural season.Mitch Marner, center, of the Vegas Golden Knights during a game against the Colorado Avalanche in Game One of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 20.Michael Martin / NHLI via Getty Images fileA pair of...