Rachel Barkley
You don’t need a ‘traditional hockey market’ to make it to the big dance, and aren’t we blessed for that.
Tuesday, the Stanley Cup Final begins in Raleigh, N.C., as the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Vegas Golden Knights into Lenovo Center for Game 1.
For the Hurricanes, the final showdown for Lord Stanley’s Chalice is a road they have not traveled in 20 years. However, the story is much different for the Golden Knights, who are in their third Cup Final appearance in less than a decade.
The game is scheduled for 8:00 PM EDT.
Are You Ready to Rumble?!
It’s been a long time coming for fans in Carolina.
After going 16-1 in the Eastern Conference Final since 2009, the Hurricanes have finally broken through for their third-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Establishing themselves as the best team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season – behind only the Colorado Avalanche in leaguewide standings – they hold the home ice advantage for the matchup.
The ‘Caniacs’ will certainly be well taken care of throughout the series. At 5:30 PM EDT Tuesday, a free concert by country music stars Brothers Osbourne will be held. The country duo has received numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association, as well as a Grammy.
Additionally, the Hurricanes will also hold watch parties throughout the series, beginning Tuesday at Lenovo Center’s South Plaza, as well as Moore Square in Downtown Raleigh – both of which will be free to participate in. However, during road games, fans will be able to watch the broadcast inside the Lenovo Center, and participation will require a $10 event ticket, with all proceeds going to the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have taken their villain era by the horns, with the scars of a docked draft pick and $100k fine to show for it. Honestly, the Golden Knights have always been a team that many have strongly disliked, though personally, they have been one of my favorite teams since their first year purely for how entertaining they can be…and of course, their general design and styling (petition for more sports teams to include sparkles in their uniforms).
And entertaining they have been throughout the postseason campaign, having to go six games to win both their first and second round series against the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks, respectively, before shocking the hockey world with a sweep of the President’s Trophy-winning Avalanche, in the Western Conference Final.
It feels like a WCW-style ‘heel vs. hero’ narrative surrounding this series, and I imagine that is going to attract a lot of viewership compared to recent Stanley Cup Finals.
The Season Series Doesn’t Paint a Clear Picture
In the season series, the Hurricanes were actually handed their first loss of the regular season by the Golden Knights, falling 4-1. Their second game was only one week later, and was the Hurricanes’ first loss at home of the season, having been defeated 6-3. However, those October losses came with a caveat (aside from how long it’s been since then), which makes it a little more difficult to gauge.
In the first game, the Hurricanes were without Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere. The second game was even worse, missing not only Slavin and Gostisbehere, but also K’Andre Miller, Eric Robinson, and a familiar face to the Golden Knights – William Carrier.
In the Crease
It’s been an old-school campaign for both the Hurricanes and Golden Knights in net, having used the same goalies throughout the playoffs. For Carolina, their man has been Frederik Andersen, and for Vegas, it has been Carter Hart.
Of the goaltenders with a minimum of five games this postseason, both players have been impressive statistically. Andersen ranks first in goals against average (1.41), whereas Hart ranks fourth (2.22). Additionally, Andersen is first in save percentage (.931), and Hart is second (.924).
However, there is one glaring statistic to note. Out of fourteen goaltenders with five games or more, Hart ranks second in shots faced (476) and saves made (440), behind the Hurricanes’ previous opponent, the Montreal Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes (564 SA, 512 SV). Interestingly, he also ranks with the second most goals allowed (37), once again behind only Dobes (52). Meanwhile, Andersen ranks fifth in shots against (289) and saves (269), and eighth in most goals allowed (20).
Projected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen / Brandon Bussi
Projected Vegas Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner
Tomas Hertl – Colton Sissons – Mark Stone
Cole Smith – Nic Dowd – Keegan Kolesar
Defense
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson
Dylan Coghlan – Kaedan Korczak
Goaltenders
Carter Hart / Adin Hill
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 12.5% (13th)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 92.5% (2nd)
Vegas Golden Knights power play: 23.9% (4th)
Vegas Golden Knights penalty kill: 87.5% (5th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Both the Hurricanes and Golden Knights are heading into their third Stanley Cup Final appearances in the history of their respective franchises, and ironically, have won one Stanley Cup apiece.
Though the Stanley Cup Final will only be available via national broadcasts, local play-by-play announcer Mike Maniscalco and analyst Tripp Tracy will continue to call games on the Hurricanes’ radio partner. 99.9 The Fan.
How To Watch
TV: ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
