Golden Knights Head Into Storm After Charmed Postseason

It has been a fortunate start to life in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights, who are set to play in their third Stanley Cup Final in just nine years of existence, with the chance to win a second cup in the last four years. 

That good fortune extended into the 2025/26 regular season, during which the Golden Knights won the weakest division in hockey with just 95 points, a haul that was 14 points fewer than the next-lowest division-winning points total. 

On the heels of the playoffs' most impressive series victory, the Golden Knights will now face another massive challenge: the Carolina Hurricanes. For as incredible as the Avalanche were during the regular season, the Hurricanes were nearly their equals, finishing second in the league with 53 wins, and have matched that level wire-to-wire so far these playoffs.

Carolina is 12-1 so far in the postseason, and bounced back from a 6-2 shellacking in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to win four straight against the youthful Montreal Canadiens. 

With 65 wins in the books across the regular season and playoffs, the Hurricanes enter the Stanley Cup Final as -155 favourites to win the series and lift the Cup, with Vegas coming back as +125 underdogs. 

Despite Carolina's excellent campaign and home-ice advantage, NHL oddsmakers are expecting a long series, with the 1.5-game series handicap favouring the underdog Vegas (-150, with Carolina -1.5 at +120) and a six- or seven-game series co-favoured at +210. 

Though both the books and eight months of hockey indicate the Hurricanes will win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, the Golden Knights have proven capable of pulling off Vegas-worthy tricks before. We won’t need to wait long to see if they have one more up their sleeve, with puck drop just hours away. 

Click here to see all Stanley Cup Final odds at BET99.

Odds as of June 1, 2026.