The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 in Game 5 on May 29, 2026, to win the Eastern Conference Final series 4-1 and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years [1]. The Hurricanes had swept their previous two playoff rounds, becoming the first NHL team to sweep the opening two best-of-seven series [1, 2, 3]. Center Jordan Martinook reflected on the achievement, saying, "I wasn’t prepared for media [interviews] and I’m probably going to start crying. A lot of years with a lot of pain. … It’s been a crazy journey in my time here, but this team, it’s been really special" [1].
Frederik Andersen has been stellar in goal for Carolina, posting an 8-0 playoff record with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage, including two shutouts [1, 2, 3]. This is the Hurricanes’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in two decades and their third Eastern Conference Final appearance under coach Rod Brind’Amour [1, 2]. The team began the Conference Final after an 11-day rest following their second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers on May 9 [2, 3].
Montreal reached the Eastern Conference Final after a grueling 14-game run, including back-to-back Game 7 road wins over Tampa Bay and Buffalo [2, 4]. Carolina was favored over Montreal with odds of around -200 and projections of 5.5 total goals in Game 1 [5, 4].
In the Western Conference, the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 1 of the series played May 28 at Ball Arena in Denver [6]. Vegas is the Pacific Division champion with a 39-26-17 regular-season record, while the Avalanche finished first overall with a 55-16-11 record, winning the Presidents’ Trophy with 121 points [7, 8, 9, 10, 11].
Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado in the playoffs with 7 goals and 13 points, riding a six-game goal streak and is a favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP [7, 10, 6]. Despite Colorado being favorites to take the Stanley Cup at +130 odds compared to Vegas at +600, Vegas’s strong start with goalie Carter Hart's 36 saves in Game 1 shifts momentum in the series [10, 6]. Models project a high-scoring Western Final series with over/under goals around 6 to 6.5 [8, 9, 11, 6].
Carolina and Vegas will now square off in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. The next games between Colorado and Vegas will continue the Western Conference Final while Carolina prepares for the championship series against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
