Sometimes, the Stanley Cup Final features a team that doesn't really seem like it belongs there. We don't want to throw shade at any organization, in particular, but it'd be impossible to argue that either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Carolina Hurricanes isn't a deserving participant.
Casual observers of the sport may point to Vegas's regular-season record as a reason they don't deserve to be here. They only had the 13th-best points percentage, but had tremendous underlying numbers without getting results in the offensive or defensive zones. That led to the tectonic move behind the bench, which has paid off handsomely for the Golden Knights.
The Stanley Cup Final will likely be close, so we wanted to examine three factors that could propel the Golden Knights to their second championship banner.
Hurricanes' line matching against the Golden Knights' line rolling
Throughout his career, Vegas head coach John Tortorella hasn't shied away from the game within the game. He knows how to fight for favorable matchups and has done so at every one of his previous stops. When he took over the Golden Knights, however, the veteran bench boss insisted that he didn't want to do too much to mess with what the team had going on under the hood.
He's made some X's and O's changes that have allowed Vegas to be better in both ends, but in general, he's rolled through four lines. The kicker is that he hasn't hesitated to shuffle the makeup of the lines themselves, which can be in-game curveballs to unprepared coaches.
Hurricanes coach Rob Brind'amour is a lot of things, but unprepared isn't one of them. He also actively seeks ways to exploit matchups to free his top-six forward group up for opportunities to capitalize on weaker defensive units. He'll have a hard time punching through any of Vegas' lines—regardless of how Tortorella configures them—but it will be fascinating to see which methodology leads to an upper hand.
If the Golden Knights can get Carolina out of sorts by rolling their lines while double-shifting certain players like Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, it could make it tough for the Hurricanes to apply pressure as they have in previous rounds.
Golden Knights' execution from high-danger areas bodes well in a low-event Stanley Cup Final
Neither Vegas nor Carolina gave their opponents much to work with through the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is a series that will feature a ton of neutral zone play, forechecking and backchecking galore, and shooting lanes that vanish in an instant.
If these games turn out to be as low-event as they seem like they could be—we're talking the possibility of fewer than 20ish shots a side—then Vegas' exceptional finishing ability from high-danger areas could make a big difference as the series wears on.
The Hurricanes aren't going to give up much defensively, but no team is perfect. The Montreal Canadiens ran into a wall of sticks, legs, and bodies whenever they tried to execute inside the offensive zone. The Habs' high-IQ, fast players found virtually no purchase in Games 2 through 5.
Vegas won't fall into the trap of trying to make every shot perfect, though, and when they get the high-quality opportunities, they tend to finish them. The Golden Knights lead the postseason in high-danger goals with 34, and if their power play can be a factor, Vegas has a road to victory in the offensive zone.
Carter Hart can outduel Frederick Anderson in the Stanley Cup Final
It almost feels like a copout to list the goaltending battle as one of the factors that could decide this series in Vegas' favor, but in this instance, it's worth mentioning. Neither of these netminders was a stalwart during the regular season, which is what makes this goaltending duel so interesting.
Sometimes one team has a clear advantage in goal, but that isn't the case in the Stanley Cup Final. Both Frederik Andersen and Carter Hart have been excellent through the first three rounds. But only one of them was tasked with shutting down the Colorado Avalanche and did so in four games.
Not to take anything away from a highly motivated "Freddie," but Hart's road to the Stanley Cup Final was more challenging, and he was more than up to the task. If he can shut down Nathan MacKinnon, he should be alright squaring off against Taylor Hall.
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