The Stanley Cup Final was widely expected to be the Carolina Hurricanes (+475) versus the Colorado Avalanche (+300). But the Avs had the unfortunate honor to win the President’s Trophy for the most points in the regular season. The last team to take home that award and win the Stanley Cup was the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. And when the Avs faced the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, it seemed the jinx would continue to hold, getting swept by the Knights in four games.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, steamrolled their way to the Cup Final by sweeping the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers in rounds 1 and 2, and taking the Montreal Canadiens in five games. At the same time, the Knights took six games to beat the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks in rounds 1 and 2, before sweeping the Avs. So clearly, the Hurricanes are the favorite in the final round at -150.
Knight Time
But the Knights are the more interesting story. When Vegas management fired coach Bruce Cassidy with eight games remaining in the season to bring in veteran coach John Tortorella, the Knights were in a tailspin and could possibly miss the playoffs despite leading the Pacific Division for most of the year. Under Tortorella, the Knights caught fire. They recorded points in all of those last eight games to easily make the playoffs and only lost four in the first three rounds for a record of 19-4-1.
All season long, the Knights played from behind—possibly the reason for Cassidy’s demise. They won 21 times in the regular season after trailing in a game and in 10 other games, evened the score to reach overtime, only to lose. In the playoffs, the Knights set an all-time record for comeback victories with four. And no one will forget the thrilling Game 3 comeback against Colorado, where Vegas overcame a three-goal deficit to totally demoralize the Avs, leading to the sweep.
And incredibly, the Knights were the second-worst team, only to the Vancouver Canucks, to trail more minutes in regular-season games in the NHL this season.
Vegas has some of the hockey superstars, past and present, led by Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner. But Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Shea Theodore aren’t far behind. And how can you forget their magnificent goalie, Carter Hart, who has been lights out since Tortorella installed him as the top goalie upon arriving in Vegas.
Hurricanes Machine
But just by considering the playoff record of the Carolina Hurricanes this year, there’s no doubt that this is a powerful team that is hitting on all cylinders. Coach Rod Brind’Amour seemingly just has to open the door on the bench, and talent spills out with players who know their roles and know the system.
Defense leads the system. After a 6-2 game 1 loss to the Canadiens, Carolina limited the Habs to just 43 shots in games 2-4, with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere slamming some major body blows on the opponent’s best players.
Led by captain Jordan Staal, the ‘Canes are powerful on both sides of the puck. Scoring machine Nikolaj Ehlers is backed by K’Andre Miller and Jaccob Slavin to freeze the opponent’s offense.
“When you get into this groove, it’s just kind of a machine,” Staal said. “You just kind of want to keep it running and keep doing what you’re doing.”
Best Bets
Let’s go with the Golden Knights. At +130 or +140, it’s worth a punt. Even if they fall behind, don’t lose faith.
And going along with that bet, let’s double down on Knights players winning the Conn Smyth trophy (MVP). Marner is at the top, with around +175 odds. Three Carolina players follow: goalie Frederik Andersen (+250), Taylor Hall (+650), and Logan Stankoven (+950). Eichel is next at +1000. Or how about Carter Hart at +2000?
Whatever happens, it’s bound to be an entertaining Stanley Cup Final. Good luck to the players, the teams, and of course to the bettors!
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