2026 Stanley Cup Final odds: Carolina Hurricanes open as favorites against Vegas Golden Knights

The Carolina Hurricanes took care of the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Friday night to win the Eastern Conference Finals in five games and advance to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

>They’ll meet an unlikely foe there — the Vegas Golden Knights — and will enter the Stanley Cup Final as the favorite at sportsbooks. The Hurricanes are -150 to win the series, while the Golden Knights are +125.

>While Carolina was a favorite (-260) in its ECF matchup against Montreal (-260), its conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia Flyers (-370) and its first-round matchup with the Ottawa Senators (-160), Vegas was a massive underdog to get to this point.

>The Golden Knights were favorites in their first two playoff series, but entered as a +200 underdog in the Western Conference Finals against the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche. Vegas ended up sweeping Colorado in one of the most surprising results this postseason.

>It’s the third time in the Golden Knights’ nine seasons that they have made the Stanley Cup Final, winning it in 2023 in five games over the Florida Panthers.

>Game 1 will be at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday on ABC.