The 2026 Stanley Cup Final is set. The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights will meet beginning June 2 in Raleigh, and this week gave us a clear picture of exactly what each team brings to the table.
It was also a week that reminded us that the game is bigger than any result on the ice.
Vegas Golden Knights Sweep Colorado Avalanche
The Presidents' Trophy is supposed to mean something. For the Colorado Avalanche, it meant home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. What it did not mean was a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Vegas Golden Knights swept Colorado in four games. The scores were 4-2, 3-1, 5-3, and 2-1, and while the sweep was decisive, it was not effortless. Vegas had to come back in Game 3 and finish off a tight Game 4 to complete it. But from the opening stretch of Game 1 onward, the Golden Knights looked like the steadier, more dangerous team.
With Nathan MacKinnon held in check and Cale Makar dealing with an upper-body issue that lingered through the series, Colorado never looked fully like itself. Vegas took advantage. Mitch Marner was everywhere, finishing the Western Conference Final with multiple points in every game and moving to the top of the postseason scoring race. Jack Eichel was equally relentless, controlling possession and finding teammates in space Colorado simply could not account for. In the clincher, Mark Stone and Cole Smith scored, and Carter Hart turned away 20 of 21 shots to close the door.
For Vegas, this is the franchise's third Stanley Cup Final in nine years. They swept the Presidents' Trophy winner to get there. Whatever mystique the regular-season standings carry, the Golden Knights do not care much about it. They show up in May and June.
Carolina Hurricanes Close Out Montreal in Five
After Game 1, a 6-2 loss in Raleigh that had people wondering whether the Hurricanes were truly ready for this stage, Carolina answered with four straight wins.
Games 2 and 3 were tight 3-2 victories that showed Carolina's ability to grind out results even when things were not flowing perfectly. Game 4 was a 4-0 shutout that sent a message. And Game 5, a 6-1 win over Montreal on the road, slammed the door.
In hindsight, Game 1 was exactly what it looked like: a team shaking off rust after a long wait between series. Once the Hurricanes locked in, there was not much the Canadiens could do. Carolina outscored Montreal 19-5 over the final four games. Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven helped drive the closeout, and Frederik Andersen gave Carolina the kind of steady goaltending that makes everything else easier.
Stankoven has been one of the breakout offensive performers of the postseason, now sitting at nine playoff goals, third most in franchise history. The Hurricanes have depth, structure, and a goaltender playing excellent hockey. They finished 12-1 and arrive at the Final looking like the best team in the East by a clear margin.
The Stanley Cup Final begins Tuesday, June 2 in Raleigh. We will have a full series preview up Monday.
In Memoriam: Claude Lemieux
This week, the hockey world lost Claude Lemieux. He was 60 years old.
Lemieux was one of the most decorated and polarizing players of his generation: a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Colorado Avalanche. He was a pest, an agitator, and a winner. Opponents despised him. Teammates loved him. He played the game at full intensity for 21 seasons and left a mark on every era he touched.
What makes his passing especially heartbreaking is the timing. Just days before his death, Lemieux was in Montreal as the Bell Centre torchbearer for Game 3 of the Canadiens' Eastern Conference Final run, in the same city where so much of his legacy began. He was celebrated that night. He was part of the moment.
Authorities said Lemieux died after taking his own life. The response from around hockey has been full of grief, respect, and love for his family. In a sport that often remembers him for edge and conflict, this week was a reminder of how deeply he mattered to the people around him.
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