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.