The Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes have been two of the best teams in the NHL since the start of the 2025-26 season, and now that we’re through the first two rounds of the playoffs, they look to be on an inevitable path to meet in the Stanley Cup Final.They enter the conference finals, which begin on Wednesday, as the top two Stanley Cup favorites among the four remaining teams.Colorado is still the favorite at +135 (via FanDuel), while Carolina is just behind at +160.The Avalanche will play the Vegas Golden Knights (+600) in the Western Conference final, while the Hurricanes will play the up-and-coming Montreal Canadiens (+700) following their thrilling Game 7 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Avs have dominatedColorado is trying to become the first Presidents’ Trophy winner to win the Stanley Cup since the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks, and there has been little in their play to make anybody believe they can’t do it.After cruising through the first round with a four-game sweep against the Los Angeles Kings, they beat the Minnesota Wild, the seventh-best team in the NHL standings during the regular season, in a surprisingly swift five games.They are 8-1 through their first nine playoff games and dominating the same way they did all regular season.Nathan MacKinnon has seven goals and 13 total points in only nine games to give them the superstar difference-maker, while 17 different players have scored at least one goal to show off their depth. That includes 10 different players with at least two goals. Their center depth of MacKinnon, Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri is the most impressive trio still remaining in the playoffs.Along with dramatically outscoring their opponents, the Avalanche also have a 56 percent expected goals share (via hockey analytics site Natural Stat Trick) during five-on-five play, indicating they are also pushing the pace of games and winning the territorial battle. They also led the NHL during the regular season with a 56.3 expected goals share.Ten of the past 15 Stanley Cup winners have finished the regular season in the top six in expected goal share. Only two finished outside of the top 12. None was lower than 20th. Colorado, Carolina and Vegas were all in the top six this season. Montreal was 23rd.That doesn’t mean the Golden Knights aren’t a formidable opponent. Vegas has found new life under interim head coach John Tortorella, while Mitch Marner is putting together a Conn Smythe-worthy performance and completely rewriting his postseason narrative. He enters the series as the leading scorer in the playoffs.Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens: Will rust be an issue?While Colorado has been the most impressive and dominant team over the course of the regular season and playoffs, Carolina is putting together what has been, to this point, a rather historic run.The Hurricanes are the first team to sweep the opening two rounds since the NHL went to a best-of-seven format in every round, and will have gone 11 days between games when the puck drops in their series on Thursday night. That ties the modern record for most games off between playoff games.Will that work against them? Will rust be an issue? Or will the fact that they had two weeks off to get healthy in the middle of a playoff grind work to their advantage, especially against a Montreal team that has already played two seven-game series? Even though the Canadiens and Hurricanes are at the same point in the playoffs, Montreal has played six additional games. That will take its toll physically.Since the NHL went to the playoff format that features four best-of-seven rounds, only one team has ever won the Stanley Cup after needing to win a Game 7 in the first two rounds (the 2014 Los Angeles Kings). That has to be a potential red flag for the Canadiens.Montreal has had to grind its way through these playoffs so far and lacks the overall depth of the other three teams, but Jakub Dobeš has been the proverbial “hot goalie” in the playoffs. He enters the Eastern Conference final having saved 11.1 goals above expected (via Moneypuck), trailing only the 11.2 from Carolina’s Frederik Andersen.Given the way the two goalies have played, and given Carolina’s defensive structure and play, this could be an extremely low-scoring series. If it is, that could also play right into Carolina’s hands.May 20, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms