And then there were two.The Stanley Cup Final is here and this year’s most dominant playoff teams will face off for the championship starting Tuesday.The Carolina Hurricanes are back in the final for the first time since 2006 after rolling through the postseason with a remarkable 12-1 record. The Vegas Golden Knights, who surprisingly swept the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final, are in the final for the third time since joining the league in 2017.Who will come out on top? The Athletic polled its NHL staff on their predictions for the series, plus who they think will take home the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.Here are the results and some of the reasons behind their picks:Why the Hurricanes will winFluto Shinzawa (CAR in four): The Hurricanes have no weaknesses. They attack in wave after wave. There will be nowhere for Vegas to hide.Corey Pronman (CAR in six): Carolina's depth and blue line are better. Vegas' top few forwards are better, but the Canes should be the better team at even strength.Julian McKenzie (CAR in six): The Hurricanes have suffocated teams all playoff long with their defense. I expect them to do it again.Scott Wheeler (CAR in six): I think the Canes are going to overwhelm the Golden Knights like they've overwhelmed virtually everyone all year. Top to bottom, they've played the best team game in the league this season and would make a fitting Cup winner for 2026-27. This is going to be the year they finally get it over the finish line.Murat Ates (CAR in six): Vegas can counterpunch and protect the middle of the ice with the best of them, but I'm taking Carolina's suffocating forecheck and its 12-1-0 playoff record thus far.Arpon Basu (CAR in six): This will be a hard-fought series, but the consistent pace the Hurricanes are playing with up and down their lineup right now feels like it will make them a more difficult opponent as the series goes on.Kevin Kurz (CAR in six): The Hurricanes are just on too much of a roll right now to pick against them, even if their path so far hasn't exactly been a murderer's row of opponents. This just feels like a team that's due after so many seasons of coming up short. That their biggest question mark headed into the playoffs — their goaltending — has actually been a strength only makes me more confident they'll close this thing out.Joshua Kloke (CAR in six): I first started picking the Hurricanes to win it all every season since 2021. No reason to stop now.Chris Johnston (CAR in six): The Canes are healthy, rested and relentless. Total Hockey. They've been a top team for years and have finally found the formula needed to get the job done.Michael Russo (CAR in six): If not now for Carolina, when? The door swung open for the Canes the second Florida didn't make the playoffs, and right now, they're playing fast, flawless hockey up and down their lineup. Carolina had a ton of injuries this season, yet never got derailed the same way Florida, New Jersey and Toronto did. We wondered what they'd look like once they got healthy. Now we see: They're a two-way wagon.