RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes rolled through the Eastern Conference playoffs, while the Vegas Golden Knights picked up speed with each round before pulling off a shocking sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.That has brought them to the Stanley Cup Final for Tuesday night’s opener, with the Golden Knights chasing a second championship in four seasons while the Hurricanes are playing for the Cup for the first time since coach Rod Brind’Amour captained them to the 2006 title.The Hurricanes went 12-1 through three rounds to get here, sweeping through Ottawa and Philadelphia before taking the last four games of a five-game win against Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final. That made the Hurricanes the first team since 1983 to reach the Stanley Cup Final with one loss, and the first since the NHL went to best-of-seven series in all four rounds in 1987.
The Golden Knights — who surged after a late-season coaching change by firing Bruce Cassidy to hire John Tortorella — pushed past Utah and Anaheim in a pair of six-game series, and have won six straight games entering Tuesday’s Game 1 against Carolina after beating the Avs.
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