A postseason defined by unpredictability from game-to-game has set up a first-ever Stanley Cup Final matchup as the Carolina Hurricanes – the No. 2-ranked team from the regular season standings – and Vegas Golden Knights – the third team ever to reach the championship series following a coaching change in their final 10 games of the season – are the only clubs left standing in a 2025-26 NHL campaign where comeback wins, overtime, close games and sold-out buildings have reigned supreme in both the regular season and playoffs.
* 43% of games in these playoffs have been comeback wins, the second-highest rate at this stage in 16 years behind only the 2024 postseason (49% of 76 GP). The Conference Finals included the second three-goal comeback victory of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the fifth straight year with multiple three-goal rallies to win.
* For the seventh time in NHL history – and fifth since 2013-14 when the Wild Card format was introduced – at least 13 of the first 14 series featured overtime. That count includes back-to-back OT finishes in the Eastern Conference Final; the only series without extra time so far was the Golden Knights’ sweep of the League’s No. 1 seed in the Western Conference Final.
* 22 games have featured a tying or go-ahead goal in the final 10 minutes of the third period, tied with 2001 for the third most at this stage of a postseason in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (27 in 2017 & 23 in 2010). Overall, those contests have featured 28 such tallies which is tied for the second most ever at this stage (through 76 GP) behind three years with 30 (2017, 1997 & 1989).
* 87% of contests have been close games (66 of 76 GP), the second-highest rate at this stage of a postseason in NHL history behind 2024 (90%; 68 of 76 GP).
* Road teams went 5-4 during the Conference Finals and are 40-36 in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the third time in four years that at least 40 of the first 76 playoff games were won by the visitors (also 43 in 2023 & 42 in 2024).
* Three rounds of action have produced the first-ever playoff meeting between Carolina and Vegas, which also will stand as the 68th unique Stanley Cup Final in NHL history.
Hurricanes dominate Conference in playoffs, regular season to reach Final
In the first series in NHL history involving a team coming off consecutive best-of-seven sweeps versus a team coming off back-to-back Game 7 victories, rest proved to be a recipe for success as the Hurricanes rallied from a Game 1 defeat to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years.
12-1 heading to the Final
* Carolina (12-1 in 13 GP) became the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Final with fewer than two losses since 1987 when all four rounds went best-of-seven.
Perfect in overtime, on the road
* Carolina became the fourth team in NHL history to win each of its first five overtime contests and the seventh club with a road winning streak of six-plus games to start a playoff year. The Hurricanes had one of their overtime goals and two of their road wins in front of a roaring Bell Centre, which hosted Conference Finals/Semifinals games with capacity crowds for the first time since 2014.
Goaltending gets Hurricanes to 3rd Final
* Carolina will play in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in franchise history, with goaltending once again the driving force that got them there – Frederik Andersen’s 1.41 goals-against average this postseason ranks first in franchise history (min. 13 GP) ahead of Arturs Irbe in 2002 (1.67 GAA). Andersen became the third goaltender in NHL history with 12 wins through his first 13 games in a playoff year, following Ken Dryden with the 1976 Canadiens (12-1 in 13 GP) and Gerry Cheevers with the 1970 Bruins (12-1 in 13 GP).
Locked in since day one
* Carolina advanced to the Stanley Cup Final after spending each of the 192-day 2025-26 regular season in a playoff spot. The Hurricanes are one of 10 teams in NHL history to hold a playoff spot each day of a season en route to the Stanley Cup Final (min. 190 days). Of those nine teams, seven went on to capture the Stanley Cup.
VEGAS VANQUISHED PERENNIAL CONTENDER, VIES FOR VICTORY VERSUS ANOTHER
The Golden Knights are riding hot into their third Stanley Cup Final in just nine NHL seasons, eliminating the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche – the League’s No. 1 seed since Nov. 1 – in just four games to take a six-game winning streak into the championship series against the No. 2-ranked Hurricanes.
Taking down top teams
* Vegas will be the first team since the 2013 Bruins to face each of the League’s top two ranked teams from the regular season in the Conference Finals/Semifinals and Stanley Cup Final (BOS swept No. 2-ranked PIT before a 4-2 series loss to No. 1-ranked CHI). The full list of teams to do this in the expansion era (since 1967-68): 2026 Golden Knights, 2013 Bruins (SCF loss), 1980 Islanders (won Cup), 1979 Rangers (SCF loss) and 1977 Bruins (SCF loss). Including Vegas this year, five straight teams to face the No. 1 and No. 2 overall seeds at any point in a postseason have made the Stanley Cup Final (also 2023 FLA, 2022 TBL, 2015 TBL & 2013 BOS – all lost in the Final). Separately, only twice before has a team won the Cup by defeating each conference’s No. 1 seed in the Conference Finals/Semifinals and Stanley Cup Final – the Islanders did so in both 1980 and 1983.
Rising to the occasion
* After two road wins in Colorado, Vegas staged its first three-goal comeback victory in playoff history and then their first series-clinching win in Vegas since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2023. Vegas became the seventh team in NHL history to sweep the No. 1 seed from the regular season and just the second to do so to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. The other instance was by Boston in the 1970 Semifinals against Chicago – though the Bruins ranked second overall that season and tied the Blackhawks with 99 points but lost out on the No. 1 seed due to a tiebreaker.
Streaking into the Final
* After splits through four games in each of the first two rounds, the Golden Knights didn’t go beyond Game 4 in the Conference Finals and will now be the eighth team in League history to enter the Stanley Cup Final in a six-game winning streak.
Overcoming late-season adversity
* On March 29, the Golden Knights ranked third in the Pacific Division standings following a 1-4-2 stretch in which they spiraled from the grouping’s No. 1 seed. Six points back of the division lead and holding a playoff spot by only a four-point margin with eight games left on its schedule, Vegas hired John Tortorella and are now the third team in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final after making a coaching change within its final 10 games.
FIVE MORE #NHLSTATS ABOUT THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
The Hurricanes and Golden Knights are both perennial contenders that have taken different paths to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final but share much in common. #NHLStats takes a look at five Final notes for both the Eastern and Western Conference champions as they seek to bring glory to their cities.
