The question now is which two teams will advance to the Stanley Cup Final? The Hurricanes breezed through the playoffs with consecutive sweeps, and the Avalanche haven't been much worse, going 8-1 en route to the conference finals.
If anyone is going to knock off those favorites before the Cup Final, it's up to the Canadiens and Golden Knights to do so. Montreal won back-to-back Game 7s to reach the Eastern Conference Final, while Vegas won each of its two series in six games.
Eastern Conference Final
(1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens
Nivison: Can the Canadiens do what no team has been able to do in these playoffs—win a game against the Hurricanes? Carolina rolled to an 8-0 start and earned a record 11-day layoff between postseason games.
On the surface, the Canadiens have some things working in their favor. They have more offensive skill than either of the Hurricanes' first two opponents. Cole Caufield scored 51 goals in the regular season, Nick Suzuki topped 101 points and Lane Hutson tallied 78 points from the blue line. The Montreal power play has been a weapon all season, operating at a 25.0% clip in the playoffs.
Calling the Hurricanes' defense stout would be an understatement. Carolina allowed just 10 goals in eight games while surrendering a meager 2.64 expected goals against per game.
The key in this series might be which team gets its top line going sooner. For the Hurricanes, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov have combined for four points at five-on-five. For the Canadiens, Caufield, Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky have totaled five five-on-five points.
Carolina's second line of Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven has been a revelation. The Hurricanes got 11 days to scout their potential opponents, and I'm not worried about them being rusty—especially with Rod Brind'Amour behind the bench.
Pick -- Hurricanes def. Canadiens 4-2
Baumgartner: The Carolina Hurricanes have yet to lose a game this postseason, sweeping the Ottawa Senators in Round 1 and the Philadelphia Flyers in Round 2. They'll play in their third Eastern Conference Final in the past four seasons.
The line of Taylor Hall (3 goals, 9 assists), Jackson Blake (4 goals, 7 assists) and Logan Stankoven (7 goals, 1 assist) has been outstanding, leading Carolina in scoring this postseason.
Frederik Andersen enters the conference finals leading the NHL with a remarkable 1.12 goals-against-average and a .950 save percentage. The Hurricanes completed their series against the Flyers on May 9; Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final is Thursday, May 21.