The Carolina Hurricanes, fresh off winning the Eastern Conference championship on Friday, are sizable favorites to beat the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Hurricanes head into the finals having won 12 of their 13 postseason games, the best start to a playoff run since the 1976 Montreal Canadiens captured the cup by going 12-1.
The only game Carolina lost was the opener of the Eastern Conference finals against Montreal, when the Hurricanes were playing for the first time in 12 days. Carolina swept the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers before downing Montreal in five games.
FanDuel lists the Hurricanes as a -162 favorite for the finals. DraftKings has Carolina at -155, and BetRivers puts the Hurricanes at -150.
The Golden Knights are +134 at FanDuel, +130 at DraftKings and +120 at BetRivers.
Vegas needed six games to get past the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks before sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
For Game 1 on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C., the Hurricanes are a -155 favorite at BetRivers and DraftKings, and a -152 favorite at FanDuel. All three books have the over-under for total goals at 5.5.
Despite his team being the underdog, Vegas winger Mitch Marner is posted by FanDuel as the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy given to the most valuable player of the postseason. Marner is listed at +180.
Behind Marner on the board are four Carolina players: goalie Frederik Andersen (+250), winger Taylor Hall (+650), center Logan Stankoven (+900) and winger Jackson Blake (+1100). The next Golden Knights player listed is center Jack Eichel (+1900).
