Our full betting preview of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final: Carolina Hurricanes vs Vegas Golden Knights. Carolina opens as the series favorite at -155 (about 61% implied) thanks to home ice from a 113-point regular season; Vegas, the 2023 champion, is the +135 underdog and for the first time in franchise history will not hold home ice in a Cup Final. The Hurricanes were 12-1 over three rounds behind Frederik Andersen's goaltending (three shutouts); Vegas rode the postseason scoring leader Mitch Marner (21 points) and Jack Eichel (18) through a Colorado sweep. Both teams play structured, goaltending-led hockey, so our higher-confidence angle is game-level unders and a long series (over 5.5 games); for a side, Vegas at +135 is the better value relative to true probability since the market is pricing home ice heavily. Full breakdown of odds, both teams, key matchups, the schedule, and our prediction. Game 1 Tuesday June 2, 8 PM ET, Lenovo Center in Raleigh, on ABC.
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