Stanley Cup Final opens tonight June 2

The Carolina Hurricanes open the Stanley Cup Final at home against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, with Game 1 set for 8 p.m. ET at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. NHL.com said Carolina reached the final by eliminating Montreal, while Vegas arrived after sweeping the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final. (nhl.com) The series is a matchup of the Eastern and Western Conference champions, and it begins with Carolina holding home-ice advantage. (cbssports.com) AP reported on June 1 that Hurricanes-Golden Knights is the 68th unique Stanley Cup Final matchup in NHL history. That gives the series a first-time feel even though both clubs have been regular playoff teams in recent years. (nhl.com) ### Why is Game 1 in Raleigh? Carolina finished the regular season with 113 points, which gave the Hurricanes home-ice advantage in the series. NHL.com said that put Games 1 and 2 in Raleigh before the series shifts to Las Vegas for Games 3 and 4. (nhl.com) CBS Sports listed Carolina at 53-22-7 and first in the Metropolitan Division, with Game 1 scheduled Tuesday night against Vegas. The Hurricanes were also described by CBS as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. ### How dominant has Carolina been getting here? (apnews.com) CBS Sports said Carolina enters the final with just one loss through three playoff rounds. Its playoff tracker listed the Hurricanes at 12-1 after they closed out Montreal with a 6-1 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final. That run has made Carolina one of the most efficient teams of the postseason by record. (msn.com) The lone defeat came in Game 1 of the conference final against Montreal, according to coverage of that series, before the Hurricanes won the next four games. (cbssports.com) ### What is Vegas bringing into the series? Vegas reached the final by sweeping the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final, NHL.com said. That gave the Golden Knights extra rest before the championship round began Tuesday. The Golden Knights are chasing the second Stanley Cup title in franchise history, while Carolina is back in the final for the first time since 2006, according to NHL.com's series preview and schedule pages. (cbssports.com) ### What makes this matchup historically distinct? (thehockeywriters.com) AP's by-the-numbers preview put this final in a narrow historical category: the 68th unique pairing in Stanley Cup Final history. In a league that has staged the championship round for decades, that means this exact matchup had never happened before this year. (nhl.com) AP also said 87% of the 76 playoff games played so far had been decided by one goal or by two with the second an empty-netter, one of the highest such rates in NHL playoff history. That statistic underscored how little separation there has been across the broader postseason entering the final. (msn.com) ### How can viewers follow the series from here? NHL.com said the best-of-seven series opens Tuesday, June 2, in Raleigh and can run as late as June 17 if it reaches Game 7. The league's schedule lists Game 2 for Thursday, June 4, before the series moves to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Saturday, June 6. (apnews.com) ABC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC are carrying the opener, according to NHL.com. The next immediate milestone is puck drop Tuesday night, with Carolina and Vegas beginning a final that neither franchise has played against the other before. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) (apnews.com)