5 burning questions heading into the Stanley Cup Final

It all comes down to this. A fresh and exciting Stanley Cup Final begins with two franchises looking to cap off incredible runs. The Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals stand ready to give it all one last time for the Cup.

We’ve finally made it. Weeks of waiting, writing and tweeting about where we’d be and what we’d see in this moment have finally come to an end. We got the far-fetched final some predicted, jokingly, and the NHL is all the better for it.

This is going to be insanely fun. You get the best of both sides — a Capitals team that finally overcame their deepest fear, Pittsburgh, and beat Tampa Bay to earn their spot in the Final. Their opponent, the Golden Knights? They just took an expansion team to 51 wins and a dominant Western Conference run to be here as well.

We’re looking at two weeks of the best the sport has to offer. There’s a lot to break down when it comes to the matchups these two organizations bring together. In the moment, it’s great to just enjoy how crazy it is that we’ve got this Final. Kudos to Bryce Harper for a spot-on prediction.

https://twitter.com/Bharper3407/status/991414392444129282

Let’s dive into what matters. What questions should we be asking before these two teams take the ice at T-Mobile Arena?

5. Who wins the goalie battle?

Both goaltenders coming into this series are playing their best hockey. Just think — when the playoffs started, Braden Holtby wasn’t in net. Philipp Grubauer started for the Capitals, giving up eight goals in two games against the Blue Jackets before Holtby stepped in during the Game 2 loss. Holtby went on to win four straight, including posting 30-plus saves in three of the four wins.

Holtby hasn’t had the insane statistical dominance this postseason that Marc-Andre Fleury has but did do everything needed to come out on top in both that series, the Pittsburgh series and especially the last two against the Lightning.

We’ve talked about Fleury, who along with the defensive effort both from the forechecking forwards to the defensive pairings, has been unbelievable this Stanley Cup run.

So who stands tallest in the Stanley Cup Final? It’s hard to say. Defensively, the Capitals have been forced into a lot in their own zone and for the most part Holtby has been up to the task. With how the Golden Knights have played line to line, I expect a lot of pressure to start this series. Fleury has been there this whole postseason and a good jump from the offense the Knights have should keep that hot streak going. It’ll be fun to see which goaltender struggles first and how they react and adapt.