NHL conference finals preview: Avalanche-Golden Knights, Hurricanes-Canadiens - ESPN

From a starting point of 16 teams, the 2026 Stanley Cup playoff field is now down to four.

The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights match up in the Western Conference finals, while the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens face off in the Eastern Conference finals.

Which two teams will make it to the Stanley Cup Final? Ryan S. Clark (West) and Kristen Shilton (East) are here with intel on all four teams, including goaltender confidence ratings, what we've learned so far about each team, X factors and more.

How they got here: Defeated Kings 4-0, defeated Wild 4-1

It has been a bizarre ride at times for Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood in terms of how they've performed this postseason. On the whole, the Avalanche have lost just once, and are sixth in team save percentage in 5-on-5 play. Wedgewood has a stellar .914 save percentage. But the abnormal nature of how the Avs have arrived at this point can be best viewed through what happened against the Minnesota Wild.

Wedgewood allowed six goals in Game 1 and recovered in Game 2 to stop 29 of the 31 shots he faced. Game 3 was different, as Wedgewood allowed three goals on nine shots before the switch was made to Blackwood in what ultimately became the Avs' first loss this postseason. Avs coach Jared Bednar started Blackwood in their Game 4 victory, before Blackwood opened Game 5 by giving up three goals on 13 shots. He was replaced by Wedgewood after the first period, and the Avs closed out the series.

The Avs will need to attain some consistency in net, as they are facing off against one of the top-three scoring teams for a consecutive series.

Honestly, not a ton. If anything, there has been more confirmation bias about the Avalanche as they head into the