The Stanley Cup final no one asked for might still be pretty good

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It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Less than a month ago, everything was falling into place for an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final. With defending champion Colorado and title favourite Boston both suffering shocking first-round upsets, Edmonton and Toronto were suddenly the betting favourites to win their conferences.

Instead, the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights punctured the all-Canadian dream by bouncing Toronto and Edmonton in the second round, and now they're meeting in something like the opposite of a Leafs-Oilers final. Rather than those blue-blood franchises playing for Lord Stanley's Cup, we get an all-Sun Belt matchup featuring a No. 8 seed from the hockey-indifferent Miami metro area vs. the NHL embodiment of nouveau riche, right down to the gaudy gold uniforms.

Having said that, Florida and Vegas are worthy finalists, and this is a compelling matchup that will result in one of them hoisting the Cup for the first time in franchise history. Canadian hockey snobbery aside, that's pretty nice.

Here's a look at both teams ahead of Game 1 of the final Saturday night on the Las Vegas strip.

Vegas

Unlike their Canadian counterparts, Golden Knights fans do not know suffering. Their team has been in existence for just six seasons, and this is already its second trip to the Cup final. Vegas made one of the most improbable playoff runs in sports history in 2018 when it reached the championship series as a first-year expansion franchise before losing to Alex Ovechkin's Capitals.

While the remaining Misfits are a good story, this Vegas team is better than that