Raise your hand if you had the Washington Capitals against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.

Now put your hand down, liar.

In one of the most unexpected Finals matchups ever, an all-time great player faces off against an all-time great story.

Alexander Ovechkin, perhaps the greatest goal scorer of this generation, leads the Capitals into their first Finals appearance in 20 years. On the other side, the Golden Knights are making their first Finals appearance in franchise history. Oh, it’s also their first SEASON in franchise history.

That’s right, after not having a team just 365 days ago, Vegas is playing on hockey’s biggest stage for its ultimate prize….the Stanley Cup.

Let’s look at how both teams got here.

Washington Capitals

It wasn’t an easy road for the Capitals. After falling behind 2-0 in their first round series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington made a goaltending change when they benched Philip Grubauer in favor of more seasoned Braden Holtby. In a must win game three on the road, the Capitals won a double overtime thriller and never looked back. They ended up winning the next three games to advance to the next round. After defeating one of their biggest rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in six games in the second round, they needed seven games to knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning to punch their tickets to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1998.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights have taken the sports world by storm since their first ever game back in October. They finished the regular season with a 51-24-7 record and won the Pacific Division title.

They began the playoffs with a sweep over the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, then dispatched the San Jose Sharks in six games in the second round. After dropping game one of the third round on the road, the Knights won the next four to shock the Winnipeg Jets and the rest of the hockey world to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

My prediction

It has been eight days since the Golden Knights last played, but they’ve shown time after time that long layoffs don’t affect them very much. Their record in these playoffs is an impressive 12-3. Everybody expected them to come back down to earth ever since the season started, and it still hasn’t happened.

Their main strength is their goaltending, as Marc-Andre Fleury is having a legendary season. He has a .947 save percentage and a 1.68 goals against average, cementing himself as the front runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Vegas’ top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith have powered the team forward all season long, and if they continue their scoring ways they will be in great shape.

The Golden Knights might have the advantage in goaltending, but the Capitals have the slight advantage in scoring depth and star power. Ovechkin has long been criticized for his lack of meaningful wins, but this postseason has done a lot to get rid of that reputation. If he can add a Stanley Cup to his resume, he can finally be considered amongst the all-time greats of the game.

Of course, the Capitals aren’t a one man show, and players like Evgeny Kuznetsov, Niklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie have helped carry Washington to this point.

I feel that the power play will be a big part of the final outcome of this series. The Capitals have a 28.8 percent conversation rate on the man-advantage, while the Golden Knights have a 17.6 percent conversation rate. Vegas especially will need to stay out of the box in order to have the best chance to win this series.

In the end, I’m going with the Capitals in six games.