The conference final stage has officially arrived in these Stanley Cup playoffs, with the final four teams remaining as the , , , and . The Avalanche and Golden Knights kick things off on Wednesday with Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver. The Central and Pacific division winners will battle for a spot in the Cup final, which should be an entertaining, likely long series. Nonethele s, here is our prediction for the Western Conference final. Colorado Avalanche (C1) Vs. Vegas Golden Knights (P1) Season series: Avalanche 2-1 Why Colorado Will Win: The Avalanche made a statement to the rest of the NHL when they slayed the in just five games. That series was expected to be longer, reaching the six or seven-game mark, but Colorado was able to wrap it up quickly, despite Minnesota finishing seventh in the NHL regular-season standings. Let alone the fact that the Avalanche dominated in the regular season, winning the Presidents Trophy with an eight-point lead over the Hurricanes. Their performance against the Wild makes them the clear favorite against the Golden Knights in this Western Conference final. They havent outscored their opponents by a large margin by any means, but the Avs have proven that they can beat their opponents in any style of game. MORE : They handled the defensive in a four-game sweep. Colorado was held back offensively to some degree, but still bested James Worthy Jersey Los Angeles. And with the Wild, the Avalanche still came out on top in an offensive explosion of a series. The Golden Knights will be somewhere in the middle, but its not anything the Avalanche wont be able to handle. Also, Colorado is one of the best teams in the NHL in terms of depth, as they basically own a star-studded lineup. Imagn Images Why Vegas Will Win: Colorado wont be like Vegas two previous opponents, the and . However, that doesnt mean the Golden Knights dont have a chance against the Avalanche. They, too, have stars sprinkled throughout their lineup, including right winger Mitch Marner, who leads the playoffs in scoring with seven goals and 18 points in 12 appearances. Dont forget about his connection with Brett Howden in this campaign, as well as the production theyve been getting out of Pavel Dorofeyev. And of course, Jack Eichel has been consistent for Vegas all post-season long. MORE : Add those weapons up front with the goaltending theyve been getting with Carter Hart, posting a 2.27 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in these playoffs. Not to mention, Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella certainly knows how to motivate an underdog team, and hes been able to bring the best out of Vegas since joining late in the regular season. The Verdict: Itll certainly be a battle as the Central and Pacific division winners fight for a spot in the final, especially considering both franchises have won a Stanley Cup in the past five years. However, the Presidents Trophy-winning Avalanche are far from fraudulent, and we think they get the edge in this series. Prediction : Avalanche win in six games More NHL News Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey