LAS VEGAS — The Carolina Hurricanes spent the first part of the Stanley Cup Final surviving, finding ways to overcome deficits and play a high-scoring game that didn’t fit their typical style.
When it came down to doing what it takes to win the NHL’s storied trophy, though, their defense put its stamp on this series, shutting down the Vegas Golden Knights and not letting up.
The Hurricanes held Vegas to five total goals in Games 4 and 5 and used a suffocating defense in a 3-0 shutout Sunday night in Game 6 to win their second league championship but first in 20 years.
“That’s a lot of years,” said Carolina center Jordan Staal, who received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of this postseason. “It’s amazing. This is something I’ve been going after ever since we got the first one. You want to win it again and again and again. “
Brandon Bussi, whose entrance late in Game 3 helped turn around the series, had the first postseason shutout of his career while stopping 22 shots. Jackson Blake had a goal and assist, and Taylor Hall scored just 3:47 into the game to set the tone. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-netter.
“Your mind wanders the last couple of days and wonder what it may be like out here,” Hall said of being on the ice with the Stanley Cup, “and it’s better than I could have expected.”
The Golden Knights struggled badly to muster any kind of offense Sunday on their home ice at T-Mobile Arena, going 18:37 between shots on goal in the second and third periods. This was the third Stanley Cup Final for Vegas, which lost the title series in 2018 as a first-year expansion team then won it in 2023. Game 6 was the first time they have been shut out in a title-round matchup.
The finale was what many observers expected the series to be like between the defensive-minded teams, but each watched leads of two-plus goals disappear in the first three games.
Now the Stanley Cup belongs to the Hurricanes, led by coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained Carolina to its first title in 2006.
“It’s just as awesome,” Brind’Amour said. “But as a player, it was a little different. I worked and dreamt of winning the Cup my whole life, so that was like a piano came off my back. This time around, I wanted it for the group.”
This was the first game of the series that Vegas goalie Carter Hart didn’t allow four goals in a game. He finished with 20 saves.
The Hurricanes began to assume control of the series after falling behind 4-0 in Game 3. They came back to force overtime, and though they lost, they outplayed the Golden Knights from there on out.
Reflecting the do-or-die situation in the best-of-seven series for the Golden Knights, they made several lineup changes, with Brett Howden replacing the injured William Karlsson at second-line center. Mitch Marner could have moved there, but he remained at right wing.
Reilly Smith made his Stanley Cup Final debut at third-line right wing, and Braeden Bowman made his playoff debut at fourth-line right wing. Kaedan Korczak replaced Dylan Coghlan on the third defensive pairing.
“This is tough to be on this side of it,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “But on the other side, these chances don’t come around very often. So it stings.”
This title is a testament to Carolina’s resilience as a franchise that kept coming close to winning the Eastern Conference, but couldn’t quite get through until now.
Brind’Amour made sure the Hurricanes kept getting back up after losing in the conference titles twice in the past three years and three times in their current eight-year run of consecutive playoff. appearances. The talent was clearly there, but there was always a stumbling block.
Not anymore.
After dispatching the Montreal Canadiens in five games to make the Stanley Cup Final, the Hurricanes then faced perennial power Vegas and took care of business there, too. And now Brind’Amour will get his name on the Cup for the second time.
So will 37-year-old Staal, who also won the title in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He planted himself in front of Hart and dared the Golden Knights to knock him out of the way. Staal scored in each of the first five games in the series, the first time that has happened in a Stanley Cup Final.
The Hurricanes got off to a fast start with a goal just 25 seconds into the series opener in Raleigh, North Carolina, only to lose 5-4 on a late goal from Tomas Hertl. And the Golden Knights were on the verge of taking complete control as minutes ticked down in Game 2 while holding a 2-0 lead and appearing as if they would take a two-game advantage back home.
Then it all changed. Carolina showed a fight that not only brought the Hurricanes back into the series by rallying to win 4-3 in overtime on Seth Jarvis’ one-timer, but would serve as their signature throughout the series.
That was especially true the following game when the Golden Knights took a 4-0 lead into the third period and the Hurricanes seemed to have no answers. Brind’Amour even appeared to wave the white flag by removing goalie Frederik Andersen and replacing him with Bussi.
And yet the Hurricanes weren’t simply trying to get to Game 4. They sent a message, going on a remarkable rally to force overtime. Though Carolina lost, it was an inflection point, with Bussi backstopping a team that was only growing stronger. Carolina then went on to win the next two games and moved within a victory of the championship.
The Hurricanes got it done against the Golden Knights team that was on a heater after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach with eight games left in the regular season. Vegas then went from third in the Pacific Division to first, knocked off the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks in six games apiece in the playoffs and shockingly swept the Colorado Avalanche — who held the Presidents’ Trophy as the top team in the regular season — to win the Western Conference title series.
“I am very proud to be a part of this organization, very proud to lead this team, very proud to play with every single guy that steps into our locker room,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “This feeling sucks. I never want to have it again.”