Carolina finished the job under the bright lights of Las Vegas, blanking the Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena to claim the Stanley Cup for the first time in 20 years.
Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in six games
Brandon Bussi turned aside all 22 Vegas shots for the shutout as Hurricanes fans who made the trip to Nevada celebrated a second championship for the franchise. Carolina closed the postseason with a 16-3 record, the quickest Cup run since the 1988 Edmonton Oilers went 16-2.
Jackson Blake supplied a goal and an assist, while Taylor Hall opened the scoring and Nikolaj Ehlers sealed it into an empty net. Behind the bench, Rod Brind’Amour said his group had reached the moment it had been chasing.
“It was our time,” Brind’Amour said. “We were not going to be turned away.”
Bussi, who delivered one of the biggest performances of his career in the clincher, said the reality of the moment had not fully settled in.
“I feel a bit numb right now,” Bussi said. “At some point it will probably hit me, but not yet. This is something I’ll remember forever.”
- Carolina won its second Stanley Cup, following the franchise’s 2006 title.
- The Hurricanes outscored Vegas 12-5 over the final three games of the series.
- Bussi recorded the ninth shutout in a Cup-clinching game over the past 50 years.
- It was the first such clinching shutout since Andrei Vasilevskiy did it in 2021.
Jordan Staal takes Conn Smythe after historic spring
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after posting eight goals and 12 points in 19 games. Six of those goals came in the Final, including a run of goals in five straight games that matched an NHL record.
At 37, Staal became the oldest Conn Smythe winner. He also became the first player to wait at least 17 years between Stanley Cup championships, having previously won with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
“I’m glad I stayed,” Staal said. “I trusted the culture and what we were building in Carolina. To build that and finish it with this is an unbelievable dream.”
Brind’Amour, Carolina’s captain during the 2006 championship, has coached the club since the 2018-19 season. He is the seventh person in League history to win the Cup with one franchise as both player and coach, and the fourth to do so after serving as that team’s captain.
“Winning as a player was different because it had been my lifelong dream,” Brind’Amour said. “This one was about wanting this group to experience it.”
Hall and Blake put Vegas in a two-goal hole
Hall gave Carolina the lead at 3:47 of the opening period. Blake stripped Brett Howden near the Carolina blue line, and Jaccob Slavin spotted Hall behind the Vegas defense for a long pass. Hall beat Carter Hart from the left circle, sending a shot beneath the goalie’s left arm and above his pad.
“You have to score there,” Hall said. “Maybe it is easier coming from behind in a clinching game, but I was so excited I barely had a celebration.”
Bussi preserved the one-goal edge when he denied Howden on a breakaway at 11:39 of the first. Hart later answered with a blocker save on Staal’s breakaway 2:49 into the second period.
The decisive push arrived at 13:31 of the middle frame. Blake and Logan Stankoven pressured Noah Hanifin into turnovers on the forecheck, and Stankoven fed Blake for a one-timer from inside the right circle to make it 2-0.
- Blake led Carolina in postseason scoring with 20 points: seven goals and 13 assists.
- Hall finished one point behind him with seven goals and 12 assists.
- Stankoven paced the Hurricanes with 11 playoff goals and ranked fourth on the club with 16 points.
Blake said Carolina’s pressure game became a staple of its postseason run.
“We made a commitment to work on every shift,” Blake said. “We wanted to chase pucks and make life difficult for their defense. That is how Stankoven plays, and he made a great play to find me.”
Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb credited the Hurricanes’ structure after the loss.
“When they are playing their game and staying organized, they are difficult to beat,” McNabb said. “We saw that.”
Golden Knights push late, but Bussi closes the door
Vegas had its best chance to break through late in the third when Jack Eichel hammered a one-timer from low in the left circle off the crossbar during a power play. Bussi did not have his stick on the play.
The Golden Knights pulled Hart with three minutes remaining, but Bussi made three straight stops. His sequence included a save on Tomas Hertl from a rebound while the Carolina goalie was down in the crease.
“We had plenty of chances, but we did not finish them,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said.
Ehlers put away the empty-netter at 18:52 to complete the 3-0 final. Hart made 20 saves in defeat as Vegas dropped its third consecutive game to end the season.
Vegas coach John Tortorella said the difference was Carolina’s ability to convert in close games.
“Both teams had strong stretches, but they found a way and we didn’t,” Tortorella said. “The games were tight. They got it done tonight.”
Carolina defenseman K’Andre Miller summed up the final horn simply: “I do not know whether it feels like a dream or real life. It is unbelievable.”
Hall also joined a short list of No. 1 overall NHL Draft picks to score a Cup-winning goal. The first pick in 2010 follows Patrick Kane in 2010, Bobby Smith in 1986 and Guy Lafleur in 1976.
SEO Title: Carolina Hurricanes win Stanley Cup with Game 6 shutout over Vegas
SEO Description: Brandon Bussi’s 22-save shutout, Jackson Blake’s goal and Jordan Staal’s Conn Smythe Trophy lifted the Carolina Hurricanes past Vegas for the Stanley Cup.
