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The Carolina Hurricanes hit the jackpot in Las Vegas.
For the first time in two decades, the Canes are bringing the Stanley Cup to Raleigh after beating the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-0, in Game 6 Sunday night.
It took the Hurricanes just over three minutes to drown out the raucous Vegas crowd, as former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall found the back of the net to take an early lead.
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Jackson Blake of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with teammates Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, Sean Walker and K’andre Miller after scoring a goal as Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights looks on during the second period in Game 6 of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 14, 2026. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
The offense was slow for a while, but with just under seven minutes left in the second, it was Jackson Blake who gave the Canes a 2-0 lead. Vegas did itself little favors in the second period, recording just three shots on goal.
This series was no stranger to blown leads, but those were on the Golden Knights side. This Carolina team didn’t give up and proved it by killing off a key Vegas power play midway through the third.
Vegas pulled Carter Hart with about three minutes remaining, officially going into desperation mode, but nothing worked and Nikolaj Ehlers scored into an empty net to start the party. Rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi continued to hold his own and preserved the shutout.
One of those blown leads was a 4-0 lead in Game 3 that Vegas absolved with a double-overtime goal. The other, however, might just be the difference in this series.
Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate a goal during the second period of Game 6 of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 14, 2026. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Bussi, who played in less than half of the Canes’ regular-season games, didn’t see the ice at all in the playoffs until he took Frederik Andersen’s place in Game 3. In the biggest match of his life, he stepped up.
In Game 2, the Golden Knights led 2-0 with 10 minutes left in the third period, but Carolina scored three goals to take the lead. Vegas tied it up to force overtime, but the extra period didn’t go its way.
Rod Brind-Amour became the 14th person to win a Stanley Cup as both a player and head coach (not counting player-coaches), and the first to do so since Larry Robinson in 2000 with the New Jersey Devils.
He is also only the seventh person to win the Cup while coaching the team he won it with as a player. No one had done this since Toe Blake did it with the Montreal Canadiens 70 years ago.
Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate a goal during the second period of Game 6 of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 14, 2026. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
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It’s a much-anticipated breakthrough for the Hurricanes, who made the playoffs for the eighth straight season after missing each of the previous nine. During that span, they lost three conference finals and three semifinals, despite consistently being a common pick to win it all.
This time, however, they finally fought for Lord’s Stanley and did everything they could to snatch it.
