The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
NHL.com verified the core details of the clincher: Carolina closed the series on Sunday, June 14, with Brandon Bussi stopping 22 shots, Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Nikolaj Ehlers scoring, and Jordan Staal winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Hurricanes Finish Series In Six
The result gave Carolina its second Stanley Cup and ended a 20-year gap between championships. The Hurricanes won the Final after dropping the opener, then taking four of the next five games against Vegas.
Game 6 tilted early. Hall scored at 3:47 of the first period, and Blake made it 2-0 at 13:31 of the second with a one-timer from Logan Stankoven. Ehlers added the empty-net goal at 18:52 of the third period.
Bussi's shutout was the ninth in a Stanley Cup-clinching game in the past 50 years, according to NHL.com, and the first since Andrei Vasilevskiy did it in 2021. Vegas goalie Carter Hart made 20 saves in the loss.
Staal Adds Conn Smythe To Second Cup
Staal's postseason finished with eight goals and 12 points in 19 games. NHL.com credited him with six goals in the Final and noted that he tied the league record by scoring in five consecutive games in the championship series.
The award also added an uncommon career marker. Staal, 37, became the oldest Conn Smythe winner and the first player to go at least 17 years between Stanley Cup championships. He previously won the Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
The Hurricanes got production from younger pieces as well. Blake finished the playoffs with a team-high 20 points, while Stankoven led Carolina with 11 goals and had 16 points. Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, scored the Cup-clinching goal.
Brind'Amour Completes The Carolina Loop
Rod Brind'Amour captained Carolina's 2006 championship team and has coached the Hurricanes since the 2018-19 season. NHL.com listed him as the seventh person to win the Stanley Cup with the same franchise as both player and coach, and the fourth to do it as captain and coach.
The Hurricanes went 16-3 in the postseason, the fewest games needed to win the Cup since the 1988 Edmonton Oilers went 16-2. Carolina also outscored Vegas 12-5 over the final three games of the Final.
The verified news line is straightforward: Carolina closed the 2026 Stanley Cup Final in Las Vegas, Bussi delivered the shutout, and Staal's Conn Smythe run gave the Hurricanes their first title in two decades.