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For the first time in 20 years, the Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions. With a 3-0 win in Game 6, the Hurricanes eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights and secured their place in hockey history.
With the Stanley Cup on the line, Carolina’s best line of the playoffs came through one more time. Taylor Hall kicked off the scoring just 3:47 into the game when he beat Carter Hart on a breakaway attempt for his seventh goal of the playoffs.
Assisting on that goal was Jackson Blake, who matched Hall with his seventh tally of the playoffs in the second period. Logan Stankoven logged his fifth assist of the playoffs on that play, and that trio finished the postseason with a combined 54 points.
As good as Carolina’s second line was, goaltender Brandon Bussi was the story of this game. In his fourth playoff appearance — and just his third start — Bussi became the third first-year goalie in NHL history to post a shutout in a Cup-clinching game. That last netminder to do that was Earl Robertson of the Detroit Red Wings way back in 1937.
Bussi stopped all 22 shots that Vegas threw at him, and a handful of them were show-stoppers. In his 43rd NHL appearance, Bussi cemented his place in history.
In the wake of becoming a hockey folk hero, Bussi credited fellow goaltender Frederik Andersen, who backstopped Carolina to the Final before getting pulled in Game 3.
“I love him,” Bussi told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. “He’s the reason why we’re here. He’s a workhorse. I only got three-and-a-half games. He honestly deserves more of the credit. I’m pumped for him. He deserves this. He’s worked for this and grinded for a long time.”
Another unlikely hero in this series, Jordan Staal, made some history as the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at the age of 37 years and 277 days. Staal recorded a goal in each of the first five Final games, and he finished the series with six total. On top of that, Staal was a pest defensively and won 69.0% of his face-offs.
Seventeen years after winning his first Stanley Cup as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Staal finally got his hands on that iconic trophy for the second time.
After a back-and-forth madness earlier in the series, the Hurricanes were in full control for much of the final two games. That was especially the case in Game 6. Between the second and third periods, the Golden Knights went nearly 19 straight minutes without a shot on goal as Jaccob Slavin and the Carolina defense frustrated Jack Eichel, Micth Marner and every other offensive weapon on the Vegas roster.
This win also marks some history for Rod Brind’Amour, who becomes the fourth coach in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup as a coach after winning it with that same team as a captain.