The Carolina Hurricanes captured the Stanley Cup on Sunday night with a 3-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.
This marks the franchise's second championship, exactly 20 years after their first title in 2006.
Historic Milestones
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour, who captained the 2006 team, became the fourth person in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup as both a captain and head coach for the same franchise.
Goaltender Brandon Bussi made 22 saves for his first career playoff shutout, replacing Frederik Andersen earlier in the series.
Taylor Hall opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the first period off a pass from Jaccob Slavin.
Jackson Blake doubled the lead in the second period, and Nikolaj Ehlers sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
The Hurricanes finished the postseason with only three losses in 19 games, tying the second-lowest defeat total in modern NHL history.
Carolina captain Jordan Staal received the Conn Smythe Trophy at age 37, becoming the oldest player to win the award after scoring six goals in the final series.
Frederik Andersen praised Bussi's performance, saying, "Bussi was good as he has been all year. I'm so happy for him."
Andersen won 13 of the team's 16 postseason victories before Bussi took over in game three of the final round.
Taylor Hall noted, "Credit goes to Rod, his coaching staff, and the players who have been here for several years.
They allowed me to come here and experience success. This is an incredible group and the players deserve it so much."
The title is Hall's first Stanley Cup victory.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin became the ninth player in hockey history to win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same calendar year.
Vegas head coach John Tortorella started goaltender Carter Hart despite earlier struggles, saying, "I know he's capable of better.
We've seen it throughout the series."
Hart stopped 20 shots as the Golden Knights failed to force a game seven, playing without injured forward William Karlsson.
Mitch Marner said of Karlsson, "He lives to play the kind of game we're going to play tomorrow.
We want to do our best for him."
Vegas struggled offensively, failing to record a shot on goal for 18 minutes and 37 seconds spanning the second and third periods.
The Hurricanes dominated special teams with a 37.5% power-play efficiency compared to 13.3% for Vegas.
Jérémy Lauzon observed, "The Hurricanes have won the special teams battle since the start of the final."
The championship concludes the 2025-2026 NHL season, with the Stanley Cup returning to Raleigh, North Carolina.
