{"id":2138,"date":"2026-06-15T04:09:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T04:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2138"},"modified":"2026-06-15T04:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T04:09:46","slug":"carolina-hurricanes-silence-vegas-golden-knights-in-game-6-to-win-stanley-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2138","title":{"rendered":"Carolina Hurricanes silence Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to win Stanley Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LAS VEGAS \u2014 The Carolina Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years on Sunday night, using a suffocating defense in Game 6 to shut down the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 and win the last three games of a thrilling final filled with momentum swings and spectacular offense.<\/p>\n

Read more Raging Waters closes this summer as San Jose promises water park upgrades<\/a><\/p>\n

Goalie Brandon Bussi, who entered late into Game 3, helped turn around the series for Carolina, recording his first career playoff shutout in stopping 22 shots. Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist, and Taylor Hall scored just 3:47 into the game to set the tone. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-net goal.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes went through the four playoff rounds with a remarkable 16-3 record.<\/p>\n

Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to \u201cthe most valuable player to his team in the playoffs\u201d in a vote by a panel of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a feeling, what a battle,\u201d Staal said of winning the Cup for the second time in his career. \u201cThe boys were grinding today, my goodness. So many individual efforts just to keep the puck out of our net. It was an amazing ride. I\u2019m just so proud of these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights, who made an unlikely run just to reach the final, struggled badly to muster any kind of offense in Game 6 and went 18:37 between shots on goal in the second and third periods. Playing in their third Cup final in nine years as an organization, the Golden Knights were shut out for the first time.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s clinching game was what many observers expected from the defensive-minded teams, but each side watched leads of two or more goals disappear in the first three games.<\/p>\n

Now, the Cup belongs to the Hurricanes, led by coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour, who also captained Carolina to its 2006 title.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI won it as a player. I really wanted it,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said to ABC. \u201cBut I wanted it for these guys as a coach, because it just means so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy for these guys. This is what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Twenty years later. Just as iconic. pic.twitter.com\/iruvDa2bHh<\/p>\n

\u2014 Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) June 15, 2026<\/p>\n

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This was the first game of the series in which Vegas goalie Carter Hart didn\u2019t allow four goals in a game. He finished with 20 saves.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes began to assume control of the series after falling behind by the score of 4-0 in Game 3. They came back force overtime, and though the Canes lost, they outplayed the Golden Knights from there on out.<\/p>\n

Reflecting the do-or-die situation for the Golden Knights, they made several lineup changes, with Brett Howden replacing the injured William Karlsson at second-line center. Mitch Marner could have moved there, but remained at right wing.<\/p>\n

Original Golden Knight Reilly Smith made his Cup final debut at third-line right wing, and Braeden Bowman made his playoff debut at fourth-line right wing. Kaedan Korczak replaced Dylan Coghlan on the third defensive pairing.<\/p>\n

Read more SF Giants\u2019 Webb continues dominance vs. Cubs, goes eight innings for second straight start<\/a><\/p>\n

This title is a testament to Carolina\u2019s resilience as a franchise that kept coming close to winning the Eastern Conference but couldn\u2019t quite get over the hump until now.<\/p>\n

Brind\u2019Amour made sure the Hurricanes kept getting back up after losing in the conference final twice in the past three years and three times in their current eight-year playoff run. The talent was clearly there, but there was always a stumbling block.<\/p>\n

Not anymore.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0dispatching Montreal in five games\u00a0to make the final, the Brind\u2019Amour-led Hurricanes then faced perennial power Vegas and took care of business there, too. Now, he will get his name on the Cup for the second time.<\/p>\n

So will the 37-year-old Staal, who also won the title in 2009 with Pittsburgh. He planted himself in front of Hart and dared the Golden Knights to knock him out of the way. Staal scored in each of the first five Cup final games, the first time that has happened.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes got off to a fast start with a goal just 25 seconds into Game 1, only to lose 5-4 on a late goal from Tomas Hertl. And the Golden Knights were on the verge of taking complete control as minutes ticked down in Game 2 while holding a 2-0 lead and appearing as if they would take a two-game advantage back home.<\/p>\n

Then, it all changed. Carolina showed a fight that not only brought the Hurricanes back into the series by rallying\u00a0to win 4-3 in overtime on Seth Jarvis\u2019 one-timer, but would serve as their signature throughout the series.<\/p>\n

That was especially true the following game when the Golden Knights took a 4-0 lead into the third period and the Canes seemed to have no answers. Brind\u2019Amour even appeared to wave the white flag by removing\u00a0goalie Frederik Andersen\u00a0and replacing him with Bussi.<\/p>\n

But the Hurricanes weren\u2019t simply trying to get to Game 4. They sent a message, going on a remarkable rally to force overtime. Though Carolina lost, it was an inflection point, with Bussi backstopping a team that was only growing stronger. Carolina then went on to win the next two games and moved within a victory of the championship.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes got it done against the Golden Knights team that was on a heater after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season. Vegas then went from third in the Pacific Division to first, knocked off Utah and Anaheim in six games apiece in the playoffs, and shockingly swept Presidents\u2019 Trophy-winning Colorado to win the West.<\/p>\n

Now, the Golden Knights have some notable questions to ask, including at the top of the list whether to make Tortorella a full-time coach. He didn\u2019t have any guarantees of coaching in Vegas beyond this season, but getting to the Cup final is a good argument to run it back.<\/p>\n

Golden Knights management will make the final call on that, and they don\u2019t always follow league norms.<\/p>\n

Read more The best portable generators for camping<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carolina Hurricanes hold off Vegas Golden Knights to win Stanley Cup Final in six games<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nCarolina Hurricanes silence Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to win Stanley Cup - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carolina Hurricanes silence Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to win Stanley Cup - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Carolina Hurricanes hold off Vegas Golden Knights to win Stanley Cup Final in six games\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-15T04:09:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Carolina Hurricanes silence Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to win Stanley Cup\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T04:09:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138\"},\"wordCount\":1048,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/e382a92517be3ff42774b5619e07e991.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2138\",\"name\":\"Carolina Hurricanes silence Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to win Stanley Cup - 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