Stephen Whyno · The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 14, 2026 10:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

The Carolina Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years on Sunday night, using a suffocating defence in Game 6 to shut down the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 and winning three straight games of a thrilling final filled with momentum swings and spectacular offence.

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

The Golden Knights, who made an unlikely run just to reach the final, struggled badly to muster any kind of offence in Game 6 and went 18:37 between shots on goal in the second and third periods. Playing in their third Cup final, this is the first time they have been shut out.

This clinching game was what many observers expected the series to be like between the defensive-minded teams, but each side watched leads of two-plus goals disappear in the first three games.

Now, the Cup belongs to the Hurricanes, led by coach Rod Brind'Amour, who also captained Carolina to its 2006 title.

This was the first game of the series that Vegas goalie Carter Hart didn't allow four goals in a game. He finished with 20 saves.

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

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 centre. Mitch Marner could have moved there, but remained at right wing.

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 Dyland Coghlan on the third defensive pairing.

Rod Brind'Amour knows a thing or two about how Jordan Staal is feeling. Now the Carolina Hurricanes' coach, Brind'Amour was their captain when they won the Stanley Cup two decades ago, and now Staal wears the "C."

Staal named Conn Smyth Trophy winner

Before the final against Vegas started, Brind'Amour was clear about one thing.

"We're not here today without Jordan Staal," he said. "I can promise you that. We're very lucky. And as a coach, you're super fortunate to have a guy like that be your leader."

Staal led the Hurricanes to the second championship in franchise history by being the two-way shutdown centre and faceoff ace he has been his entire NHL career. By elevating his game and leading them in goals with six in the final against the Golden Knights in addition to all those things, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

At 37, Staal is the oldest player to win the honour.

"He's always really good, but yeah, he's stepped it up at such a pivotal time," teammate Seth Jarvis said. "It's incredible to watch, and it's so much fun playing with him and being around him."

Staal is the longest-tenured player in the organization. He joined in 2012 in a trade from Pittsburgh on his wedding day, and after winning the Cup with the Penguins in '09, his first half-dozen years with the Hurricanes passed without a postseason appearance.

"I don't want to say that the losing that he had to do for four, five years when he got here might have fueled him even more, but I think it did," fellow veteran Jordan Martinook said. "The fact that he's seen some pretty dark days here and then to be on the other side of it ... he stuck through it the whole time."

The past seven seasons, Staal and the Hurricanes made the playoffs but failed to reach the final. He became captain in the middle of that stretch in 2020, taking on a role once filled by Brind'Amour from 2005-10 and older brother Eric from 2010-16.

Staal took on the weight of those premature exits.

"Each scar, each moment just drives a hunger even deeper into you," Staal said. "Being a part of this core and all the scars that we've gone through just brings that care factor for each other that we want it for each other that much more."

Staal has never gotten the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward, but he has been a finalist and this run shows why. He won more than 56% of his faceoffs and is so valuable on draws that he begins power plays just to get the Hurricanes the puck.

Told of Brind'Amour's comment that the team would not have gotten this far without him, Staal praised his coach and downplayed changing anything in his game. The two shared a long hug on the ice in the moments after the Game 6 win.

"I'm just being me," Staal said. "I'm not really anyone different. But just my day-to-day presence is showing up and working. That's all I've done since I got here in Carolina, and being consistent with that must have been enough."

The offensive outburst against Vegas put Staal over the top for the Conn Smythe after it looked like Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall were Carolina's front-runners. He never scored 30 goals in a season, but his six in the final put him in the record books with the likes of Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy.

"I'm not really surprised," Brind'Amour said. "You take the goals away, it'd be the same impact. It's just added that extra element."