The Carolina Hurricanes have overcome the Vegas Golden Knights four games to two to capture their second Stanley Cup in franchise history and first Stanley Cup in twenty years. This was an all-time great Stanley Cup Final for several reasons. Before diving further into my takes and analysis, here is a brief recap of each game to explain how we got here:
Game 1: Golden Knights defeat the Hurricanes 5-4. Carolina began the Cup Final with two quick goals from Nikolaj Ehlers. Vegas responded with three unanswered goals from Shea Theodore, Ivan Barbashev, and William Karlsson to gain their first lead of the night early in the second period. Jordan Staal tied the game for the Hurricanes before the end of the middle frame, while Vegas and Carolina traded goals in the third period. The final frame began with Brett Howden scoring to break the tie for the Knights early in the third, followed by Shayne Gostisbehere evening the contest at four later in the period and Tomas Hertl scoring the game-winner with a few minutes remaining. Carter Hart recorded 25 saves on 29 shots against for Vegas, while Frederik Andersen recorded 18 saves on 23 shots against for Carolina.
Game 2: Hurricanes defeat the Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime. Brett Howden scored both goals in the first two periods. However, the Hurricanes stormed back in the second half of the third period on three consecutive goals from Logan Stankoven, Mark Jankowski, and Jordan Staal to gain their first lead of the night. The last of these three was generated largely in part due to a Carolina power play resulting from a failed challenge by the Golden Knights. With about one and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Mark Stone scored tie the game at three and force overtime, while Seth Jarvis scored almost four minutes into the bonus period to win Game 2 for the Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen recorded 23 saves on 26 shots against for the Hurricanes, while Carter Hart recorded 22 saves on 26 shots against for the Golden Knights.
Game 3: Golden Knights defeat the Hurricanes 5-4 in double overtime. Vegas had two goals early in the second period disallowed due to offside and goalie interference, but rebounded big time with four goals later in the second period courtesy of a goal from Tomas Hertl and a hat trick from Mitch Marner. When it seemed as if the second period made this contest out of reach for Carolina, the Hurricanes roared back early in the third period with three goals in 39 seconds from Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal. With under two minutes to go in regulation, Andrei Svechnikov scored to tie the game at four and force overtime for a second straight game. However, Vegas got the last laugh in the second OT period and earned the decision on a shot by Shea Theodore that went off the backboard, off of the back of Brandon Bussi, and into the net. Carter Hart recorded 29 saves on 33 shots against for the Golden Knights, Frederik Andersen made 12 saves on 16 shots against for the Hurricanes, and Brandon Bussi compiled 18 saves on 19 shots against in relief for Andersen.
Game 4: Hurricanes defeat the Golden Knights 5-3. Logan Stankoven opened the scoring for the Canes just over a minute into this contest, while Jackson Blake extended Carolina's lead to two a few minutes after. Mark Stone scored to get the Knights on the board and within one a bit later, followed by Jordan Staal's first goal of the game to make it 3-1 Canes through one period of play. Vegas came back in the second period with two goals in the second period from William Karlsson and Brett Howden, only for Carolina to add two more from Jordan Staal and Nikolaj Ehlers to put this one away for good. Brandon Bussi earned his first win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 18 saves on 21 shots against, while Carter Hart compiled 23 saves on 27 shots against on the losing end for the Golden Knights.
Game 5: Hurricanes defeat the Golden Knights 4-2. Pavel Dorofeyev scored the Golden Knights’ only two goals in Game 5, while the Hurricanes scored four consecutive goals via Jordan Staal late in the first period, Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho in the second period, and Svechnikov again in the third period. Brandon Bussi earned his second straight Stanley Cup Playoff victory with 23 saves on 25 shots against, while Carter Hart recorded 20 saves on 24 shots against on the losing end for the Golden Knights.
Game 6: Hurricanes shut out the Golden Knights 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup. Carolina finished the job on goals from Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Nikolaj Ehlers, along with 22 saves from Brandon Bussi.
Jordan Staal was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. He earned this honor primarily due to elevating his game during the Final and scoring goals in every game on the biggest stage except for the Cup-clinching game. During this latest playoff run, the Hurricanes have been dominant, going 16-3 on their way to their second Stanley Cup. This latest Cup run was a complete team effort from Carolina, as their depth scoring and goaltending stepped up when they needed to most compared to previous seasons and playoff runs. Besides the top star players in Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Seth Jarvis, the Hurricanes' biggest contributors on offense included Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, and Nikolaj Ehlers. In addition, Frederik Andersen was absolutely outstanding in net for the Hurricanes until he got shelled in Game 3 of the Cup Final against Vegas. After that game, Coach Rod Brind'Amour turned to Brandon Bussi in net, and Bussi came up huge for the Canes in the remainder of this Cup Final. In addition, this Cup Final featured plenty of scoring in bunches and crazy comebacks, which certainly added to its excitement factor.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this year’s Stanley Cup Final. In my eyes, among all NHL teams, the Hurricanes are an easier team to root for. On the other hand, the Golden Knights are one of my absolute least favorite teams in all of sports, so it was genuinely wonderful to see them on the losing end here. Lastly, now that the NHL is fully in offseason mode, I am looking forward to the Sharks’ upcoming roster improvements before next season, the NHL Draft in just over a week, and Team Teal eventually reaching the promise land like where the Hurricanes are at right now.
Sources: ESPN/ABC, NHL App
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