For years, I was haunted by one graphic that used to appear on my television every time the Carolina Hurricanes played a game on an ESPN channel. No matter the opponent, they were always good for showing the teams in the league with the best points percentages since 2018-19 and the number of Stanley Cup Final appearances they had. It drove me insane whenever I saw it.
Part of it was my refusal to acknowledge the truth. Since breaking into the playoffs that year, the Canes trail only the Colorado Avalanche in points percentage. However, Carolina was the only team in the Top 5, which includes Tampa Bay, Boston, and Dallas, without a Cup Final appearance. Adding to it, Colorado and Tampa Bay made it to the top. This year, the Canes forced ESPN to find new material.
As I mentioned on Sunday, I had a tough time deciding which Stanley Cup Final I wanted in this top spot. The 2006 Stanley Cup victory holds a special place in my heart. However, there was something about this series that felt different once it ended. Maybe recency bias plays a tiny part, but I think there's more to it than that. Here are five reasons why this year's Cup Final is the pinnacle.
#1: It was a true heavyweight clash for the Stanley Cup
The Canes completed one of the most successful runs to the final round in history, losing just once after back-to-back sweeps of the Senators and the Flyers and a five-game series victory over the Canadiens. At 12-1, they were rolling at the right time. They were finally representing the East for the first time in 20 years, and the Caniacs were ready to watch June hockey again.
Meeting them in Raleigh for Game 1 was the Vegas Golden Knights, one of the league's newest franchises, but one of its most formidable and polarizing. They made waves when they fired Bruce Cassidy with eight games left and replaced him with John Tortorella, but it worked beautifully. Vegas went 7-0-1 to finish the season, winning a seemingly weak Pacific Division by two points.
When the playoffs began, Vegas faced stiff competition from Utah in the first round. They nearly fell behind 3-1 until a comeback in Game 4 turned the momentum. They won the series in six games, beat the Ducks in six games in the second round, and swept an ailing Colorado Avalanche squad in the Western Conference Finals, reaching the Cup Final for the third time in their nine-year history.
Mitch Marner had proven to be a force in the playoffs in his first season with Vegas, leading the league in scoring through three rounds with 21 points. Jack Eichel was close behind with 18, while Taylor Hall sat third with 16. Still, when this series was finalized, some were concerned it would be boring and declared that they wouldn't watch. They were quickly proven wrong.
#2: The first two games saw big comebacks completed on both sides
The Hurricanes wasted little time getting to it in Game 1. With the home crowd settling in, Nikolaj Ehlers scored 25 seconds into the game, the third-fastest goal to open Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final ever. He added to it with under eight minutes left in the frame, doubling the Canes' lead. However, Vegas generated a late push before the break.
Shea Theodore's shot hit a body in front of the net to get the Golden Knights on the board 80 seconds after Ehlers' second goal. This momentum carried into the second period. Ivan Barbashev scored 30 seconds in to tie it, and William Karlsson added another 4:05 later to give Vegas its first lead. Jordan Staal capitalized on a turnover late in the period, knotting the game at three after two.
For the third period in a row, someone scored early. This time, Brett Howden won a race to the side of the net to restore Vegas' lead. Shayne Gostisbehere tied it once more with 8:41 left after the puck bounced to him off the draw. However, he lost Tomas Hertl in the defensive zone late in the game, allowing Vegas to take a 5-4 lead, which they held onto to win Game 1 on the road.
Vegas stymied the Hurricanes for most of Game 2. Howden scored in the first and second periods, giving the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead after 40. It wasn't until Logan Stankoven earned a bounce more than halfway through the third to break the shutout that the Canes got rolling. When Mark Jankowski scored 2:26 later to tie it, the Canes were in business, and the chaos was only starting.
One of the most critical moments of the series came with 5:00 left in regulation. Frederik Andersen denied Barbashev's wrap-around and looked like he'd covered the puck, but it trickled over the line. The referees waved it off, but Vegas challenged that it was a good goal. They lost the challenge, sending the Canes to the power play, where Staal redirected a shot past Carter Hart to take the lead.
Having completed the comeback, the Canes needed to hold on. Unfortunately, Mark Stone scored with 1:21 left to force overtime. Staal drew a tripping penalty, and Game 1's hero turned into Game 2's goat as Hertl sat in the box. It took 39 seconds for Seth Jarvis to wire a one-timer into the net, tying the series at one as the teams made the trip to Vegas.
#3: Game 3 is the most exciting and flukiest loss in franchise history
If you thought the first two games of the series were incredible, Game 3 took things to a different level, though it really looked bleak for the Canes for a while. The second period was nothing short of disastrous for Carolina. They had two goals wiped out by successful challenges, but Vegas still managed to score four times, including a natural hat trick in just over six minutes by Marner.
There wasn't a ton that Andersen could've done, but Rod Brind'Amour made the decision to switch things up in the net, allowing Brandon Bussi to make his first postseason appearance nearly two months after his last game. He was immediately thrown into the fire. Just over four minutes into the period, he was forced to face Marner on a penalty shot, and Bussi stood tall.
With Bussi keeping the game at 4-0, the trek down the comeback trail began. Jordan Martinook started it by sliding a shot between Hart's pads. Then, Sebastian Aho made an incredible backhand pass to Taylor Hall to cut the deficit to two. Staal got the next one, redirecting Jaccob Slavin's shot. This sequence took 39 seconds, becoming the quickest three-goal segment in Cup Final history.
There was still one goal left to get, and the Canes got it. With Bussi on the bench, a scramble in the crease ended with Andrei Svechnikov poking the puck home. Vegas contemplated challenging it, but Nic Dowd plowed Ehlers into the net, forcing Hart into a spot where he couldn't stop the puck. Without a challenge, the teams set course for another overtime contest.
While the journey to get to overtime was incredible, the story didn't end on a good note. Neither team scored in overtime, giving us double overtime. Early in the fifth period, Theodore's shot banked off the end boards, hit Bussi's skate, and went into the net, giving Vegas the 5-4 win and preventing one of the worst collapses ever. It was a sour feeling for the Canes, but their time was coming.
#4: With a new man in the net, the Canes found their footing
Much of the discourse heading into Game 4 surrounded who the Hurricanes should put in the net. Andersen had gotten them to this point, though he'd had a rough start to the series. Bussi was excellent in relief in Game 3, so it made plenty of sense to ride with him for a bit. The Canes sent Bussi out for his first postseason start, though we'd learn that the decision was pretty easy.
Game 4 was another pivotal game. The Canes couldn't afford to fall behind 3-1. Fortunately, they'd shown themselves to be a resilient bunch, especially after losses. They hadn't lost back-to-back games since January. Their start to Game 4 was much better. Stankoven and Jackson Blake scored early, and while Mark Stone got one back, Staal restored the two-goal lead on a late power play.
Vegas scored twice in the second to tie the game at three after 40 minutes. In the third, the captain continued his torrid series. A bad turnover allowed Jarvis a chance alone with Hart, but he was stopped. He kept battling for the puck, though, and it popped free. Ehlers got it to Staal, who scored as he fell to reinstate the Canes' lead. Ehlers added the empty-netter, tying the series once again.
At home with a best-of-three series for the Stanley Cup, the Canes suffered from another slower start. Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the power play to get Vegas on the board, but Carolina didn't wait too much longer to get rolling. Staal scored his sixth goal in five games with a nice redirection as he buzzed the crease, tying the contest and getting his team going.
Game 5 wasn't a high-event game, which plays into the Canes' strengths well. Still, they needed to break the tie. On the power play with about eight minutes left in the second, Svechnikov snapped a shot through Hart's five-hole from the dot, giving Carolina the lead. Late in the period, Sebastian Aho inserted himself into the series by taking Sean Walker's pass skate-to-stick and elevating it over Hart.
Up by two in the third and on the power play again, a beautifully executed sequence extended the lead. Gostisbehere faked out the Vegas penalty kill to enter the zone, Ehlers made a gorgeous spinning pass, and Svechnikov finished it at the side of the net. Dorofeyev scored another to make it appear close, but the Canes marched ahead in the series, putting them one win away from glory.
#5: Carolina finished the job in a way befitting of their team identity
The first four games of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final were about as exciting as you'll see, and even Game 5 had its moments. Game 6 was easily the most boring of the set, and you know that the Canes love the sound of that. The Stanley Cup was in the building. It was just a matter of whether Lord Stanley would make an appearance or be back on the plane to Raleigh for Game 7.
Bussi had done everything the Canes asked of him in the last two games. He'd been a winning machine all season, and his first two starts had ended in victory as well. You knew Bussi would be ready for Game 6 in Las Vegas. His team immediately showed that they were ready, too. Slavin sprung Hall for a breakaway, and the former #1 pick buried it 3:47 into the contest to open the scoring.
The Canes withstood a push at the end of the first, including Bussi making a sprawling blocker stop on Dorofeyev in the final seconds. Still, their lead remained intact. Late in the second, their best line throughout the playoffs added some insurance. Stankoven's bulldog mentality allowed him to create a chance for Blake in the slot. His shot hit Marner's stick and redirected in, doubling the Canes' lead.
Doing his best work in the third, Bussi stood on his head. He got a little help from the iron when Eichel hit the crossbar on a 2-on-0, and he stopped Hertl from his behind to keep his shutout in place. With 1:08 left, Ehlers made the dream a reality. He put it into the empty net, and it was only a matter of time now. With a total team effort in Game 6, the Canes shut out Vegas, 3-0, and captured the Stanley Cup.
The release of emotions that was felt when the horn sounded and the Hurricanes rushed onto the ice could be felt worldwide. This was 20 years of frustration and doubt being thrown out the window. They had finally silenced those who doubted whether their system could work, even if others had done so in the past. They were finally world champions again, and it'd never felt sweeter.
Jordan Staal claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy, using his series-high six goals in the Stanley Cup Final to bolster his chances in a runaway victory and becoming the oldest player to win the award. His seven points were second only to Nikolaj Ehlers' nine on the team. Brandon Bussi finished with a 1.60 GAA in four appearances, picking the perfect time to record his first postseason shutout.
Game 7 in 2006 will always be on a pedestal in my heart as the greatest sports moment I've ever witnessed in person. However, I've never appreciated a victory as much as I did Game 6. I was a newer fan in 2006. By 2026, I was 20 years in. I'd lived through almost every moment, good and bad, like so many others. Watching this team pass the Cup around and celebrate was on a different level.
As we bring this month-long series to an end, I want to express my gratitude to those who stuck through it with me. I know that there isn't a ton to talk about at this point in the offseason, though hockey is right around the corner. Still, this is something I'd wanted to do for a while. Sometimes, you need to do things that make you happy, and this was the perfect note to end on. Now, we look ahead.
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