In the end, it was a rookie and the oldest player on the team that led the Carolina Hurricanes to their second Stanley Cup championship. The Hurricanes defeated the Golden Knights 3–0 to take the series 4–2.
Carolina Coach, Rod Brind’Amour’s decision to pull Freddy Anderson in Game 3 for rookie Brandon Bussi proved to be a pivotal moment. The Hurricanes lost that game, but Bussi never surrendered the crease, backstopping his team to three straight wins in Games 4 through 6. His clutch play was a major contributor leading to a victory lap with the greatest trophy in sports.
Jordan Staal, who had six goals in the final series, was awarded the Conn Smythe as the MVP of the playoffs. At 37 years, 277 days, Staal becomes the oldest winner of the award in NHL history.
It was another veteran that got things started for the Hurricanes. Taylor Hall snuck behind the Vegas defence and beat Carter Hart with a quick wrist shot from the faceoff dot to make it 1–0 at 3:47 into the game.
Jackson Blake extended the Carolina lead to two when he ripped a one-timer over Hart from the slot at 13:31 of the second period.
Nikolaj Ehlers, who had an outstanding playoff and finals, put the icing on the cake, snapping one into the empty net at 18:52 of the third to make the final 3-0.
With Carolina’s win Sunday night, the Eastern conference has now claimed 7 out of the last 10 Stanley Cup championships.
