Ice Hockey
Carolina Hurricanes Make First Stanley Cup Final In 20 Years
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For the first time in 20 years, the Carolina Hurricanes are heading to the Stanley Cup Final.
With a chance to clinch the series at home---and chants of “Freddie” raining down from the crowd---Carolina coasted to a decisive 6-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Taylor Hall opened the scoring for Carolina, while goaltender Frederik Andersen turned aside 23 shots as the Hurricanes improved to 12-1 in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the best start to a postseason in NHL history. Also contributing on the score sheet for the Hurricanes were Logan Stankoven, Eric Robinson, Jackson Blake, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Seth Jarvis.
Montreal’s lone goal was scored by Cole Caufield.
Many thought the long layoff between the second and third rounds had caught up to Carolina. The team lost Game 1 6-2 and looked like a slower group. Turns out, that was the anomaly, not the new normal.
The Hurricanes didn’t allow more than two goals in any of their four wins in the series while holding Montreal to just 16.75 shots per game. That type of shutdown play has become commonplace for this team. Through 13 games, they’ve held their opponents to two or fewer goals 12 times.
Anderson’s play in net has been record-setting. Over the course of Games 4 and 5, the 36-year-old netminder set the franchise record for longest shutout streak, which lasted 160:10 between goals. His 1.41 goals against average is also on pace for the best playoff in franchise history, and one of the best runs in NHL history.
On the flip side, Carolina has scored two or fewer in just three games so far this postseason, winning two of them. Hall now has 16 points in 13 games, Blake is up to 15 points, and Stankoven is third in the league in playoff goals with nine.
This trip to the Final has been a long time coming for the Hurricanes. Since winning Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2006, they’ve been to the Eastern Conference Finals five times, including three of the last four seasons, but couldn’t get over the hump. Now with the Prince of Wales Trophy-sized monkey off their back, coach Rod Brind'Amour’s squad can focus on what’s next: a date with the Vegas Golden Knights.
A team that’s no stranger to Stanley Cup Final berths over the years, Vegas is going for its second championship in four seasons. The Golden Knights are coming off a dominant series of their own, sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Colorado Avalanche, in the Western Conference Finals.
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
