Rod Brind'Amour’s Hurricanes 60 minutes from a Cup, with Vegas still daring a Game 7

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Carolina Hurricanes players celebrate after a goal by Andrei Svechnikov during the second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Vegas Golden Knights' Brayden McNabb (3) and Carolina Hurricanes' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) battle for the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown) — Carolina Hurricanes players celebrate after a goal by Andrei Svechnikov during the second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

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10:16 PM on Saturday, June 13

By MARK ANDERSON

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The narrative for the Hurricanes entering the playoffs was whether they would finally break through and win the Eastern Conference after coming so close in recent years.

Now the question is whether Carolina will close the deal and win the Stanley Cup.

That answer could come Sunday night when the Hurricanes take a 3-2 series lead into their game at Vegas, facing a Golden Knights team that held the Cup aloft just three years ago.

Should the Hurricanes prevail, it will be their second Cup and first since winning it all 20 years ago when current coach Rod Brind'Amour captained that club.

He has kept the Hurricanes competitive, but as well as they played in the regular season, they couldn't get out of the East. They lost in the conference final two of the past three years before finally breaking through this year with a five-game series victory over Montreal.

Now Carolina is 60 minutes from potentially winning it all, but the Hurricanes do have some margin for error. They can lose and still win the Cup on home ice Wednesday in a winner-take-all Game 7.

Vegas coach John Tortorella boldly pronounced after Thursday's 4-2 loss in Game 5 that he was leaving his clothes at his North Carolina team hotel in anticipation of a return trip.

It might not have been Mark Messier's guarantee before the Rangers defeated the Devils in the 1994 Eastern final, but should the Golden Knights win the title, Torts' declaration will be up there in Las Vegas lore with team owner Bill Foley's “Cup in six” pledge that came to fruition in 2023.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl