06/14/26 05:01:00
Printable Page
06/14 05:00 CDT Rod Brind'Amour's Hurricanes 60 minutes from a Cup, with Vegas
still daring a Game 7
Rod Brind'Amour's Hurricanes 60 minutes from a Cup, with Vegas still daring a
Game 7
By MARK ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
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.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
