Gostisbehere's offensive talents on full display for Hurricanes in Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Through two games of the Stanley Cup Final, which has already seen both the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights trade heroic moments, Shayne Gostisbehere has been front and center.

The 33-year-old defenseman set up Seth Jarvis' power-play goal at 3:56 of overtime that gave Carolina a wild 4-3 win in Game 2 on Thursday, a victory that evened the best-of-7 series at 1-1. On the play, Gostisbehere skated the puck to the center point, faked as if he was going to shoot, and instead sent a no-look pass to Jarvis for a one-timer that beat Carter Hart blocker side from the left circle.

Gostisbehere’s role in that moment wasn’t lost on Andrei Svechnikov, who was positioned at the top of the crease.

"I think if he wouldn’t have faked like he did then 'Jarvy' wouldn’t score on that,” Svechnikov said. “‘Ghost’ is always making unbelievable passes, always trying to (hit) those places."

Gostisbehere's fake out in overtime might have been a direct result of his earlier assist, which came on Jordan Staal's power-play goal that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead at 15:25 of the third period. In that instance, Gostisbehere skated down from the blue line and sent a shot toward the net that was redirected under Hart's blocker by Staal.

In fact, it was because of that play that Gostisbehere told is teammates prior to the power play in overtime that they were going to be the first option.

“The way they kill penalties, we’re taking what they give us,” Gostisbehere said. "That’s shooting from the top three (in the offensive zone). I kind of knew after we scored the first power-play goal that they weren’t going to let me shoot, that they were going to tighten up. So, I told Jarvy and (Sebastian Aho): ‘Be ready. It’s got to be one of you two to shoot the puck here.’ Thankfully we had a good net-front presence. Jarvy did the rest.

"(In Game 1) I put it on on Jarvy’s front foot and made him miss the net, so I kind of owed him one there. So, I’m happy I put one in his wheelhouse and he finished it off.”

Now in his 11th full NHL season, Gostisbehere set a career high in points per game (.91), collecting 50 (13 goals, 37 assists) in 55 regular-season games. That included 18 (six goals, 12 assists) on the power play despite battling through a myriad of injuries.

That production has carried over into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he has nine points (three goals, six assists), including six (one goal, five assists) on the power play, in 15 games.

“If he played a whole year, it would be interesting to see if he had kept that pace up,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That’s pretty impressive.

“That’s his game. He’s an offensive-minded player, very gifted at it his whole pro life. You’re always asked, 'What do you do?' He can put up points. That’s something you’ve got to have.”

Gostisbehere showcased that offensive talent as well in Game 1 of the Final, when he scored short side from the left circle to tie it 4-4 at 11:19 of the third. But the high from that goal was negated shortly after when he lost his man, Vegas forward Tomas Hertl, on the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal at 16:36.

It was a defensive mistake that Gostisbehere quickly owned up to after the game.

“I took a breather for a second and it went right to their guy,” he said. “That’s how quickly it could happen.”

Still, being surrounded by capable offensive players makes Carolina the right fit for Gostisbehere. He had been acquired by the Hurricanes in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 1, 2023, but he signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings for the 2023-24 season.

However, after getting 56 points (10 goals, 46 assists) in 81 games with Detroit, he decided to return to Carolina by signing a three-year, $9.6 million contract ($3.2 million average annual value) on July 1, 2024.

“You feel wanted as a deadline acquisition,” Gostisbehere said. “And when you get a taste of that culture, you miss that in a sense. You don’t want to go chase something when it’s right there. I wanted to come back. I loved the guys and the community. Of course with Roddy being the coach, it made it a little easier to hitch my wagon to something and just keep going.”

It's a wagon that is now three wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.