Hurricanes must avoid distractions with chance to win Cup in Game 6

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Rod Brind'Amour has been in his position before.

Not as the coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, but as their captain.

The Hurricanes are one victory away from winning Stanley Cup with a chance to clinch their first championship in 20 years when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

In the aftermath of a 4-2 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 on Thursday that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series, Brind'Amour began preparing his players for what lies ahead by sharing some of his experiences from trying to close out the 2006 Cup Final.

"We talked about that already little bit," Brind'Amour said. "It's the hardest one, and we talk about this all the time. You have a team that you're playing that knows how to win and has done it, and we know they're not going away. You've got a little more distractions now. You're not only playing a team that gets it, now you've got the added distractions too. So, it's a little bit more difficult and we've got to manage that and still got to play your best game if you expect to have a chance to win. 

"And that's really the focus."

Carolina closed out each of its first three series this postseason on its first try, but it's a different challenge when players know the Stanley Cup will be in the house and they have a chance fulfill a lifelong dream. Friends and family members will be seeking tickets and need to make travel arrangements and there will be much talk about what could happen postgame.

"The distractions of a potential after the game can sometimes deflect away even the slightest bit from what you need to get done on the ice," 2006 Cup winner Justin Williams told NHL.com. "So, my advice to the players, and I know Rod's advice to the players, is going to be, 'Keep doing your same routine. Delegate whatever responsibilities for any after party, people coming in, tickets, all this stuff to somebody else.'

"Lean on everybody else but try to keep your same routine and not get ahead of anything that could potentially be there because it can get out of sight in a hurry."

The Hurricanes learned that in 2006 after taking a 3-1 lead on the Edmonton Oilers in the Cup Final. There was much anticipation before their 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5 at home and dejection after a 4-0 loss in Game 6 in Edmonton before they regrouped and prevailed 3-1 in the deciding Game 7 at home.

"There's parties planned and this and that and people coming in and everyone telling you how great it's going to be," said Williams, who works for the Hurricanes as a special adviser to general manager Eric Tulsky. "You see that and then you maybe get ahead of yourself a little bit, and we ended up losing in overtime (in Game 5). But Game 6 was just a complete (butt) whooping from start to finish. 

"Just for whatever reason, they totally dominated us. Our legs weren't there. We felt like there were six, seven guys on the ice at the time and we just got totally, totally dominated. Game 7 was there for a reset for us, fortunately."

Brind'Amour noted that having two days off before Game 6 gives the Hurricanes extra time to get ready for what's ahead. The players had Friday off, so there was opportunity to step away mentally and take care of the off-ice logistics with their families. Then, they'll practice Saturday morning before flying to Vegas for what will be the biggest game of most of their careers. 

Captain Jordan Staal (2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins) and forward William Carrier (2023 with Vegas) are the only Hurricanes players to previously win the Cup. 

"It's one of those good problems to have, but we're going to have to dial it in," Brind'Amour said. "I think that helps us having a little bit of a two-day break, so they can get some of that stuff out of the way today and then get back to business here tomorrow. We're a focused group, and we're not two steps ahead here. 

"We know we got to get this next step, and we'll be all dialed in, I think, come game time."

Williams understands as well as anyone how challenging that can be. When he won the Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 against the New Jersey Devils and 2014 against the New York Rangers, they had 3-0 leads in each of those series and didn't clinch either on their first try. They were pushed to Game 6 against the Devils and Game 5 by the Rangers.

"It's the anticipation of looking too far forward to maybe take your eye off the prize just enough for the other team to slip in and create a little bit of doubt," Williams said. "It's certainly not something that you think about, but I think subconsciously just back there maybe just takes away from the moment, living in the moment."

The Golden Knights will certainly have a say not wanting their Cup dreams to end on home ice. As Williams noted, "There's another team on the ice that gets paid to play as well, and they're pretty damn good." 

So, the Hurricanes will likely need play their best game of the series if they're going to end the night by skating around with the Stanley Cup.

"We've got two cracks at it now," Williams said. "But the players should lean on Roddy's experiences that he's been through.  That's what makes him what he is."