Hurricanes focused with chance to win Stanley Cup in Game 6

MORRISVILLE, N.C. -- Rod Brind'Amour's final message to the Carolina Hurricanes at the end of practice Saturday succinctly encapsulated their approach before they headed to Las Vegas for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

"Go 1-0 tomorrow," the Hurricanes coach said. "Go 1-0 tomorrow."

Leading 3-2 in the best-of-7 series after winning the past two games, the Hurricanes know they'll have a chance to win the Stanley Cup on Sunday for the first time since capturing their first championship in 2006, when Brind'Amour was their captain. But if they can maintain their focus and block out the distractions that come with what would happen if they do win, it really does boil down to that.

Win a road game and everything that would come with that win will take care of itself.  

"That's all you can do," Brind'Amour said. "We understand every game we've played has been intensely hard, and this isn't any different. There's nothing really more we can do about it. We've just got to make sure we give our best, and that gives you a chance, and that's what we want to have."

That might be easier said than done in this situation. Many of Carolina's players have imagined since they were children what it would be like to play a game in which they have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Center Jordan Staal, who won it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, and left wing William Carrier, who won with the Golden Knights in 2023, are the only Hurricanes players to previously be in this position.

For the rest of them, though, this is as close as they've come to fulfilling a dream. So, it will be difficult not to think about that when they close their eyes to try to go to sleep Saturday.

"I think you've ran that over in your head 10,000 times before this," forward Jordan Martinook said. "I think years prior, you think you have a team that you can do it, and you always think about, 'What if? What if?' And now it's, obviously, really close and I'm just trying to remember all those times that I ran it in my head and then focus on the game. 

"We're going to put everything we have into it to try and close it out and win, and then we'll worry about what comes after, after."

The Hurricanes closed out each of their first three series this postseason on their first attempt, including on the road against the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference First Round and against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round. They know this game will be different, though, with the potential for the Stanley Cup to be awarded, and an opponent not wanting to watch that happen on its home ice.

"They're an unbelievable team over there, a lot of great players, high skill," forward Jackson Blake said. "This is going to be the hardest one in my opinion, for sure, just because it means so much more. This is what you dream of. This is what you play for. 

"I know a lot of guys over there have won it before, so they've been in this position before and stuff like that. So, it's going to be tough, but we're up for it."

After going 12-1 through the first three rounds, Carolina has faced its biggest challenge against Vegas in a topsy-turvy series in which each of the first four games featured a team erasing a multigoal deficit. The Hurricanes feel like they've raised their level with each game, though.

"I think we've gotten better and better, and that's what you want to do," forward Seth Jarvis said. "You want to improve each game, and I think we've done a good job doing that."

Carolina played its best game of the series in Game 5, a 4-2 victory on Thursday. After getting off to an uncharacteristically slow start, despite controlling play in the first periods of the first four games, the Hurricanes took over in second and third periods and didn't allow the Golden Knights to come back.

"I think as a series gets on in any series you kind of learn what the other team does, so you can kind of adjust your game a little bit to help you be successful in those things in the game," Blake said. "I think we've grown just because we've gotten to know a little bit what they do, and I think you know we can continue that." 

Carolina will try to concentrate on doing that in Game 6. Brind'Amour wants his players to approach it like they normally would any other game, if that's possible. 

"Well, it's obviously not normal in a traditional sense, but what that means is just you've got to go about your business," he said. "Now there's added distractions and all that added stuff on top of it, but we've got to focus in on the normalcy of the game and what that means and how you go about playing it."

Having been in this position in 2006 as a player, Brind'Amour understands that won't be easy. The Hurricanes missed on their first two chances to close out the Edmonton Oilers in that Cup Final before rebounding to win 3-1 in Game 7.

Is there anything from Brind'Amour's experience then that he plans to share with his team before the game Sunday? 

"I don't really remember much (from) 20 years ago, other than it's an exciting time and that's what it is now, and, obviously, you want to take advantage of it," he said. "So, we've got to put our best foot forward. That's really the message."