Top 10 moments of Stanley Cup Final included Staal's heroics, Brind'Amour's toss

LAS VEGAS -- The Carolina Hurricanes will forever cherish these 13 days in June.

From the opening face-off of Game 1 on June 2 to the last second ticking off the clock followed by sticks and gloves and helmets flying everywhere Sunday, the Hurricanes made memories and history in a Stanley Cup Final never to be forgotten.

Carolina won its second Stanley Cup championship and first since 2006 by defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in the best-of-7 series, winning the last three games by a combined 12-5, including 3-0 in Game 6.

Here are the top 10 moments of the Stanley Cup Final, including a bonus at the end:

Hertl's game-winner, Pavelski appreciation

Game 1 alone is one of the best moments of the Cup Final. The Hurricanes led 2-0 until the Golden Knights stormed back to take a 3-2 lead. It went to 3-3, then 4-3 Vegas, then 4-4, and finally Tomas Hertl's goal at 16:36 of the third period was enough to give the Golden Knights a 5-4 win.

But maybe the best moment of the night came not long after he scored. Hertl was in the postgame press conference, where he was asked multiple times about the 29-game goal drought he had until finally scoring in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Anaheim Ducks on May 10.

Hertl brought up an unexpected phone call he received from his former San Jose Sharks teammate Joe Pavelski on May 9. Hertl said he and Pavelski talked for about 30 minutes and it helped him. He scored the next night to break the drought and continued to score after.

Pavelski, reached by NHL.com the morning after Game 1, deflected credit back to Hertl, his teammate from 2013-19, but it's clear the phone call and communication they had through text messages after made a huge difference.

It was a touching moment that showcased the bond teammates in this league can have years after playing together, and what one phone call can do for a player who just needs a pick-me-up.

Jarvis in OT, Maniscalco and Tracy

Game 2 was just as bonkers as Game 1, only this time it was the Golden Knights going ahead 2-0, Carolina coming back to take a 3-2 lead, Vegas tying it late in the third (Mark Stone at 18:39), and finally Seth Jarvis scoring on the power play at 3:56 of overtime to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead, evening the series 1-1.

The game also featured John Tortorella's unsuccessful coach's challenge for goalie interference at 15:00 of the third that led to Jordan Staal's go-ahead power-play goal at 15:25.

But maybe the best moment of the night, at least off the ice, happened in Carolina's radio booth with broadcasters Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy.

It was a terrific idea by the Hurricanes to put a camera on those two in the broadcast booth. It led to some viral moments throughout the playoffs with Tracy celebrating goals by shoving Maniscalco, who is a bigger man.

Well, when Jarvis scored, Maniscalco delivered a reverse hit that sent Tracy falling backward into a chair, his headset flying off into his hands, and then the two of them embracing before Tracy called it "maybe the most famous one-timer in Hurricanes' history."

The hits got harder as the series continued.

McNabb's return

It did not look good for Brayden McNabb in Game 2. He took a Nikolaj Ehlers' 87.3 MPH slap shot right off his face at 10:52 of the first period. He had to leave the game immediately. He didn't return. He reportedly went to the hospital.

It seemed impossible for him to play Game 3 two nights later in Las Vegas, but there was McNabb on the ice for Game 3, wearing a full cage to protect the facial injuries he sustained. The Golden Knights defenseman played 35:47 and finished plus-3 with two assists, including setting up Shea Theodore's double-overtime winner.

But that was only part of a historic night in the Cup Final.

The rest of Game 3

Mitch Marner made history by scoring the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history with three consecutive goals in a 6:10 span of the second period to give Vegas a 4-0 lead, breaking Maurice Richard's 69-year-old record of three goals in 6:21.

Marner also had an assist on Hertl's power-play goal 16 seconds before he scored his first, making him the first NHL player with four points in a period in Stanley Cup Final history.

He had a chance at a fourth straight goal with a short-handed penalty shot at 4:04 of the third period, but Brandon Bussi, who relieved Frederik Andersen to start the period, made the save.

The switch to Bussi to start the third period might go down as the biggest shift of the series even though the Hurricanes did not win Game 3.

They came close, though.

Not long after Bussi's save on Marner, Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall and Staal scored in a 39-second span, the fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Final history, breaking a 72-year-old record set by the Montreal Canadiens (three goals in 56 seconds in Game 2 of the 1954 Final), to cut Vegas' lead to 4-3.

Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-tying power-play goal with 1:42 remaining and the Hurricanes became second team in Stanley Cup Final history to erase a four-goal deficit in a game. The New York Rangers did it in Game 1 of the 1972 Final against the Boston Bruins.

Theodore won it for Vegas at 5:38 of the second overtime, but that was its last big moment.

Staal's Game 4 winner and celebration

A red-hot Staal scored one of his most impressive goals ever at 6:32 of the third period in Game 4 to give Carolina a 4-3 lead. The Hurricanes won 5-3 to tie the series 2-2.

Jarvis had the puck and got in alone off a Vegas turnover, but goalie Carter Hart stopped him with a blocker save at 6:24.

Jarvis won the puck back behind the goal line and promptly turned it over. Vegas had a chance to clear it, but McNabb flubbed a pass and put the puck right to Ehlers in the left face-off circle. He one-touched a pass to Staal, who spun to his backhand as the puck crossed the slot. He stumbled and started to fall, but as he did he still managed to backhand the puck into the net before flopping on his stomach.

Staal saw the puck go in and immediately started to pump his fists while still lying face down on the ice. It was his second goal of the game and fifth of the series.

It was not his last.

Tears for all Bussis

After making 18 saves in Game 4, his first start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bussi was being interviewed on Sportsnet by Kyle Bukauskas, who asked him about his parents, Rob and Lisa, and his fiance, Mary, being at the game.

As he was asking the question, Bussi was shown a video of his parents celebrating his win in the stands at T-Mobile Arena. They were tearing up as they embraced. And Bussi started to tear up too when he watched the clip live on Sportsnet.

"Oh, that's pretty special," he said. "They're the reason why I'm able to do what I do right now. Their sacrifice means everything. Yeah, they're the best."

Rob and Lisa sprinted to get to Las Vegas when they found out that their son was starting Game 4. They flew from New York, where they live, on the day of the game and made it for the 5 p.m. local start time.

It was not only worth the trip, but the reaction said everything about what it means to them.

"I can't believe you guys just did that to me on TV," Bussi said, still emotional.

'Fishy' smells a big goal

Sebastian Aho, affectionately known to his teammates as "Fishy," waited until just the right time to score his first goal of the series.

Aho, the Hurricanes center, scored at 17:51 of the second period in Game 5 by taking a pass from Sean Walker off his skates to his stick and depositing the puck into the back of the net to give Carolina a 3-1 lead.

It turned into the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory that put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2 in the series.

The goal was Aho's first in six games and second in 14, but it couldn't have been bigger at the time for the Hurricanes, who less than six minutes earlier took the lead on Svechnikov's first of two power-play goals in the game.

Aho had been getting a lot of questions about why it was a struggle for him to score in the series, how he was feeling, if he was confident, etc. etc. That goal answered those questions and, most importantly, was a signature moment in the Hurricanes' biggest win of the season to that point.

Bussi's sitting down save on Hertl

The Hurricanes were ahead 2-0 and trying with everything they had to close out Game 6 and win the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights were pushing, pressing to get a little bit closer as the seconds bled off the clock in the third period.

And with less than three minutes remaining and Hart on the bench for the extra skater, Bussi made a save on Theodore's 43-foot wrist shot from a touch inside the point at 17:35.

But that wasn't it.

The rebound came to right into the slot, right to Hertl's stick. Bussi was in a sitting position now and still gathered himself in time to stop Hertl's point-blank shot off the rebound at 17:36, preserving a 2-0 lead that became a much more secure 3-0 lead 76 seconds later.

They were the last two saves Bussi made in his 22-save Cup-clinching shutout.

Staal wins Conn Smythe, accepts Stanley Cup to cap historic Final

Staal made history in this Cup Final in more ways than one.

He tied the NHL record for the longest goal streak in a Cup Final at five games and became the first player in 70 years to score at least one goal in each of the first five games.

He became the second captain in the past 105 years to score at least six goals in the Cup Final, joining Wayne Gretzky, who had seven in five games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1985.

Then, after Game 6, although he didn't score, Staal officially became the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player to his team in the playoffs. At 37 years and 277 days old, he topped Tim Thomas (2011, Boston Bruins) by 216 days.

On top of that, Staal also became the first player to go at least 17 years between Stanley Cup championships. He won it the first time with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

Staal accepted the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Brind'Amour's Cup toss, catch and raise

Twenty years after Brind'Amour pulled the Stanley Cup off the table before Bettman could hand it to Carolina's then-captain, backup goalie Pyotr Kochetkov was the one to give the now-Hurricanes coach the trophy.

Brind'Amour took it from Kochetkov and had another incredible moment with it, giving the Stanley Cup a little toss in the air and catching it with a bear hug. He said he wasn't sure if he was going to raise it over his head because "that's more of a player thing," but the moment was too great for him, and he hoisted the 34.5-pound trophy over his head.

Later, in the Hurricanes celebratory dressing room, the remarkably fit coach affectionally known as "Rod the Bod," went tarps off, pulling off his dress shirt and tossing it aside before again taking the Stanley Cup and raising it over his head in celebration.

Bonus: Staal's daughter calls out dad

Staal sat at the podium with his children Abigail, Lilah and Henry, and the Conn Smythe Trophy, for his postgame press conference.

Abigail had her hand raised to ask a question, and before everyone left the room, she took the microphone and started talking.

Abigail asked her dad why in the first minute of the first game did he "punch that guy?"

That guy is Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who Staal fought three seconds into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round on April 18.

It was the first of several moments in Staal's MVP postseason, but apparently he has some explaining to do at home, because, as Abigail noted, he punched a guy.