The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals Series on Friday, May 29, to reach the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. Besides this one, the side achieved another feat as they became the only team in NHL history to book a Stanley Cup spot with just one playoff loss.

The Hurricanes put up a dominant performance in front of their incredible home fans at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC. While Taylor Hall opened the scoring, Eric Robinson hit the final nail in the Canadiens' coffin with 3:41 left in the game.

NHL Insider Frank Seravalli took to his official X account to give a complete breakdown of the new record set by the Canes in the league. His update read, “The Carolina Hurricanes are the first team in #NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final with only one loss (12-1) in the first three rounds.

Seravalli also revealed that the previous best run in the first three rounds of the playoffs in the NHL belonged to the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and 2012, respectively. These two franchises had reached the Stanley Cup Final with a 12-2 overall record in their respective seasons.

“Machine,” he referred to the Canes in his concluding remark on the same X post.

Notably, before reaching the Eastern Conference Final last night, Carolina swept the Ottawa Senators (4-0) and the Philadelphia Flyers (4-0) in the first and second rounds of the playoffs, respectively. While Montreal defeated them 6-2 in Game 1 of the East Final in Raleigh, they came storming back to close out the playoff series 4-1.

In the postgame at the Lenovo Center, the Hurricanes were awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy at the expense of the Canadiens. But they decided not to touch the conference winners’ trophy.

With that, Carolina kept the belief in the longstanding NHL tradition that it leads to a loss for a team in the Stanley Cup Final.

Hurricanes return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006

With their sparkling playoff campaign of 12-1 in the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes made the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. Coincidentally, the Canes clinched the title on that occasion with Rod Brind’Amour as captain, and now, he is their head coach.

20 years ago, Carolina was in a hard-fought seven-game battle against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final before winning the big one.

Switching back to 2026, Brind’Amour was a bit lost for words initially in the postgame interview at the Lenovo Center.

“It’s kind of hard to unpack right now,” he said. “It’s a weird feeling because it’s kind of where we all thought we should be, our group. From the time we came together as a group, this is where we thought we would be.”

Also, Brind’Amour was “really proud” of his players and spoke about trying to “enjoy” the moment despite being fully aware of what’s up next for his Canes.

The Hurricanes are slated to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final with Game 1 kicking off on Tuesday, June 3, at home in Raleigh, NC.

Who will win the Stanley Cup final this year, Carolina or Vegas? Give us your prediction in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Souvik Roy