Written By | Sports News Agencies
Twenty years later, Brind'Amour is no longer holding a stick — he's holding a clipboard, pacing the bench, one win away from history repeating itself.
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RALEIGH, N.C
There is a number that keeps appearing in Carolina Hurricanes lore: 2006. The year they last hoisted the Stanley Cup, when Rod Brind'Amour captained them to the promised land. Twenty years later, Brind'Amour is no longer holding a stick — he's holding a clipboard, pacing the bench, one win away from history repeating itself. And the man scoring all the goals? Another grizzled Canadian captain, who spent the first three rounds nearly invisible. His name is Jordan Staal, and in the past five games, he has done something the sport hasn't seen in over half a century.
A Record 50 Years in the Making
When Staal, 37, scored the opening goal of Carolina's 4-2 Game 5 victory over Vegas on Thursday night — extending his Cup Final goal streak to five consecutive games — the NHL record books had to flip back to 1973. He joined only the fifth player in league history to score in five or more straight Cup Final games. The other four: Cyclone Taylor (1918), Rocket Richard (1951), Jean Béliveau (1956), and Yvan Cournoyer (1973). That's a Hall of Fame list.
Entering the Final, Staal had just two goals across the entire first three rounds. Then something switched. He has since scored six goals in five games and leads the series in high-danger goals (five) and high-danger shots (13). "Jordan Staal is the stuff of legends," ABC11 Raleigh-Durham declared.
The Night the Hurricanes Turned It On
Game 5 was not a work of art. It was a statement. Staal opened the scoring, but Andrei Svechnikov truly broke Vegas's spirit — scoring twice on the power play. Sebastian Aho, who had just one goal in the series entering Thursday, finally broke through as well.
Vegas responded with two goals from Pavel Dorofeyev, but Carolina's defense tightened in the third period and held on for the 4-2 final.
The Brind'Amour Circle
The most compelling thread connects Brind'Amour to the trophy he once lifted as a player. The 55-year-old coach — all crossed arms and squinted eyes — captained the 2006 Hurricanes to the franchise's only championship. Now he has built a team in his own image: disciplined, relentless, and defensively responsible.
For Brind'Amour, Sunday's Game 6 in Las Vegas is personal. The Golden Knights, playing at T-Mobile Arena in front of a notoriously electric home crowd, will not go quietly.
"We've done this before," Brind'Amour said after Game 5. "Not this team, not these guys — but this franchise knows what this feels like, and that matters."
What This Means for Hockey — and for Carolina
Beyond the records, this Cup Final is making the American South care about hockey. Raleigh was written off when the Whalers relocated there in 1997. Now Lenovo Center is one of the loudest buildings in North American sports.
A Carolina win would validate Brind'Amour's patient, system-first philosophy and cement Staal — in what may be the final chapter of a Hall of Fame career — as one of the great postseason performers of his generation.
Game 6: Sunday, June 14, 8 p.m. ET, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
The Hurricanes need one win. The Golden Knights, playing for their second Cup in three years, need two. Staal will take the ice. Brind'Amour will cross his arms behind the bench. And 20 years of waiting may finally come to an end.
Carolina's fans have a phrase they shout at playoff time, borrowed from the franchise's past: "Come on in, the water's fine." After Thursday night, North Carolina is diving headfirst.
