2026 Stanley Cup Final by the numbers Canes vs. Golden Knights

General manager Eric Tulsky and head coach Rod Brindemore to take your questions. We have mic holders both sides of the room. Please raise your hand and wait for the microphone, and, uh, please direct your questions to, uh, one of the two gentlemen, and, uh, we’ll start, uh, right side front row, Corey. Eric, I’m wondering, uh, so much gets made about analytics and the drafting. Can you speak *** little about your pro scouting staff, the things that they’ve done, uh, to find guys like DeAndre Miller, um, Eric Robinson, Will Cari, people like that, and how that’s helped build the team. Yeah, our scouting staff does an incredible job. Chris Abbott and Mark Craig lead the group, and we’ve really focused on finding people who fit the way we want to play. Um, that we ask players to play *** very distinctive style. And our scouts have done *** great job finding players who can come in and look their best playing the way Rod needs them to play. Right front. Rod, I wonder if you could talk *** little bit about William Carrier and what *** guy like that, 66 hits in the playoffs, what he brings to the team this time of year. Well, I, I think it’s every game. It isn’t it’s not just this time of year. He plays the same as you’ve seen all year. Um, and that’s, you know, *** credit to him to play his game and we always talk about that about players. I think, you know what Eric’s kind of alluding to, like you gotta know what you do. Like when we look at players, like you know what he does and he does it every night and Um, obviously this time of year, I think his game gets *** little more noticed because it’s, that’s kind of hockey that gets played now and. And he’s just been *** perfect fit. Left side front row Steven Eric, uh, just to follow up on Corey’s question, sort of about roster constructions, your opponent in the series obviously has gone out and gotten big money free agents and all these sort of things, not that you guys haven’t, you signed Nikolai Ehers, but what is your sort of philosophy on building *** team of players who Rod likes to coach and plays Rod Brendan Moore hockey and sort of fitting in, mixing in the analytics and everything the part what sort of is. The, your philosophy with that? Yeah, I mean, we’re just always looking to get better, and it’s really just about accumulating as much talent as we can. Try really hard not to be dogmatic about looking specifically for one thing. You don’t want to pigeon yourself, pigeonhole yourselves in looking for *** specific opportunity and miss out on other players. We’re just trying to add talent every time we can. Right side 3rd row Matt, uh, Rod, this one’s for you, um, over here, um, I know it’s *** big full circle moment for you 20 years ago being here as *** player, and I’m curious from *** coaching perspective, what do you think has changed in terms of just how you coach players, how the relationship is with the players, and how do you apply what you’ve learned since you were here as *** player 20 years ago? Uh, well, it’s, it’s *** good question. I, I, I think. You know, I know when I played, you, you know, you had your certain thoughts about coaching. I mean, I’ve talked about this before, like I, I have way more respect now being *** coach than I did as *** player. I have not that I didn’t respect the coaches, but I just thought just get the best players out and go play. I mean, come on, open the door, right, like let us go and, and then I got behind there and I realized, 00, you know, there’s *** lot of work and um. So there’s *** huge difference there, the time commitment and everything, it’s just, it’s doubled, you know, you thought it would be, I kind of thought it would be the opposite, just kind of roll in and, you know, uh, so it’s, it’s *** big change, but I certainly learned *** lot from the coaches I’ve had in the past, and I said that it’s, uh, all of them, and take the good and the bad and you kind of try to, you know, you’re not necessarily mold yourself into that. You got to be yourself, but certainly you learn from everyone and I’m grateful for all those guys. Right side, second row. Rod, um, have the emotions of winning the Eastern Conference, um, have they settled, and if so, what have the past few days looked like for you as you guys prep for game one? Yeah, I, I, it, it was weird, uh, after the game, you know, you wanted to be happy and excited for the guys and, and yet it was kind of, I don’t know, it was just not quite all that exciting. And then I mean that in the fact that it was like this is where we thought we should be for *** long time and it’s just been *** long road and, um, I, I’m just thrilled for the guys to have this opportunity now, and that’s, like I said, that feels like for 8 years we’ve been talking about getting this chance, so. We’re finally here and you know, obviously we want to make the most of it. Left side, second row. Yeah, you got the mic, yeah, uh, for both of you, if you could, if you don’t mind spending *** little time talking about the people who might have mentored you into these positions, Rod, you have mentioned all the coaches, but maybe there’s one in particular, and, and Eric, even ***, *** manager from your past that’s helped you on this one. Want me to go? Uh, yeah, I like that question. I, I, because I like to mention. *** guy named Barry McKenzie, and *** lot of you probably don’t know who that is, but he coached me when I was 1516, and 17, and I get *** lot of credit as coaches because we’re now at this, you know, it’s obviously the pinnacle of our sport, but the players are all good that we got at this stage. And so. You know, coaches to me that don’t get enough credit are the guys that coach the kids when they’re at that age because you actually develop the habits and you develop the kind of everything that you are and who you become and we get them, they’re good. And if they’re not, we just, we, they, they, he finds *** way to move them out, right? So, uh, he, he’s probably, if I had to pick one guy and he coached me, but I’ve taken *** lot of the things that he did. And then I feel like worked and, um, so I’d like to give him *** shout out, Barry McKenzie, because I, and if you look him up, he’s coached *** lot of NHL players in, in the past and, uh, No, he’s been the biggest influence on me and, and I, I would say Laviy too, just because obviously we won and uh he he had *** great touch of the room and, and how to treat people and uh I think that’s that goes *** long way. Left side to second row. Uh, morning, fellas. Uh, I got *** question for Rod. Um, Rod, I happened to see you out there yesterday coaching your son’s team. Uh, just curious how you’re able to fit that in with your schedule and what does that mean to you that you’re able to even do that? That, that, that’s *** great question. Um, you know, we do this job, it’s, it’s very time-consuming and I mean, that’s the trade-off. You miss *** lot of stuff, um. As you guys do too, like, traveling or whatever, it’s, it’s important to. When I can try to be there for my son and you know I just got lucky because we didn’t practice so we kind of stole the practice time and threw threw his group out there and um but it’s just it’s so important to stay connected with your family and so that’s that’s really it. Right side, 3rd row, Ryan. Uh, question for Eric, uh, Taylor Hall has obviously been, uh, *** very good since he got to Carolina. When you acquired him, what did you see in his game that you thought would be effective in *** Canes uniform? Yeah, I mean, so he brings *** blend of speed, skill, and heaviness that really fits for us. So he has the ability to get pucks into the zone, win pucks along the wall, and he has the vision and creativity and skill to get pucks to the middle and create scoring chances off it. We spend *** lot of time on the in the offensive zone, and we need players like him who cannot just win the battle along the wall, but get it to premium ice and create those top tier chances, and he’s been able to do that for us. Right side back row. Yeah, Eric, um, obviously the Miko Ranton trade, both of them, but it was *** big swing. Your ability to pivot and, and add guys like Stanoven and, and Hall and then use some of those assets for Miller seems like, you know, really was *** turning point in building this team to get to this level. Can you walk us through that, that ability to pivot and find the players that you wanted to bring in here after the ran and deal didn’t really work out? Yeah, I mean, uh, fundamentally, we want to be aggressive, right? Rada is the team playing very aggressive on the ice. We want to be aggressive off the ice too. And when you have *** chance to add *** really high-end player, we never want to miss out on it. We never want to get worried about, you know, the what ifs. Um, that being said, sometimes it doesn’t go the way you hoped, and you got to be ready to figure out how you’re going to move forward from there. It’s one of the strengths of our organization is we’re not afraid to take those swings, but we’re also, you know, we’re confident that if we just keep staying aggressive, some will work out, some won’t, we’ll end up ahead of where we would be if we just stayed passive the whole time. Left side back row. Eric, um, you may have touched *** bit on, uh, this answer with your Taylor Hall answer, but when I see *** guy like Nick Ehers come into the system here and you’re talking about finding guys who fit the system, I’m wondering. What you’re looking for in *** player when you’re trying to find *** guy who is going to fit in and compliment complement that system but also kind of be able to step out of that system and do special things. Yeah, I mean, every role on our team is *** little bit different, you know, he just brings an absolutely dynamic level of skating and skill with the puck. And *** creativity that lets him, like you say, I mean, nobody goes outside the structure because it’s *** very well coached team, but he adds things to it that aren’t, you know, what we would ask *** lot of players to do. Having that kind of ability on the team, someone who can just create scoring chances out of thin air, it always makes you more dangerous. Right side standing, Chris Rod, uh, saw the video the other night after your win with Freddie, and I’m just wondering what you and what the organization have done with him to help him through these last few days. Well, I mean, what, what really can you do, you know, I think just him knowing that his teammates were behind him, I think meant the world to him and You know, it’s obviously *** tragedy, um, and again, what, what really can you do other than know that you got your buddies back, and I think he really felt that, that, you know, his teammates were there for him and they played hard for him and I thought, I thought he was great in light of all that was going on. Stay on that same side, Mike. Uh, Rod, uh, you know, Jordan Stahl’s given the second half of his career to this organization. Just how happy are you that he’s got this opportunity and you played with Eric 20 years ago and he helped this team win *** cup. How, how cool is that that that it’s, it’s been *** great story the whole time with all the stalls and, you know, I got *** great relationship with Eric, obviously, but I’ve known Giardo. He’s been every year and that he’s been here and been with him and. Watch his maturation as *** player, as *** captain, as *** leader, as *** player, it’s been pretty impressive and *** person. I mean this guy is uh world class. I cannot say enough good things about him and. Um, we’re, we’re not here today without, without Jordan Staal. I can promise you that. So, uh, you know, we’re very lucky and as *** coach, you’re super fortunate to have *** guy like that be your leader. Go, uh, left side 2nd row, Matt, uh, Rod Paul over here, sorry, Paul Maurice and, and the Panthers talked *** lot about their level of fitness during their two cup runs and clearly you emphasize that quite *** bit with this team, um, but does that focus on fitness that you set back in training training camp allow you to play this style of hockey so well throughout *** long run? Well, it’s imperative. I mean, I think every team’s in shape and works hard, but I don’t know if we take it to another level or not. I can’t really say. I just know that everybody, I think Terry Hall said it the best the other day when he said we work really hard, but we do it with *** smile on our face. I just think these guys get it, that they understand that this is the way you have to do things and it’s, it’s because it works. And so yeah, I mean we take that real serious. We’re going to take *** few more here after *** brief pause. The players are starting to come to the pods, but we will continue to take questions for *** few more minutes here. Yeah, question for Eric. Uh, now that you’re in this setting, um, do you think about your prior life in science and, uh, I’m assuming you’re still happy you’ve made the career switch, uh, but any sort of reflection about your prior life now that you’re here at the at the, uh, precipice. Yeah, I mean, it is still wild to me that I ended up here. I don’t know how that happened. Obviously, I’m thrilled with the way it’s going. Um, never would have thought I would have this opportunity, but, you know, the coach and the players have brought us here and looking forward to seeing how it wraps up.

Updated: 5:04 PM EDT Jun 1, 2026

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The Vegas Golden Knights against the Carolina Hurricanes is the 68th unique matchup of teams in the Stanley Cup Final in NHL history. The Golden Knights are in the final for a third time in their nine years of existence. The Hurricanes are back for the first time since 2006. That was two years after Vegas coach John Tortorella won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their five combined losses in the playoffs are the fewest by the finalists since the league went to four rounds of best-of-seven series in 1987.STANLEY CUP FINAL BY THE NUMBERS The Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes by the numbers:87%Of the 76 playoff games so far were decided by one goal or by two with the second being an empty-netter. That’s the second-highest rate in a playoffs in NHL history.68Different unique matchups in the final now with Vegas against Carolina, after Florida and Edmonton faced each other back to back in 2024 and ‘25.22Years since John Tortorella coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to their first Stanley Cup title. There was no champion the following season because it was wiped out by a lockout.20Years since now-Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour captained the team to the Stanley Cup. That was Carolina’s last trip to the final.16Previous sets of brothers have won the Stanley Cup with the same franchise. Carolina’s Jordan Staal is looking to join Eric from 2006 to make it 17.13Players in the series who participated in the Milan Cortina Olympics, the first involving NHL participation since 2014.12Players on the rosters who have won the Stanley Cup before. Eleven were on Vegas during its 2023 title run, including Carolina’s William Carrier. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal won it in 2009 with Pittsburgh.11Days the Hurricanes had off between the second round and the Eastern Conference Final, the longest gap between rounds since at least 1920. They lost Game 1 to Montreal 6-2 before winning four in a row to advance.10Goals apiece for Vegas’ Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev, who are tied for the most in the playoffs. Carolina’s Logan Stankoven is next with nine.9Seasons of existence for the Golden Knights. They are in the final for a third time and are going for their second championship.5Combined losses between the teams in the playoffs, the fewest by the finalists since the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven series in 1987.4Players who have the chance to get retribution after losing in the Olympic gold-medal game. Vegas’ Mark Stone, Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis played for Canada, which outshot the U.S. 42-28.3Players who have the chance to pull off the Olympic gold medal-Stanley Cup double. Vegas’ Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin and Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin were all part of the U.S. team that beat Canada in overtime in the final in Milan.1.62Goals-against average for Carolina, the best in the playoffs. It’s the lowest since the 2012 Los Angeles Kings, who won the Cup.1Loss by Carolina through the first three rounds, following sweeps of Ottawa and Philadelphia and a five-game series victory against Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes are the first team to do that since the change to four rounds of best of seven in ‘87.0Coaches before Tortorella who swept the Presidents’ Trophy winner in two different playoff series. Tortorella’s Golden Knights did so to NHL-best Colorado in the West final, seven years after his Columbus Blue Jackets swept Tampa Bay in the first round in 2019.Keep up with the latest news, sports and weather by downloading the WXII app here.

RALEIGH, N.C. —

The Vegas Golden Knights against the Carolina Hurricanes is the 68th unique matchup of teams in the Stanley Cup Final in NHL history.

The Golden Knights are in the final for a third time in their nine years of existence. The Hurricanes are back for the first time since 2006. That was two years after Vegas coach John Tortorella won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their five combined losses in the playoffs are the fewest by the finalists since the league went to four rounds of best-of-seven series in 1987.

STANLEY CUP FINAL BY THE NUMBERS

The Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes by the numbers:

87%

Of the 76 playoff games so far were decided by one goal or by two with the second being an empty-netter. That’s the second-highest rate in a playoffs in NHL history.

Different unique matchups in the final now with Vegas against Carolina, after Florida and Edmonton faced each other back to back in 2024 and ’25.

Years since John Tortorella coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to their first Stanley Cup title. There was no champion the following season because it was wiped out by a lockout.

Years since now-Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour captained the team to the Stanley Cup. That was Carolina’s last trip to the final.

Previous sets of brothers have won the Stanley Cup with the same franchise. Carolina’s Jordan Staal is looking to join Eric from 2006 to make it 17.

Players in the series who participated in the Milan Cortina Olympics, the first involving NHL participation since 2014.

Players on the rosters who have won the Stanley Cup before. Eleven were on Vegas during its 2023 title run, including Carolina’s William Carrier. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal won it in 2009 with Pittsburgh.

Days the Hurricanes had off between the second round and the Eastern Conference Final, the longest gap between rounds since at least 1920. They lost Game 1 to Montreal 6-2 before winning four in a row to advance.

Goals apiece for Vegas’ Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev, who are tied for the most in the playoffs. Carolina’s Logan Stankoven is next with nine.

Seasons of existence for the Golden Knights. They are in the final for a third time and are going for their second championship.

Combined losses between the teams in the playoffs, the fewest by the finalists since the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven series in 1987.

Players who have the chance to get retribution after losing in the Olympic gold-medal game. Vegas’ Mark Stone, Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis played for Canada, which outshot the U.S. 42-28.

Players who have the chance to pull off the Olympic gold medal-Stanley Cup double. Vegas’ Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin and Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin were all part of the U.S. team that beat Canada in overtime in the final in Milan.

1.62

Goals-against average for Carolina, the best in the playoffs. It’s the lowest since the 2012 Los Angeles Kings, who won the Cup.

Loss by Carolina through the first three rounds, following sweeps of Ottawa and Philadelphia and a five-game series victory against Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes are the first team to do that since the change to four rounds of best of seven in ’87.

Coaches before Tortorella who swept the Presidents’ Trophy winner in two different playoff series. Tortorella’s Golden Knights did so to NHL-best Colorado in the West final, seven years after his Columbus Blue Jackets swept Tampa Bay in the first round in 2019.

Keep up with the latest news, sports and weather by downloading the WXII app here.

2026 Stanley Cup Final by the numbers Canes vs. Golden Knights

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