#NHLPeachy @NHL NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 14, 2026
* It’s a simple recipe for both teams in Game 6 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. A win for Carolina will give them their second championship and first in 20 years. For Vegas, win to keep their shot at a second Stanley Cup alive.
* After five historic contests to begin the Final, Game 6 will be played on the 20th anniversary of Carolina's first-ever potential Cup-clinching game – with the Hurricanes hoping for a different fate.
* A long list of records are within reach before the Stanley Cup is presented, either today in Las Vegas or Wednesday in Raleigh, with Jordan Staal, Logan Stankoven, Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel among those in pursuit of a new benchmark to go along with hockey's most sought-after prize.
* Game 6 will air at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC, as well as on NHL in ASL (U.S.: ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited plan subscribers; Canada: Sportsnet+). Click here for highlights from the NHL in ASL coverage of the Final so far.
VEGAS CAN PUSH HISTORIC STANLEY CUP FINAL TO GAME 7
After five straight history-making games to start to the Stanley Cup Final, it could come down to Sunday night in Las Vegas to crown a 2026 champion.
* The Golden Knights started the series as the first visiting team in Final history to stage a multi-goal comeback win in Game 1 and, to extend the NHL season by one more game, now must become the 19th team to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. Twelve of the 18 teams that won Game 6 to stay alive in the Final did so on home ice, most recently the Oilers in 2024.
* Each of the past three teams to force Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final scored at least five goals in Game 6: the Oilers won 5-1 in 2024 (vs. FLA), while the Bruins won 5-1 in 2019 (at STL) and 5-2 in 2011 (vs. VAN). The last one-goal decision to force Game 7 of the Cup Final was in 2009 when Jordan Staal scored the opening goal for the Penguins in an eventual 2-1 home win before the club headed to Detroit to win Game 7. That was Staal’s last goal in the Final before his record-tying goal streak this year.
* Vegas is 1-1 in Game 6 when facing a 3-2 series deficit. Noah Hanifin and Mark Stone had the goals to go along with an Adin Hill shutout in their lone victory, on home ice against the Stars in the 2024 First Round.
* The Golden Knights will look for a hero similar to what the Oilers had exactly 20 years ago today. On June 14, 2006, Fernando Pisani scored the first and last goals in a back-and-forth Game 5 thriller in Raleigh to prevent the Hurricanes from winning their first-ever potential Cup-clincher. Much like this series, that game alone featured a number of memorable moments: Pisani scored 16 seconds in (one of the fastest goals in Final history), the teams combined for five goals in the opening frame (both tying and taking a lead), Eric Staal delivered a 2-1—3 performance for the Hurricanes including two tying goals and Pisani scored the first shorthanded overtime goal in Final history to extend the series.
* Mitch Marner is the top scorer at home (4-8—12 in 10 GP), on the road (6-11—17 in 11 GP) and overall (10-19—29 in 21 GP) in these playoffs, entering his first elimination game with Vegas. He has the most points when facing elimination among all Golden Knights in this series (min. 1 GP in SCF) and is the only one on the roster with multiple game-winning goals to extend a series – including one to force a Game 7 (Game 6 of 2018 R1 vs. BOS and Game 4 of 2023 R2 at FLA, both w/ TOR).
* Contributing on the score sheet in a must-win game would also push a number of Golden Knights toward franchise records: Shea Theodore (6-12—18) needs one to tie or set club benchmarks for goals (tie), assists (set) and points (tie) by a defenseman in one playoff year; Jack Eichel (20 A) needs one assist to break his own single-season benchmark (Marner needs two); and, after setting a new high for goals in a postseason earlier this round, Brett Howden (14 G; 3 GWG) needs one to establish new plateaus for game-winning goals (career or single postseason).
CAROLINA’S CAPTAIN THE DRIVING FORCE TO POTENTIAL CUP CLINCHER
All but two players on the Carolina roster will play a game unlike any other they have ever contested as they play for a chance to lift the Stanley Cup tonight. Captain Jordan Staal and former Golden Knights blueliner William Carrier are the only Hurricanes who have played for a chance to win the Cup, winning their only such opportunities (both 1-0).
* Staal is on the brink of history on many fronts entering Game 6: he can become the first player in Stanley Cup Final history with a six-game goal streak; he can set a new benchmark for goals in a Final at age 37-plus; he can tie the modern era record for most goals by any player in a Final; he can become the first player in NHL history to go 17 years from one Cup to the next; and, if he were to be voted by media as playoff MVP, would become the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner in history.
* For his part, Carrier can become the fourth player in NHL history to win his first two Stanley Cups in the same building but for different teams. He would be the second to achieve that feat at T-Mobile Arena, following Chandler Stephenson (2018 w/ WSH, 2023 w/ VGK). The others: Gord Pettinger at Maple Leaf Gardens (1933 w/ NYR, 1936 w/ DET) and Art Jackson at the Detroit Olympia (1941 w/ BOS, 1945 w/ TOR).
* In addition to the performances of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake – who have combined for 18 points during Carolina’s perfect 3-0 run in clinchers this year – many other Hurricanes have had success with the series on the line. Blake (1.20), Seth Jarvis (1.07), Sebastian Aho (1.00) and Taylor Hall (1.00) all average at least a point-per-game in their career during potential series-clinching games.
* Aho, whose first goal of the Final was the winner in Game 5, has three career series-clinching goals which is tied for the second most among active players behind fellow Finn Artturi Lehkonen (4). Aho, the franchise leader in goals (12), points (18) and game-winning goals (3) in potential clinchers, is the only player in this series with multiple series-clinching goals to his name. Lehkonen (2022) and Jari Kurri (1987) are the only Finnish players to score a Stanley Cup-clinching goal, and Lehkonen was the last (from any country) to net a Cup-clincher on the road.
* After scoring the opening goal in Finland’s bronze medal win at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Aho can become the fifth player to win bronze and a Stanley Cup in the same season. He would join Frantisek Kaberle – who scored the Cup-clinching goal for the Hurricanes in 2006 – as well as Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov with the 2002 Red Wings (against CAR).
* Brandon Bussi could become the eighth goaltender in NHL history to have his first-ever potential series-clinching game come during the Stanley Cup Final and can join Joe Miller (Game 5 of 1928 w/ NYR) and Al Rollins (Game 5 of 1951 SCF) as the only netminders to win. The last American goaltender to earn a Cup-clinching win was Jonathan Quick with the 2014 Kings. Other potential achievements on the Game 6 radar are Logan Stankoven (11 G) pursuing the franchise goals record (1 to tie the mark set by Rod Brind’Amour in 2006) and Shayne Gostisbehere (3-9—12) approaching franchise marks for goals (1 to tie), assists (2 to tie) and points (1 to tie) by a defenseman.
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