NHL Finals Recap - The End Of The 2025-26 Season

Yet another fierce round of playoffs for the National Hockey League, clean sweeps and tight game sevens made for an unstoppable series to watch. Read along as I dive into the highlights of the playoffs, but most importantly, the final series between the Eastern Conference Carolina Hurricanes and Western Conference Las Vegas Golden Knights. 

(Image credit to NHL.com)

Carolina started their playoff journey as the underdogs of the Eastern Conference, many people predicted the Canadiens would go through to the finals with ease, but as the games began, the Canes showed their strengths. The first series against the Ottawa Senators ended in a blur, four straight wins for Carolina gave them a sweep and shocked many fans, the next series against the Flyers ended the exact same way, this time, fans were really watching. How was a team that was flying so far under the radar sweeping two playoff teams in a row? 

Before they knew it, it was Eastern Conference final time, the Carolina Hurricanes playing the predicted conference winners, the Montreal Canadiens. Game one was a hard battle, with Montreal taking the win, 6-2, many thought this was the end of the Hurricanes lucky streak, and therefore the end of the road for them, but of course, they weren’t going to let that happen, the Canes went onto win the next four games in a row, advancing them to the finals. 

Now for the other side of the bracket. The Western Conference was a much closer battle for every team. The Knights started their playoff battle against the Utah Mammoth who had been fighting against the Nashville Predators for a playoff spot right up until the deadline. Vegas ended the first game with a win, but Utah evened it in game two, the fight continued to game six where Vegas secured their fourth win, advancing them to round two. The Anaheim Ducks were expected to be an easy defeat at the beginning of the playoffs but after beating last season finalists, the Oilers, in round one, they were definitely a team to watch. A game one Vegas win was followed by a game two Ducks win, the back and forth went to game six again, where Vegas sealed the deal with their fourth win. 

The Western Conference final arrived and almost every hockey fan watching expected the Colorado Avalanche to breeze through after dominating the league at the top of the table for almost the entire season, and performing extremely strongly in the playoffs so far, a few injuries worried some fans, but nobody expected the results that occurred. Vegas won game one, and then game two, and three and before anyone knew it, they had swept the leaders of the league in the conference final. 

The arrival of the Stanley Cup Finals, the most anticipated time of the NHL season, especially when it’s between two teams who weren’t predicted to make it past round two of their respective games. Game One was an absolutely vicious fight for a 5-4 score with Vegas securing the win, game two went to overtime with Carolina securing the win, evening the series score. Game three went to not just first overtime, but second overtime, the players were visibly exhausted and a small slipup from the Carolina side allowed Vegas a goal that won them the game. Game four saw the Canes tie the series before going onto the win game five and lead the series 3-2. Game six was ready to be the biggest game yet, if the Canes won, they’d win the Finals and the historical Stanley Cup. For the first time in the entire finals series, the Golden Knights didn’t score a single goal, and with goals from Hall, Blake and Ehlers, Carolina took the win for the first time in 20 years. 

The standout players from the finals were without a doubt, Hurricanes’ captain, Jordan Staal who was awarded Finals MVP and played to his team’s strengths throughout the season, Hurricane’s goalkeeper Brandon Bussi for incredible efforts all tournament but especially the game six shutout which won his team the cup. For the Golden Knights, Mitch Marner who was only recently traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs scored the most points of any player in the playoffs leading up to the finals and Ivan Barbashev who was extremely consistent in his plays during the tournament, keeping his team alive game after game. 

The end of the season means rest and relaxation for the players, coaches and all other staff, preparations will be made for the NHL Draft at the end of June, and the Hurricanes players will be sure to take advantage of every single moment of their victory, spending time with each other, family and friends and of course, the historical trophy itself.

Article Written by Milla Sinfield © Milla Sinfield 2026