Head coach Rod Brind'Amour became the first NHL head coach since Larry Robinson (2000 New Jersey Devils) to win a Stanley Cup with the same team he won it with as a player (2006).
The Canes finished this postseason with a 16-3 record, including two sweeps in the first two rounds. That comes up just short of the historic 1987-1988 Edmonton Oilers, who continue to hold the best single postseason record of all-time at 16-2.
Captain Jordan Staal became the oldest player ever (37) to win the Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring six goals in six games in the Stanley Cup Final, while goaltender Frederik Andersen was the one to receive the first hand-off after Staal had the honours.
Carolina goaltender Brandon Bussi put on a clinic with 22 saves as he became just the fourth rookie goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in a Stanley Cup Final game, joining Matt Murray (2017 Pittsburgh Penguins), Patrick Roy (1986 Montreal Canadiens), and Frank McCool (1945 Toronto Maple Leafs).
Ironically enough, former Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward took over for Martin Gerber during their 2006 Stanley Cup run, also leading them to a Cup in his rookie season just like Bussi.
Andersen, who had started most of the games for the Canes this postseason, and teammate Nikolaj Ehlers are now the second and third Danish players ever to win the Stanley Cup, the first being Lars Eller in 2018 with the Washington Capitals.
Ehlers was poetically the one to put the final nail in the coffin that would end the game.
Recap + Highlights
In a first frame that saw 18 total shots on goal and three total power plays, it was the Canes who put up the only goal of the period.
Taylor Hall netted his seventh of the playoffs with assists from Jaccob Slavin (5) and Jackson Blake (13) to make it 1-0.
Hall's 11th point on the road and Blake's ninth assist on a go-ahead goal are now the most in Carolina franchise history for a single postseason.
Meanwhile, Slavin's 12th postseason assist in a series-clinching game also marked the most in Hurricanes history, surpassing current teammate Seth Jarvis.
A little past the halfway mark of the first, Blake committed the first penalty of the game, leaving Vegas on a crucial power play.
But Vegas' Tomas Hertl would commit a brutal delay-of-game penalty 31 seconds into the power play to make it a 4-on-4, leaving Carolina on a brief power play shortly after, neither side finding the net.
Bussi was sensational in the first half, making crucial save after crucial save for the Canes.
Carolina would have another chance to double their lead with their second power play with under four minutes to go, but couldn't connect after some crucial saves by Carter Hart.
After Vegas went scoreless in the first period, they carried another power-play over into the second with 38 seconds left, but couldn't capitalize on their second chance of the game.
The second period was all Hurricanes in every facet of the game imaginable.
Following an assist on the Canes' first goal, Blake would also find the net for his seventh goal of the playoffs to put his team up 2-0, with the assist from Logan Stankoven (5).
Blake now owns the Hurricanes/Whalers record for the most multi-point games (7) in a single postseason. He is now also the youngest player (22) in history to record two or more points in a potential Stanley Cup-clinching game.
After outshooting Carolina 11-8 in the first period, Vegas only had three in the next. They did not put up a single shot on goal in the final 15:43 of the second period.
Carolina had a chance to triple their lead with their third power play of the game, but couldn't capitalize yet again in the one area of their game that has plagued them for most of the postseason.
The Canes killed off their Golden Knights' third power play of the game after Jack Eichel shot one off the crossbar in what would've been the perfect chance to cut the lead in half.
In the end, the Golden Knights were held scoreless as the Canes never let up on either end of the ice, as they claimed their second-ever Stanley Cup.
Thanks to the win, the Hurricanes improved to 11-1 all-time when holding a 3-2 series lead.