Jack Eichel was uncontested on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena, fielding a feathery pass from Mark Stone in front of the Carolina Hurricanes’ net.
Needing only to beat goaltender Brandon Bussi, he fired the puck from point-blank range.
Into the crossbar.
That was the closest the Vegas Golden Knights would come to scoring in their 3-0 loss that granted the Hurricanes Lord Stanley’s Cup before a sullen, subdued crowd with their 4-2 series win. His ricochet came with 9:30 to play in a tense third period during which Carolina added an empty netter to cushion the lead they seized 3:47 into the first period.
Left with 56:13 to extend their season and force a Game 7 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Golden Knights mustered 22 shots on goal, seemingly bypassing several clean looks. Bussi stood on his head in net behind Carolina’s suffocating, cohesive defense — zapping the will of the Vegas offense.
Also zapped was the will of a crowd that ceded belief — and hordes of seats — to Hurricanes supporters who roared with fervor for two-plus hours. Said Golden Knights coach John Tortorella from the bowels of the arena in the interview room as Carolina paraded the Cup around the ice the way Vegas did three years ago: “I thought their goaltender was really good tonight. Since he’s came in, he’s been very good. … We couldn’t find our way. They did. As I’ve always said, it’s a find-a-way league.”
Bussi hadn’t played in nearly two months when he was summoned by Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour to plug the holes the Golden Knights found in goalie Frederik Andersen amid their 4-0 lead in Game 3. Bussi saved 18 of 19 shots en route to an eventual 5-4 defeat but flipped the series with his steady play, emboldened by his 6-foot-4-inch frame.
With a rugged defense in front of him in Games 4 and 5, both won by Carolina, Bussi saved 41 of 46 shots and prompted lineup changes from Tortorella. Out went William Karlsson by way of undisclosed injury. Out went Keegan Kolesar, he with one goal in 21 playoff games.
In came Reilly Smith for Karlsson, having not played since May 1 against the Utah Mammoth, and in came Braeden Bowman for Kolesar, shelved altogether since March 21.
But the rejiggered lines couldn’t spark a score.
With Bussi in net and the crowd on tilt as soon as Taylor Hall’s breakaway resulted in a 1-0 deficit, the Hurricanes hunkered down their defensive intensity, sensing the Cup was in the building. Power plays were effectively thwarted and five-on-five chances were few and far between, yielding the Golden Knights nary a shot on net the last 15:43 of the second period.
Said crestfallen Vegas captain Mark Stone in a locker room smelling of unrewarded sweat, empty save for the flock of reporters standing among Golden Knights and NHL staffers: “Just didn’t capitalize on our chances. We had a lot of good chances in tight. The bar. Shot it into (Bussi). Just didn’t capitalize on the looks.”
Wouldn’t be the first time Vegas couldn’t summon a score in a must-win game, relenting to the Edmonton Oilers last year in Games 4 and 5 of their second-round playoff loss.
History repeats itself — but not the kind it was hoping for.
“I thought we had, I don’t know how many Grade-A looks,” defenseman Shea Theodore disappointedly said after Stone’s news conference ended. “… It just didn’t seem like we were able to get anything past (Bussi).”
Because the Golden Knights didn’t.
“It’s not a good feeling right now,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said before Stone arrived in the locker room. “Tough to be on this side of it. Been on the other side of it, luckily, but these chances don’t come around very often. So, it stings.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
