The result gave Carolina the series in six games and its second Stanley Cup, following the franchise's 2006 title. NHL.com reported that Carolina finished the playoffs 16-3, the fewest games needed to win the Stanley Cup since Edmonton went 16-2 in 1988.
Table: Carolina's Game 6 scoring
| Period | Time | Scorer | Score after goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3:47 | Taylor Hall | Carolina 1-0 |
| 2nd | 13:31 | Jackson Blake | Carolina 2-0 |
| 3rd | 18:52 | Nikolaj Ehlers | Carolina 3-0 |
Source: NHL.com Game 6 recap, 2026.
Hall opened the scoring at 3:47 of the first period after Blake forced a turnover and Jaccob Slavin sent a stretch pass through the Vegas defence. Blake made it 2-0 at 13:31 of the second period on a one-timer from Logan Stankoven after Carolina's forecheck forced pressure in the Vegas zone. Ehlers scored into an empty net at 18:52 of the third period.
Bussi was the decisive Game 6 player on the scoresheet. NHL.com said he stopped all 22 shots he faced, while AP reported that it was his first career playoff shutout. NHL.com also said Bussi's shutout was the ninth in a Cup-clinching game in the past 50 years and the first since Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2021.
Carolina captain Jordan Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. NHL.com said Staal, at 37 years and 277 days, became the oldest Conn Smythe winner, passing Tim Thomas, and finished the playoffs with eight goals and four assists in 19 games. The league's public-relations account also listed Staal as the 2026 winner and said he had six goals and one assist in the six-game Final.
Staal's award was not based only on the final game. NHL.com reported that he scored in each of the first five games of the Final and that his 17-year gap between Stanley Cup titles passed Chris Chelios for the longest such gap in league history. Those records explain the MVP result without turning the article into a career profile.