Welcome back to what could be the final NHL Predictions of the 2025-26 season. The Stanley Cup could be awarded tonight. To thwart that from happening, the Vegas Golden Knights will need to defend the fortress to push it to a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday night. Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final featured some of the defence that we knew the Carolina Hurricanes were capable of, so Vegas will need to push through those walls tonight to stay alive. Find out who we think will prevail and if we think the Stanley Cup will be handed out tonight.
Credit Image: © Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
NHL Predictions, Game 6: Hurricanes vs Golden Knights
How to Watch: ABC, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) | 5:00 p.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)
Venue: T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada
From a backup goaltender stealing the show, a fierce battle for the Conn Smythe Trophy, and history made on multiple occasions, this has been an excellent Stanley Cup Final. It all could end tonight, but does Vegas have one more response in them to keep the pages of this storybook moving?
The Hurricanes’ Story Features Potential Heroes in the Making
One hero in the making is goaltender Brandon Bussi, who has come up big after Frederik Andersen was taken out of the lineup. Whether it is performance-related, injury-related, or something else, we will likely not find out why until after this is all over, but Bussi had stepped up to the plate in a huge way. On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman has been suggesting it may be linked to the recent passing of Claude Lemieux, who had been Andersen’s agent.
For Bussi, he is 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final so far with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. While we will likely not get an announcement on which goalie will start until we find out during warm-ups, it would be surprising if Rod Brind’Amour does not ride the hot hand here with Bussi.
The other hero, and possibly the Conn Smythe winner, is captain Jordan Staal. He has scored six goals in the Stanley Cup Final so far and has scored in each game, the first to do so since the great Jean Beliveau did it in 1956. Staal is dragging his team into the fight, as it is hard not to be fired up after seeing what the team’s 37-year-old captain is still capable of doing. He, along with contributions from so many of his teammates this postseason up and down the lineup, is the reason why the Canes are one game away from winning it all.
Vegas’ Storyline and How They Could Extend the Season
Mitch Marner had a rare scoreless night in Game 5, something that brings us back to his Toronto Maple Leafs days, where he only scored one goal in Games 5-7 with the club in 26 games. Leafs fans have not let it go, but has Marner put those days behind him? He would be Vegas’ Conn Smythe favourite as he has scored 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 21 games, including a hat-trick in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. He will need to come up big and show up in an environment he has never seen in his career.
Carter Hart made history after Game 4, and he broke his own record after Game 5, as he has now allowed four or more goals in each of the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final. He will need to channel the quality of play we have seen from him when Vegas swept the Colorado Avalanche in order to give his team a chance to extend their season. It is very unlikely that John Tortorella will pivot to Adin Hill, as he was furious at reporter Jonny Lazarus in his postgame press conference after Game 5, when Lazarus asked him if he considered putting Hill in for the third period.
"That could be the stupidest question I've ever heard." 😳
John Tortorella DID NOT like being asked whether he considered putting in Adin Hill. pic.twitter.com/9HDeUETzrD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 12, 2026
On the injury front, Vegas will be without its second-line centre in William Karlsson, after he suffered a left arm or wrist injury. If he misses the rest of this Final, it would be a tough way to end off the season for one of Vegas’ Original Misfits. Either Brandon Saad or Reilly Smith will likely draw into the lineup for Game 6.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets
For a series that fans thought would be boring coming into it, this has been anything but that. From a four-goal comeback, the multiple lead changes, the physical play, and players persevering through injuries, this series will be a memorable one for years to come. It will be a war all the way until the final whistle, because that is what the quest for the Stanley Cup is all about. Based on a goaltending advantage and how well they shut Vegas down last game, we will give the edge to the Canes to do that again here tonight, winning the Stanley Cup in the process.
Prediction: Carolina 4 – Vegas 3
Best Bets
Anytime goal-scorers, we’ve got them here. For Vegas, we will pick Pavel Dorofeyev, who is coming off a two-goal performance in Game 5, to score an all-important goal. For the Canes, we will go with their hero so far in the Final, in captain Jordan Staal. Tortorella has promised a Game 7, but do the Canes have other plans? We’ll all find out tonight.
Main Photo Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images
John Tortorella on Carter Hart: he’s ready to go
William Karlsson won’t play tomorrow
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 13, 2026
