The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup the only way that truly fit them: by turning the Vegas Golden Knights into a frustrated, suffocated, shot-starved mess.

After a chaotic start to the Stanley Cup Final, Carolina slammed the door shut with a 3-0 Game 6 win Sunday night, claiming its first championship in 20 years and the second Stanley Cup in franchise history. The Hurricanes didn’t need fireworks in the clincher. They needed structure, sacrifice and a defensive performance that looked like a team squeezing the air out of the building.

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Vegas managed just 22 shots on goal, and at one point went 18:37 between shots in the second and third periods. For a team fighting to keep its season alive, that’s not just a cold spell. That’s Carolina taking away hope.

Taylor Hall gave the Hurricanes the only early punch they needed, scoring 3:47 into the game. Jackson Blake added a goal and an assist, Nikolaj Ehlers buried the empty-netter, and Brandon Bussi delivered the moment of his life with a 22-save shutout in his first career playoff blanking.

Bussi’s rise became one of the wildest twists of the series. Inserted late in Game 3 after Vegas had built a 4-0 lead, he helped settle Carolina down and gave the Hurricanes a new heartbeat. Carolina lost that game in overtime, but the rally changed everything. From that point forward, the Hurricanes looked like the more confident, more complete and more dangerous team.

Jordan Staal was the soul of it all. The 37-year-old center won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after becoming the first player to score in each of the first five games of a Cup Final. He planted himself near the crease, punished Vegas in hard areas and gave Carolina the veteran edge it had been chasing for years.

This championship also cements Rod Brind’Amour’s place in Hurricanes history. He captained Carolina to the 2006 Stanley Cup and now coaches the franchise back to the top after years of playoff heartbreak. The Hurricanes had reached the Eastern Conference Final three times during their current eight-year playoff run, only to hit the wall.

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Not this time.

Vegas deserves credit for its own unlikely run, especially after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy late in the regular season and pushed the Golden Knights all the way to the Final. But in Game 6, Vegas looked out of answers.

Carolina looked inevitable.

The Hurricanes didn’t just win the Stanley Cup. They imposed their identity, buried old doubts and finally finished the job.