The Carolina Hurricanes celebrated on T-Mobile Arena ice Sunday night after a 3-0 victory in Game 6, clinching their second Stanley Cup championship. The Golden Knights, who had rallied from deficits throughout the playoffs, could not solve goaltender Brandon Bussi one more time.

Bussi, who replaced Frederik Andersen in the third period of Game 3, stopped all 28 shots he faced Sunday and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner. The series turned when the Hurricanes made that goalie change, and Bussi never looked back.

Vegas had chances — hitting posts and creating Grade-A opportunities — but could not finish. The Knights led the series 2-1 before Carolina won three straight. “You can’t win if you can’t score,” one team official said.

Captain Mark Stone summed up the feeling: “It kills me to be standing here right now.” Defenseman Brayden McNabb added, “We played our asses off these whole playoffs and just came up short.”

The loss mirrored the Knights’ 2018 Cup Final defeat to Washington. This time, the better team won. Carolina played stronger when it mattered most, and the Golden Knights were left to ponder what might have been.

“It sucks to come all this way and lose,” defenseman Shea Theodore said.