Carolina closes the Cup with a shutout

Carolina finished the Stanley Cup Final with the cleanest possible ending: Carolina Hurricanes 3, Vegas Golden Knights 0 in Game 6 on Sunday night in Las Vegas, and a second championship for the franchise.

Brandon Bussi stopped 22 shots for his first career playoff shutout. Taylor Hall scored at 3:47 of the first period, Jackson Blake made it 2 to 0 at 13:31 of the second, and Nikolaj Ehlers closed it at 18:52 of the third. Jordan Staal took the Conn Smythe at age 37, the oldest winner of that trophy in ESPN's news packet.

The boxscore matched the headline. Carolina had 23 shots, Vegas had 22, and both power plays went 0 for 3. The Hurricanes did enough with the puck and more than enough without it. My read: the Cup clincher was a clean defensive answer to a series that had already produced wild swings, late rallies and overtime drama.

MLB board

MLB gave Sunday 14 finals and one Detroit at Cleveland postponement. The loudest result came in Las Vegas: Colorado Rockies 23, Athletics 9. ESPN's recap said Colorado set a franchise record for runs, Willi Castro drove in seven, Hunter Goodman had five hits, and the game came on a 101 degree afternoon.

New York Yankees 8, Toronto Blue Jays 3 came on Ben Rice's tiebreaking ninth inning homer and Jose Caballero's three run blast, giving the Yankees their sixth win in seven games. New York Mets 8, Atlanta Braves 1 gave the Mets a series win, with A.J. Ewing finishing a triple shy of the cycle while Atlanta took a second consecutive series loss. Milwaukee Brewers 4, Philadelphia Phillies 0 was another clean result, with Jackson Chourio and Blake Perkins homering while Kyle Harrison worked six innings of three hit ball.

There were smaller but useful Sunday notes across the card. Miami Marlins 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 2 had Max Meyer allowing one run in six innings against Paul Skenes. Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Cincinnati Reds 3 gave Torey Lovullo his 700th win after Gabriel Moreno's eighth inning homer. Texas Rangers 6, Boston Red Sox 4 started with Wyatt Langford hitting the first pitch he saw over the Green Monster.

World Cup and WNBA

The World Cup board had five full time results. Germany 7, Curacao 1 came with two goals from Kai Havertz. Sweden 5, Tunisia 1 had Yasin Ayari scoring twice, with Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres also on target. Ivory Coast 1, Ecuador 0 came on a late Amad Diallo goal in Philadelphia. Netherlands 2, Japan 2 ended level after Daichi Kamada's late equalizer. Australia 2, Turkey 0 came on goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe.

In the WNBA, New York Liberty 86, Washington Mystics 64 clinched a Commissioner's Cup final spot and stretched New York's winning streak to seven. Breanna Stewart finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and a career high seven blocks, and ESPN's caption noted she had at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a half. Atlanta Dream 102, Toronto Tempo 77 had Angel Reese at 15 points and 17 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards, one short of tying the WNBA single game record.

NBA and NFL notes

The NBA scoreboard was idle on June 14, while ESPN's NBA feed kept the title aftermath moving. The Knicks title removed New York from ESPN's longest title drought list, with the prior Knicks championship listed as 1973. ESPN also carried fresh title coverage around Jalen Brunson and the celebration after New York finished the job Saturday night.

The NFL feed stayed in offseason mode. ESPN's Jets item had Aaron Glenn saying he wanted to add mass. The Browns OTA story centered on whether Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson will start. The Patriots item said linebacker Gabe Jacas was the lone second round draft pick unsigned, with Mike Vrabel saying Jacas underwent a procedure.

The morning belongs to Carolina. The rest of the board supplied volume, while Game 6 supplied the result that matters most: the Hurricanes closed the season with a shutout and carried the Cup out of Vegas.