 In Game 6 in Edmonton, Carolina was soundly defeated 4–0; the only bright point for the Hurricanes was the return of forward Erik Cole from a broken neck that had sidelined him since March.In Game 7, before the second-largest home crowd in franchise history (18,978), the Hurricanes won 3–1, sealing the Hurricanes' first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.Ward was honored with the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the playoffs' most valuable player, becoming just the fourth rookie to be honored with the award.