When Vegas goalie Carter Hart went to the bench for the Golden Knights to put an extra attacker on the ice, Ehlers scored into an empty net at 18:52 of the third period to seal the victory for the Hurricanes. The victory allowed Carolina to go up 4-2 in the best-of-7 series, earning them their first Stanley Cup since 2006.
“I loved my 10 years in Winnipeg, and it was hard to leave and say goodbye, but I wanted something different; it was time for me to try something new, and the Hurricanes were what I wanted,” Ehlers said after the game to NHL.com. “Did I think I was going to win the Stanley Cup in my first year here? I don’t know, but that’s what I was hoping for, of course. It’s pretty incredible.”
Thanks to the win, Andersen and Ehlers became only the second and third Danes in history to lift the coveted Stanley Cup trophy. Lars Eller was the first Danish player to win and lift the Stanley Cup. He achieved this historic milestone in 2018 as a center for the Washington Capitals, when he even scored the decisive goal to clinch the Cup in the series-winning Game 5, also against the Golden Knights.
"It's a wild, wild feeling to be allowed to lift the Stanley Cup. Especially together with Frederik and my family. It's been absolutely fantastic", says Nikolaj Ehlers to TV 2 Sport.
Since 1995, it has been a tradition that every member of the winning team, both players and staff, gets the opportunity to spend 24 hours with the trophy, which is among the world's oldest sports trophies.
And while Ehlers is looking forward to bringing the trophy back to Aalborg, Andersen is planning to present it in Herning, the two cities where the hockey aces took their first steps in their illustrious careers.
"It's really cool. It'll be fun to celebrate each other in Denmark with the trophy. It's cool and indescribable. It's something we've dreamed of", says Frederik Andersen.
The Stanley Cup measures exactly 35.25 inches (89.54 cm) in height and weighs 34.5 pounds (15.6 kg)