RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Friday night to clinch the Eastern Conference Final in five games and earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, Eric Robinson, Jackson Blake and Shayne Gostisbehere scored goals to give Carolina a 5-0 lead entering the third. Seth Jarvis added an empty-net clincher while Frederik Andersen carried a shutout until midway through the third period.

Cole Caufield scored the Canadiens’ only goal. Carolina went 12-1 through the Eastern Conference playoffs to earn a matchup with Vegas for the Cup.

Carter gives explanation

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter said he felt the need to call out quarterback Jaxson Dart for introducing President Donald Trump because he felt it was his responsibility to show his teammates and others that he is against that.

Carter took to social media on Saturday to criticize his teammate after realizing a video of Dart on stage with Trump was real. Dart said in a prepared statement he addressed the situation with teammates and did not invoke Trump’s name.

Coach John Harbaugh said he felt the Giants would be a better team coming out of the situation.

76ers agree with Gansey

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers found their replacement for Daryl Morey.

A person with knowledge of the details said they have agreed to hire Mike Gansey as their president of basketball operations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the hiring has not yet been revealed publicly.

Gansey has been with the Cavs since 2011. He replaces Morey, who was fired earlier this month after the 76ers were eliminated in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

UCLA player enters portal

UCLA’s Karson Gordon entered the NCAA transfer portal as a track and field athlete with plans to play football.

Gordon confirmed this on social media Friday.

His announcement comes seven months after the NCAA decided to eliminate the spring football portal window. Instead, they opted for a 15-day period in January to manage offseason chaos.

Track and field athletes have two windows, with the current one closing June 26. Gordon expressed gratitude for his time at UCLA and mentioned he hasn’t committed to a new school yet.

He initially signed with UCLA as a quarterback but is now listed as a receiver.

Texas stays alive in WCWS

OKLAHOMA CITY — Teagan Kavan pitched a complete-game four-hitter, Kaiah Altmeyer and Kayden Henry each belted a home run, and defending-champion Texas defeated Mississippi State 4-0 to stay alive at the Women’s College World Series on Friday.

Kavan, who was the losing pitcher in the Longhorns’ 6-3 loss to Tennessee on Thursday, returned to the form that led Texas to the WCWS title in 2025. On Friday, she threw only 78 pitches with two strikeouts and no walks.

Second-seeded Texas advanced to another elimination game on Sunday against the loser between Alabama and Nebraska, which face off in the winner’s bracket on Saturday.