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Carolina is going back to the Stanley Cup Final. The Hurricanes dismantled the Montreal Canadiens six to one in Game Five on Friday night, punching their ticket to the Final for the first time in twenty years. It wasn't close, it wasn't pretty for Montreal, and the Canes faithful made sure the Canadiens heard about it with an ole chant ringing through the arena as the final horn sounded. Carolina looks like a team built for this moment.
Shifting to the hardwood, Donovan Mitchell is speaking up. Despite Cleveland getting swept out of the playoffs by the Knicks, Mitchell says he sees his long-term future with the Cavaliers. That's a significant statement given how loud the trade rumors have gotten, and it's exactly the kind of message the franchise needs to hear as they try to regroup and figure out what went wrong this postseason.
Meanwhile in Phoenix, the Mercury are in a real skid. Five straight losses now, sitting at two and seven after falling to the New York Liberty again. The maddening part is that Phoenix forced seventeen turnovers and held New York under seventy deep into the fourth quarter. Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper each dropped fifteen, but poor shooting and a brutal rebounding deficit keep costing them.
That's your play-by-play. Sports Desk, back to the booth.
