In the Lenovo Center’s third-period swirl, a new “tarps off” craze turned the stands shirtless and loud. The shift matched a Carolina turnaround—three goals in the final 10 minutes of the period, then a 4-3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2.
RALEIGH — Take your shirt off, indeed, for the Carolina Hurricanes.
It wasn’t Petey Pablo’s state-anthem that swept through the Lenovo Center on Thursday night. It was a new “tarps off” craze—fans leaning into it so hard that by the third period, shirtless supporters helped change the atmosphere in a building that had been eerily quiet.
The Hurricanes had been struggling to get moving. Through the first 50 minutes of Game 2. Vegas was leading 2-0. and Carolina looked like it was on a path toward dropping the first two games of the series at home. Then the timing shifted. A prompt from the video board, a few stellar shifts, and a goal by Logan Stankoven jolted the crowd.
Carolina answered with three goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period. It didn’t stop there: the Hurricanes eventually won Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Seth Jarvis. who scored the game winner less than four minutes into overtime. put a simple logic to what happened in the stands. “It’s not warm in there. so to take your shirts off and get the crowd going and get the energy going. that’s kind of what kickstarted our whole little press there. ” he said.
Captain Jordan Staal agreed that the building itself mattered once the momentum began. Staal scored the go-ahead goal to give Carolina a 3-2 lead in the third period. and afterward framed the comeback as something shared between team and fans. “It’s our fans, too,” he said. “The building got going. Obviously we just needed a spark and Stanky [Stankoven] did a great job getting us going. The building is a tough building to play in when it gets going like that and the boys start to feel pretty good about themselves.”.
Once the shirts came off, they didn’t go back on.
Two shirtless fans sounded the siren before overtime began—an unmistakable signal that the celebration was already part of the plan. Jarvis called the motivation exactly what it looked like from his side of the ice. “That’s the best thing about them: they’re crazy,” he said of the fans. “It’s an amazing atmosphere to play in.”.
For the Hurricanes, the win didn’t just balance the series. It also turned a viral crowd moment into a possible new tradition—one that starts in the stands, then races down to the bench with the same urgency as a late-game push.
Carolina Hurricanes Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup Final Game 2 tarps off Seth Jarvis Jordan Staal Logan Stankoven Lenovo Center overtime
So they’re winning because people took their shirts off? lol seems like fake momentum to me.
I didn’t even watch the game but saw the headline. Tarps off?? Like are they talking about actual tarps or just the jersey thing. Either way I guess Vegas choking is on camera now.
It’s not warm in there so take your shirts off… okay but isn’t that like, gonna get people sick? Also everyone keeps saying “crowd momentum” like it’s science. I’m sure it helped but come on, Stankoven goal was probably the real start.
My husband said Carolina was losing 2-0 and then suddenly everybody went shirtless and boom overtime. That’s crazy. I swear half the time the arena noise does more than the coaching. And why did they call it a Hurricanes thing like that’s normal now… next game everyone’s gonna be stripping at puck drop??