Hurricanes even – Jordan Staal scored twice, including a go-ahead goal at 6:32 of the third, as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 to even the Stanley Cup final after four games. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-net goal, and Carolina will host Game 5 Thursd
When Jordan Staal stretched out on his stomach to finish a play at 6:32 of the third period, it didn’t just put the Carolina Hurricanes ahead. It stopped the momentum that had kept snapping back and forth all series.
The Hurricanes scored for keeps. holding on for a 5-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night to even the Stanley Cup final after four games. And with Game 5 set for Thursday night in North Carolina. the Hurricanes can potentially play with the kind of comfort that comes from having home ice in reach twice—while the Golden Knights chase the same prize with less margin.
This was the first game in the final not decided by a single goal, a small break in a stretch where the score swings have come fast. Two-goal leads have vanished in all four games. Each team has managed to lead by at least that margin twice, only to watch the other side answer.
It’s been a wild run for goals, too: the 33 combined goals are tied for the third-highest total in a Stanley Cup final.
Staal didn’t just make a difference—he kept showing up. He became the first player in 44 years to score at least one goal in each of the first four games of the final. and the ninth overall to do it across finals history. Mike Bossy was the last to reach the same mark in 1982 with the New York Islanders against the Vancouver Canucks.
Nikolaj Ehlers pushed Carolina further ahead with an empty-net goal and two assists. Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist, and Logan Stankoven added a goal.
In goal, Carolina changed gears and it mattered. Brandon Bussi started in place of Frederik Andersen and made 18 saves. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Andersen, who did not dress, needed the rest.
“Let (Andersen) rest,” Brind’Amour told reporters. “Give him as many days here as we can.”
With Andersen serving as the emergency goaltender, Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup.
Vegas got its own scoring from Mark Stone, William Karlsson, and Brett Howden, with Carter Hart stopping 23 shots for the Hurricanes. Karlsson also added an assist.
Carolina’s edge wasn’t only in the scoreboard. The Hurricanes outplayed Vegas in the period and outshot the Golden Knights 14-6. even as Vegas—according to Natural Stat Trick—generated four high-danger chances to Carolina’s three. The gap came in the follow-through: Carolina took advantage of its opportunities.
The gamble around goaltending has been a theme of the series, too. Brind’Amour replaced Andersen with Bussi in Game 2 on Saturday after Carolina trailed 4-0. and Bussi’s work helped power the Hurricanes’ furious rally. That time. it ended with a painful detail: Theodore knocked the puck off the boards. it bounced off Bussi’s skate. and Vegas took the win. Tuesday night was different.
As Game 5 arrives Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, the series shifts to a best-of-three format, with Carolina carrying the kind of momentum you can’t measure in shots alone—because this time, the Hurricanes didn’t let a two-goal lead slip away.
And for Vegas, the question now is simple and urgent: can the Golden Knights find a way to solve Carolina again before the Hurricanes make their home-ice moment feel inevitable, and before their chance to win the first Cup in two decades turns into a celebration at their own rink?
Carolina Hurricanes Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup final Game 4 Jordan Staal Nikolaj Ehlers Brandon Bussi Frederik Andersen Rod Brind'Amour Carter Hart Mark Stone William Karlsson Brett Howden Logan Stankoven Jackson Blake