A wild Stanley Cup Final swings
again as Hurricanes win 5-3 to make series 2-2 with Golden Knights
[June 10, 2026]
By MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Carolina-Vegas series was largely expected to
be a Stanley Cup Final in which goals were at a premium and each
shift felt like a march up a well-defended hill.
Yeah, that isn't this.
Another two-goal lead went the way of the landline on Tuesday night,
the go-ahead shot came from a 37-year-old on his stomach on one of
the great runs in Cup final history, and the winning goalie made his
first start in two months and doesn't know if that will be his last
one this postseason.
None of it makes sense and yet it all somehow does in this series
that is now even after four games — probably aptly so — because of
Jordan Staal's second goal at 6:32 of the third period that came
while sprawled on the ice in what became a 5-3 Hurricanes victory
over for the Golden Knights.
“It's a wild ride, isn't it?” Staal said. “There's a lot of emotion,
lots of ups and downs.”
Now the series heads back to Carolina for Game 5 on Thursday night.
The Hurricanes will potentially have two games on home ice to win
their first Cup in two decades. Coach Rod Brind'Amour captained that
2006 team, and though he's not ready to look at the big picture, he
recognizes this is a unique final.
“I know I need to (appreciate it) because this doesn’t come across
very often," Brind'Amour said. "But it is pretty stressful.”
The same applies at the other end, where the 9-year-old Golden
Knights chase their second championship in four years. Their
position isn't all that different from when the day started — two
more wins and they're there — but now they need to win at least once
more on the road.
“We need to flush it and get ready for our next game," Vegas coach
John Tortorella said. “I don’t think we should be looking any
farther than just the next game.”
Whichever team winds up losing can point to a number of moments that
could have changed the outcome.
Each game until this one was decided by one goal. It appeared this
one would as well until Nikolaj Ehlers deposited an empty-net goal
from 187 feet.
A two-goal lead has disappeared in all four games in what has been a
remarkable series in which momentum often changes at a moment's
notice. Each team has led by at least that many twice.
The 33 combined goals are tied for the third highest in a Cup final
with the Islanders-Flyers series in 1980.
[to top of second column] |
Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal, right, celebrates his goal
during the first period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup
Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Tuesday, June 9,
2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Staal 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. Mike Bossy in 1982 with the New York Islanders
against the Vancouver Canucks was the last player to score in the
first four games of a final.
Ehlers' goal was part of a three-point night for
him, Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist and Logan Stankoven
scored a goal.
Brandon Bussi started in place of Frederik Andersen in goal and made
18 saves, and including his work in relief in Game 2, Bussi has 36
saves on 40 shots. Brind'Amour said that Andersen, who did not
dress, needed the rest. Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup goalie with
Andersen serving as the emergency goaltender.
“If you're going to give him a break, you need to give him a break,"
Brind'Amour said. “So to me, him dressing and going through all that
does not really give him a night off.”
Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Brett Howden scored goals for the
Golden Knights, and Carter Hart made 23 saves. Karlsson also had an
assist.
The Hurricanes came out blazing, taking a 3-1 lead in the first
period. Vegas nearly cut it to one, but Brayden McNabb's goal came
right after the period ended and didn't count.
Vegas scored twice in the second to tie the game, and the Golden
Knights have now outscored Carolina 9-1 in that period.
But the Golden Knights failed to add to that total, shifting
home-ice advantage back to the Hurricanes.
“We knew it was going to be a tight series,” Golden Knights
defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “We’re playing a really good team
and 2-2, best out of three and fly out to Carolina (Wednesday) and
take care of business in Game 5.”
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