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The Carolina Hurricanes tied the 2026 Stanley Cup Final with a 5-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal willed his team to victory, and now they'll bring home-ice advantage back to Raleigh.
If you thought Staal was just a defensive specialist at this stage of his career -- nearing the end of his 20th season -- think again. The 37-year-old Staal scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning tally in the third period, and he's up to five in the Stanley Cup Final.
That game-winner wasn't the most graceful, but it counted all the same. As Staal was falling to the ice, he managed to chip the puck over the glove of a diving Carter Hart to give Carolina the lead.
After winning his playoff debut, which just happened to come in the Stanley Cup Final, Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi had an apt description of the game-winning tally.
"Hectic, like the whole series has been," Bussi told ESPN's Emily Kaplan.
Bussi is a great story as a player who battled through college hockey and the minor leagues before finally making his NHL debut this season at the age of 27. Although he wasn't perfect in Game 4, Bussi made key saves early and late, which gave Carolina a chance to win the game.
If the bright lights of the Final caused any jitters, Bussi certainly didn't show it in his postgame interview.
"Maybe just never give up," Bussi said about what people can learn from his career arc. "Have fun with it. I'm having a blast. As long as you're having fun, there's no need to stress about anything."
In addition to Staal and Bussi, the Hurricanes got big contributions from Nikolaj Ehlers (three points) and Jackson Blake (two points). Sebastian Aho remained somewhat quiet, but Carolina is two wins away from a Stanley Cup in spite of that fact.
As has been the case throughout the series, we had wild momentum swings with the Golden Knights rallying from two goals down to tie the game at 3-3 in the third period, and Brett Howden broke the franchise record with his 14th playoff goal. Unfortunately for Vegas, it couldn't find another goal and will have to settle for a split in the two-game set at home.
Game 5 is on Thursday night in Raleigh, and the winner of that game will be within one victory of the Stanley Cup.
Staal still has gas in the tank
Old dogs don't need to learn new tricks. They just need to be damn good at the ones they already know. That was Staal in Game 4. Both of his goals were the result of the 37-year-old captain doing what he does best.
In the first period, Staal planted his 6-foot-4 frame in front of Carter Hart on the power play, and he was rewarded for doing so. Shayne Gostisbehere's shot bounced off Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, and Staal reacted quickly to swat the rebound home behind Hart.
On the game-winning goal, Staal started and finished the play. His aggressive forecheck -- and good stick position -- forced the Shea Theodore turnover that sparked chaos. With Seth Jarvis fending off four Golden Knights in the corner, Staal got to the front of the net and laid out just to get a stick on the puck.
Staal's sparkling performance in this series now has him sitting in elite company. Over the past 50 seasons, Staal is one of seven players who have scored five or more goals in the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final. Some of those other names include Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.
On top of that, Staal is one goal behind Brad Marchand for the most goals in a Stanley Cup Final by a player age 37 or older. Based on how things have gone so far, Staal will get there before the series is over.
Coming into the series, I wasn't expecting Staal to be a huge contributor offensively, but he has been Carolina's best player in that regard. It's a testament to Staal's longevity that he continues to be a major factor for the Canes in the biggest moments.
Special teams sinking Vegas
The Golden Knights were well above average on special teams in the regular season and throughout most of the playoffs. That edge has completely vanished against the Hurricanes, and it's starting to become a serious problem.
In Game 4, the power play came up empty on all three attempts, and Vegas is now 1-for-12 on the man advantage in the Stanley Cup Final. Pavel Dorofeyev, who scored 20 power play goals in the regular season, doesn't have a single point in the series. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Golden Knights have generated 6.78 xGF/60 on the power play, a number that would have ranked 31st in the regular season.
The penalty kill hasn't been much better either. The Golden Knights have allowed the Hurricanes to score on four of their 11 power plays in the series, which puts their kill rate at a putrid 63.6%. If Carolina's power play had been rolling coming into the Final, maybe that's understandable, but it was operating at around a 12% clip prior to this series.
If you've watched even five minutes of this series, you know that there is zero daylight between the Hurricanes and Golden Knights. In such a tight series, special teams can make a huge difference. Unfortunately for Vegas, they've tipped the scales in favor of Carolina.
Are you not entertained?!
Let's just take a beat to appreciate how great this series has been through four games. It has had just about everything from highlight-reel plays, overtime drama and dizzying momentum swings. Oh, and it has had scoring -- a lot of scoring.
When this matchup was finalized, I thought this series had a chance to be one of the lowest-scoring Final matchups in quite a while. I was right about the the historic scoring, but not in the right direction. The 33 goals are the most through four games of a Stanley Cup Final since 1981 when the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars were playing fire wagon hockey.
Scoring is fun, but it hits hardest when the games are close. No one cares about astronomical goal totals if every game ends 7-2. Luckily for us, every single game in the series has been tied at some point in the third period. Better yet, each of the first three games was decided by one goal, and Game 4 was one funny bounce into an empty net from falling into that same category.
No, these aren't the most traditional hockey markets in the NHL. They also aren't two of the biggest TV markets in the NHL. But that shouldn't matter one iota. The hockey has sold itself in this series, and if the NHL can get people to tune in, then they need to re-evaluate their marketing strategy.
It would be unjust for the hockey gods to give us anything less than three more games of this.
