Rachel Barkley
With the series between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights tied once more, the Stanley Cup Final returns to ‘Raleighwood’ for Game 5.
The game is scheduled for 8:00 PM EDT.
Tying the series 2-2 in Game 4, the Hurricanes had their most complete game of the SCF yet.
In the first three and a half minutes, they claimed a two-goal lead thanks to Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake, with Blake’s having been an extension of the power play, coming just four seconds after the advantage officially ended.
Mark Stone got one back on a breakaway for the Golden Knights, but Jordan Staal erased it with a power-play goal before the end of the frame.
Despite Vegas scoring twice in the second period, Carolina stayed on their game, and it paid off in the third period. Staal scored for the second time to get the go-ahead goal, and it was the game-winner.
You can read all about it here!
In the Crease
In the previous game, Carter Hart notched an interesting stat, becoming the only goaltender in NHL history to allow four goals or more in each of the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final. Nonetheless, he is the likely starter going into Game 5.
Meanwhile, it is still up for debate whether Frederik Andersen or Brandon Bussi will get the start. In Game 4, Bussi got the first postseason start of his NHL career, and he played very well. Meanwhile, Andersen was not on the bench, with Pyotr Kochetkov as the backup instead. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that the choice was not made due to injury, but instead to give him rest.
Projected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Jordan Martinook
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Seth Jarvis
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Brandon Bussi / Frederik Andersen
Projected Vegas Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone
Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner
Tomas Hertl – Colton Sissons – Pavel Dorofeyev
Cole Smith – Nic Dowd – Keegan Kolesar
Defense
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson
Jeremy Lauzon – Dylan Coghlan
Goaltenders
Carter Hart / Adin Hill
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 16.4% (11th, up one spot from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 92.3% (2nd)
Vegas Golden Knights power play: 20.7% (5th)
Vegas Golden Knights penalty kill: 83.1% (8th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Jordan Staal became just the third player in NHL history to post five goals through the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, joining Wayne Gretzky in 1985 with the Edmonton Oilers and Mario Lemieux in 1992 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Interestingly, Gretzky and Lemieux were also captains of their teams at the time.
Brandon Bussi became just the third goaltender in the expansion era of the NHL to have his first postseason start in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2015 with Tampa Bay Lightning, and Jussi Markkanen in 2006 with Edmonton Oilers – the latter of which was, ironically, versus the Hurricanes.
Though the Stanley Cup Final will only be available via national broadcasts, local play-by-play announcer Mike Maniscalco and analyst Tripp Tracy will continue to call games on the Hurricanes’ radio partner. 99.9 The Fan.
How To Watch
TV: ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
