Rachel Barkley
The Carolina Hurricanes only need one more win as they face the Vegas Golden Knights in T-Mobile Arena Sunday for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The game is scheduled for 8:00 PM EDT.
Thursday night, the Hurricanes won their second game in a row as they returned to Lenovo Center, playing one of their best games of the series as they took Game 5 with a decisive 4-2 victory. The Hurricanes were dominant in the second period – the frame that they have struggled with the most against the Golden Knights – as they scored the go-ahead goal and eventual game-winning goal thanks to top-liners Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho. In doing so, they both got the first Stanley Cup Final goals of their careers.
However, the game also saw the departure of Golden Knights centerman William Karlsson, who’d appeared to have been injured due to a check along the wall (and subsequent twisting up) from Sean Walker. In the time since, Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella announced that he has been ruled out for Game 6.
Before the game ended, Svechnikov added another goal – once again on the power play. While the Golden Knights got a goal back, Brandon Bussi continued to make outstanding saves, stopping 24 of 25 shots against and 14 of 15 high-danger chances throughout the game.
You can read all about it here!
In the Crease
Goaltending has been one of the most peculiar topics in the Stanley Cup Final. For Vegas, Carter Hart has made brutal history, as he became the only goalie in NHL history to allow four goals or more in each of the first four games of the SCF…then he extended that to five games on Thursday. Nonetheless, it seems that he will remain as Tortorella’s ‘ride-or-die’ going into Game 6.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes shook things up in Game 4 as Frederik Andersen went from the starter’s position since the postseason began to the third goalie. Then, for Game 5, Amir Miftakhov was recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to fill the emergency backup goaltender role – covering the position Andersen had the game before.
Since then, Miftakhov has returned to the Wolves (and even backstopped them Friday in their 4-2 loss to the Toronto Marlies in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final), and Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour has stated that Andersen is good to go for Game 6 – whether that is as the starter, backup, or emergency backup.
With that being said, Bussi kept the starter’s crease during practice Saturday, while Pyotr Kochetkov remained with the second net.
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 / Pyotr Kochetkov
Projected Vegas Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden – Mitch Marner – Mark Stone
Tomas Hertl – Colton Sissons – Reilly Smith
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
Scoring a goal in the first period of Game 5, Jordan Staal became just the fifth player in NHL history to score a goal in five games straight in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Yvan Cournoyer (Montreal Canadiens, 1973), Jean Beliveau (MTL 1956), Maurice Richard (MTL, 1951), and perhaps the coolest named hockey player ever, Cyclone Taylor (Vancouver Millionaires, 1918). Additionally, he was the first to do it as a member of a team located in the USA.
Having scored twice on the power play in Game 5, Svechnikov became just the fifth player since 2000 to do so in a single Stanley Cup Final game, joining Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers, 2025), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche, 2022), Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes, 2006), and Brad Richards (Tampa Bay Lightning, 2004). Additionally, he was the first to do it in a regulation win.
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
