Rachel Barkley
When former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Mike Commodore came out to sound the siren with nothing more than his signature afro and bathrobe, we should have known we were in for one heck of a game.
The Hurricanes faced the Vegas Golden Knights back home in Raleigh for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and took the win 4-2 to the delight of the ever-raucous ‘Caniacs’ filling the stands and watch parties.
However, it didn’t start off on the best foot for the home team.
The Vegas Golden Knights got a delay of game power play after Nikolaj Ehlers popped the puck over the glass (something he would do again later, as well as K’Andre Miller), and it was 30 seconds later that Pavel Dorofeyev got the first goal of the game, ending his seven-game goal drought.
That lead didn’t last long, though, as Jordan Staal scored to tie the game midway through the first period, getting his sixth goal in five games.
Midway through the second period, top-liners Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho both scored the first Stanley Cup Final goals of their NHL careers, with Svechnikov getting the go-ahead goal on the power play, and Aho scoring soon after.
That wasn’t the only time that Svechnikov found the back of the net, either. With the clock just 50 seconds shy of the same 11:58 he’d scored at in the second period, he put the puck past Carter Hart once again on the power play in the third period.
A couple of minutes later, Dorofeyev scored his second goal of the game, but it was too little too late for the Golden Knights, who couldn’t find twine for the rest of the game – even with a 6-4 advantage as they combined a power play and extra attacker.
With the win, the Hurricanes lead the series against the Golden Knights for the first time and are now one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup.
Hurricanes Game Notes
With his game-tying goal in the first period, 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 two power play goals, 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.
Despite giving up dual puck over the glass penalties, Nikolaj Ehlers was the unsung hero of Game 5, assisting on Staal’s goal and both of Svechnikov’s – two of his assists having been primary.
Ahead of Game 5, the Hurricanes raised some eyebrows as they recalled goaltender Amir Miftakhov from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to be the emergency backup goaltender – a role that Frederik Andersen had in the previous game. Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup goaltender, and Brandon Bussi got his second consecutive start, performing well as he stopped 24 of 25 shots faced, including an insane 15 high-danger chances against. Additionally, Bussi became the first goaltender in NHL history to make his first two postseason starts in the Stanley Cup Final and win both games.
