The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Lenovo Center. The victory gives Carolina a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and puts them one win away from their first championship in two decades.
Carolina’s top line drove the offense early. Andrei Svechnikov netted two power-play goals and Sebastian Aho scored his first of the series, moving the Hurricanes one win away from the Cup. Captain Jordan Staal also scored, marking his sixth goal of the Final. Staal is now only the fifth player in NHL history to record a five-game goal streak in the Stanley Cup Final.
Goaltender Brandon Bussi made 22 saves in just his second career postseason start. On the other side, Vegas goaltender Carter Hart allowed four goals for the fifth consecutive game. The Golden Knights also lost center William Karlsson to an apparent left arm injury following a second-period hit. Pavel Dorofeyev generated the only offense for Vegas, scoring both of their goals, while the series stands at 3-2.
The Carolina franchise has not won a championship since 2006. Current head coach Rod Brind’Amour captained that team. Game 6 is scheduled for Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.