Carolina Hurricanes take commanding 3-2 series lead after Game 5 win over Vegas

It wasn’t Game 7, but it almost felt like it.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights went at it Thursday in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and it was 60 minutes of hard checks and fights for pucks and a bruising battle to find open ice and any kind of scoring chance.

The Canes emerged with 4-2 victory after a game of big-boy hockey at the Lenovo Center, grabbing a 3-2 lead in the series and putting them on the brink of the franchise’s second Stanley Cup.

The Canes go back to Las Vegas for Game 6 on Sunday. The Cup will be in T-Mobile Arena. Only the Canes can win it that night.

“Their backs are against the wall, so it’s going to take everything we have,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said. “That’s the bottom line, and we’re going to need everybody to give everything they have, and we’ll have to find a way.”

Neither team had won two straight games in a Cup Final filled with funky plays and blown leads and unpredictable and sudden momentum swings.

And, in the Canes’ case, a goalie change.

Brandon Bussi quickly became a fast trending story after relieving Frederik Anderson in the third period of Game 3, winning Game 4 in the rookie’s first career playoff start and then starting again Thursday.

Vegas scored on its first shot of the game as Pavel Dorofeyev, who had two goals in the game, converted on a power play, his first goal in the Cup Final.

But Staal scored, again -- and historically, again.

Andrei Svechnikov had two power-play goals.

And Sebastian Aho, who has been more of a playmaker than goal-scorer in the playoffs, went top shelf after a Sean Walker pass for a 3-1 lead in the second period.

Staal has six goals in the Stanley Cup Final and became the first player to score in five straight games to start a Cup Final since Jean Beliveau in 1956. The other two: Maurice Richard (1951) and Cyclone Taylor (1918).

Staal’s sprawling backhander while flat on the ice was the winning goal in Game 4, not the most nimble of shots, but in the net. He scored on a redirect of an Ehlers pass for a 1-1 tie Thursday -- the first of Ehlers’ three assists -- and other good looks as he powered his way around the crease.

The Canes continued to surge on the power play. Svechnikov saw to that, tying the score in the second period with a blast and adding his second in the third period off a slick Ehlers pass for a 4-1 lead.

Vegas captain Mark Stone was called for a double-minor high-sticking penalty in the third after getting his stick under the shield of defenseman Jalen Chatfield and almost yanking off his helmet. Chatfield was nicked over his right eye but returned to the game.

The Canes, after struggling though the playoffs, have power-play goals in four straight games.

The Canes’ third delay-of-game penalty, for flipping the puck over the glass, resulted in a 6-on-4 power play for Vegas after pulling goalie Carter Hart.

Bussi’s two stops on Tomas Hertl, with 1:20 left in regulation, essentially sealed the win. Bussi finished with 23 saves for his second straight win.

“We were able to manage their pushes tonight. That was really big,” Bussi said. “And when we got going we were able to score on our chances.

“It’s been fun. We’re playing hockey at the highest level. It’s been fun to be a part of it.”

There were some blemishes in the win. Ehlers twice was called for penalties for delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass from the defensive zone, and defenseman K’Andre Miller was called for a third.

Ehlers called it his worst game of the playoffs, and noted he would hear about his mistakes from his father, a European hockey coach. To which Brind’Amour quipped: “I hope so.”

“Everyone is going to have nights where you have mistakes, but you can have a positive impact on the game,” Brind’Amour said. .”He found a way to contribute.”

The Knights lost center William Karlsson to an apparent upper body injury after a big hit from Walker in the game, and Vegas coach John Tortorella said he would not return in the series. After the game, Vegas coach John Tortorella was defiant, promising a Game 7.

“We’ll be back,” he said. “I’ll leave my clothes here because we’ll be back.”

But first, the return to Last Vegas. Again, the Cup will be in Las Vegas.

A new goalie wrinkle for the Hurricanes?

Bussi started Game 5 for the Carolina Hurricanes, of course.

But before the game, that was still officially in doubt. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour answered the question Thursday morning almost before it was finished.

No, he said, he had nothing to say about the Canes’ lineup for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at Lenovo Center.

“Everybody’s available,” he said.

That theoretically meant goalie Frederik Andersen, who missed Game 4 in Las Vegas on Tuesday and was not at Thursday’s morning skate. He did skate earlier Thursday morning, Brind’Amour said.

But he was not on the ice or on the bench for Game 5.

Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup for Game 5, as he had been in Game 4. Andersen, 36, had started the first 16 games of the playoffs.

And in another twist, the AHL transaction wire on Thursday noted that another goalie is on his way to Raleigh: Carolina recalled Amir Miftakhov from Chicago. Miftakhov stepped in for the Wolves in Games 6 and 7 of their conference championship series when regular starter Cayden Primeau was unable to play. The Wolves won the series and start the Calder Cup Final on Friday.

Brind’Amour said again Thursday, as he has many times, that he leans on goaltender coach Paul Schonfelder in reaching a final decision on the starter and getting feedback on their play from practice. Brind’Amour said a minute-long conversation with Schonfelder about Andersen on Tuesday resulted in Bussi being the starter.

“He knows those guys. That’s his job,” Brind’Amour said. “Paulie, when it comes to the goaltending, is 100 percent the guy in charge. I would say our views always seem to line up.”

Carter Hart was again the Vegas starter. Hart had allowed four goals in each of the Stanley Cup Final games, and has not looked overly comfortable in net during a wild series. Through Game 5, Hart has an .861 save percentage in the series.

Brind’Amour ‘06 vs Staal 2026?

One question posed to Hurricanes coach Brind’Amour before Game 5, bringing a grin from the coach, is how Brind’Amour in 2006 would have fared against Staal in 2026, center vs. center.

“Well …” Brind’Amour said. “I can tell you, and I forget the years, but I did line up against Jordan Staal in 2009 maybe, and that didn’t go very well.

“I guess that answers that question. I’ll leave it at that.”

Staal was with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, winning the Cup that year as the third center behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Brind’Amour was nearing the end of his career.

Torts takes in Knicks’ comeback

Vegas coach John Tortorella said he was watching Wednesday as the New York Knicks made their incredible comeback to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

“I wanted to go to bed but when it got down to 15, you knew something stupid was going to happen,” he said Thursday. “And I’m just saying the same stupid stuff is happening in our series.”

The Cup Final has made for some tight games and stupid bounces. Staal scored the winner in Game 4 after he fell over his own feet, swatting at the puck. Shea Theodore’s winner for Vegas in double overtime came after a bounce off the end boards that hit Bussi’s left skate.

“There have been a lot of emotional swings, exciting games, and tough games for a player with the ups and downs,” Staal said Thursday.

This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Carolina Hurricanes take commanding 3-2 series lead after Game 5 win over Vegas."