Stanley Cup Final: Hurricanes Beat Golden Knights To Reach The Edge Of Glory
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes' top line finally showed up, and the Vegas Golden Knights are in trouble.
Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, and Sebastian Aho got his first in six games to pace the Hurricanes 4-2 in a crucial Game 5 victory. Carolina is now one victory away from winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006.
Vegas played with fire by taking some undisciplined penalties, and the Canes made them pay.
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Continuing the script-flipping, the Canes went on the offensive in the second, which had been their trouble period against Vegas previously. The Golden Knights took two straight unnecessary penalties, one by Jeremy Lauzon and the next by Brayden McNabb.
Carolina made them pay on the second, with Svechnikov ripping a shot past Hart that may have been screened by Lauzon.
Bussi was called into service after that, making key saves on Brett Howden and Mitch Marner. Bussi started his second straight game with Pyotr Kochetkov backing up, while Frederik Andersen was scratched again. Carolina even recalled AHL goalie Amir Miftakhov just in case.
Seconds later, Aho took a Sean Walker pass off his skate and roofed one over Hart to give the Canes a 3-1 lead.
Even worse for the Golden Knights, William Karlsson left the game during the second period after taking a hit from Walker. Karlsson went to hospital for more thorough examination, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Penalties stung Vegas again in the third with Mark Stone taking a double-minor for high-sticking Jalen Chatfield.
Ehlers made a spinning pass to Svechnikov on the doorstep to get his second power-play goal of the game and push the lead to 4-1.
Of course, we know in this series that it ain't over until it's over.
The Golden Knights did find life late when Dorofeyev popped one in on the doorstep after getting lost between Carolina's defense, and all of a sudden, it was a two-goal game.
Ehlers then took another puck-over-the-glass penalty (Carolina had three on the night, Ehlers with two of them) with 2:13 remaining, and Vegas called a timeout. They put Hart on the bench for a 6-on-4 advantage, but Bussi stood tall. He also got some great defense from the players in front of him, including from K'Andre Miller, who blocked a painful shot, then cleared the zone to relieve the pressure.
The Golden Knights never got closer, and Carolina is now in the driver's seat, up 3-2 heading into Game 6 back in Nevada.
In previous Stanley Cup finals that were tied 2-2 in a seven-game series, the squad that won Game 5 went on to win the trophy 20 times out of 27.
Carolina can become the 21st squad to do so as early as Game 6 on Sunday in Vegas at 8 p.m. ET.
More to come, including post-game reaction.
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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 8:03 PM.