The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday in Raleigh and now lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, game statistics show.
Vegas opened the scoring on a power play after officials called a delay of game when Nikolaj Ehlers shot the puck over the glass. Pavel Dorofeyev buried the Golden Knights’ first shot of the night on a feed from Jack Eichel, according to the game record. Minutes later, Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal tied the game with a redirection, extending his scoring streak to five games and tying the Stanley Cup Final record for consecutive games with a goal, NHL records show.
The second period featured more penalties that benefited Carolina. After the Hurricanes killed a penalty, back-to-back infractions by Vegas gave Carolina another man advantage and Andrei Svechnikov scored to put the Hurricanes ahead. Sebastian Aho added a goal later in the frame. The Golden Knights said forward William Karlsson exited the game during the second period and did not return.
In the third, Vegas captain Mark Stone was assessed a double-minor for a high stick that drew blood on Jalen Chatfield. Svechnikov converted the ensuing power play for his second goal of the night. Dorofeyev scored his second to cut the deficit to two and sparked a late Vegas push. With 2:13 left, Ehlers was called for delay of game and the Golden Knights pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 advantage.
Carolina held on despite several late chances by Vegas, including a bid by Tomas Hertl that was stopped with 1:20 remaining. Game statistics show Hurricanes goaltender Bussi made 22 saves on 24 shots. The series shifts back to Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, where Carolina can clinch the Cup with one more victory.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
