LAS VEGAS — Jordan Staal is one of just two Carolina Hurricanes who has won the Stanley Cup. The 37-year-old captain is doing everything he can to win another one.
Staal scored twice, including the game winner in the third period, as Carolina defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to tie the series at 2-2.
The final has featured a barrage of goals, comebacks and frenetic action from end to end. Game 4 was no different — even with a new goalie in net for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Goaltender Brandon Bussi got his first start of the playoffs for Carolina, replacing Frederik Andersen, who didn’t dress for the game after starting the first 16 games in the playoffs. Bussi came up with some big saves throughout the game, including in the final seconds.
And the Hurricanes needed them all after squandering leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Each game in the series has featured a multi-goal comeback to at least tie the game.
There have now been 33 goals scored in the final. The 25 goals in the series’ first three games were the most in a Stanley Cup Final since 1981.
Game 5 is Thursday in Raleigh.
Carolina’s Logan Stankoven opened the scoring Tuesday just 66 seconds into the game when he deposited a rebound off a shot by Jalen Chatfield that went wide of the net, but bounced hard off the boards to a wide open Stankoven. He backhanded it into the net for his 11th goal of the postseason.
Jackson Blake made it 2-0 off a nice pass from Taylor Hall across the goal. Blake deposited it high in the net past Vegas goalie Carter Hart.
Bussi was tested early. He stopped a breakaway and two rebounds. But Mark Stone got behind the Carolina defense and deked Bussi at the 7:22 mark of the first period.
Staal scored a power-play goal later in the period off a rebound. Hart saved a high shot from defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere at the point, but Staal cleaned up the rebound. Staal has scored a goal in all four games of the series. He is the first player to score in the first four final games since 1982.
Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb appeared to score in the final second of the period, but the puck crossed the goal line after the clock hit 0:00.
Vegas cut its deficit to 3-2 on William Karlsson’s goal less than five minutes into the second period. Mitch Marner carried the puck into the Carolina zone and attracted two defenders before passing to Rasmus Andersson. Andersson took the puck behind the net and found Karlsson in the slot for a one-timer that beat Bussi.
Vegas tied it late in the second period on a wrist shot by Brett Howden, his 14th of the postseason. Howden had 12 goals in the regular season. Carolina has been outscored 9-1 in the second period in this series.
But the Hurricanes have turned that around in the third period. Carolina has outscored Vegas 9-3 in the series in the third period after Staal’s falling down backhander put the Hurricanes in the lead again 6:32 into the third.
It came after a Vegas turnover in its own zone led to Seth Jarvis alone in front of Hart. Jarvis couldn’t score, but the scrum for the loose puck sent it and sent it to Nikolaj Ehlers, who kind of whiffed on his shot. Staal, falling, was able to backhand the puck past a diving Hart for the lead.
It was Staal’s seventh goal of the playoffs. He celebrated face down on the ice.
Staal won a Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. His brother, Eric, was on the Hurricanes’ only Cup-winning team in 2006 and his jersey hangs in the rafters at Lenovo Center. Jordan Staal joined the Hurricanes in 2012 in a trade, suffering through years of regular-season struggles before eight straight years of postseason appearances that fell short.
Ehlers added an empty net goal for the final margin.
After days of speculation about what Rod Brind’Amoour would go in net, the Hurricanes made the move to Bussi, who replaced starter Frederik Andersen for the third period of Game 3.
Bussi stopped his first 18 across the third period and two overtimes before allowing the game winner on a bad bounce that hit his skate.
Andersen started the first 16 postseason games for Carolina. Andersen was terrific in the early rounds, but his goals against average has climbed in each round of the playoffs. His save percentage has decreased in each round.
Pyotr Kochetkov, who hasn’t played for the Hurricanes since December, dressed as the No. 2 goalie. Andersen was a healthy scratch.
Bussi, who was picked up on waivers just before the season and then won 31 games in 39 starts for Carolina. He was rewarded with a contract extension — and a spot on the bench for the playoffs.
“Pretty much every time we give him any type of opportunity, he seizes the moment,” Brind’Amour said of Bussi in between Games 3 and 4. “That’s what he did the other night, too.”
