The Vegas Golden Knights overcame multiple two-goal deficits but were unable to hold off the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5-3 loss in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period and led 3-1 after 20 minutes. Vegas responded with a two-goal second period, but Carolina scored the only two goals of the third period for the 5-3 victory.
The best-of-seven series is now tied at 2-2.
Carter Hart made his 23rd straight start, setting a franchise record for most consecutive starts by a Vegas goaltender.
Brandon Bussi, who replaced Frederik Andersen in the third period of Game 3, made his first career postseason start, and he was sharp early. But he wasn’t alone.
That’s because the Hurricanes came to play, and they took a 1-0 lead just 66 seconds into the game on Logan Stankoven’s 11th of the playoffs. Like Shea Theodore’s game-winner in Game 3, Stankoven took advantage of a favorable bounce off the end boards.
Theodore took a tripping minor seconds later, setting up a critical penalty kill early in the first.
Mark Stone had an excellent chance to even things up on a shorthanded breakaway, but Bussi got a piece of it. Sebastian Aho blocked the follow-up bid from Noah Hanifin to preserve the 1-0 lead.
In Vegas’ end, a careless failed clear by Brayden McNabb allowed Carolina to extend its zone time, and the Hurricanes made it count just four seconds after the penalty expired. Taylor Hall sent a cross-crease pass to Jackson Blake, who made no mistake on the backdoor shot, leaving Hart with no chance and putting Vegas in a two-goal hole just like that.
It was Carolina’s second goal in 2:22, and it helped the road team take a 2-0 lead just 3:28 into the game.
But Stone got his second breakaway of the period off a perfect stretch pass from Theodore, sending the Vegas captain past a line of Hurricanes skaters on the blue line. This time, Stone would not be denied, as he faked a slapshot and slid the puck around Bussi’s pad to get Vegas on the board and cut the deficit in half.
Later in the period, the Golden Knights got caught with seven men on the ice, leading to Carolina’s second power play of the opening frame. The Hurricanes bested the Vegas penalty kill when Jordan Staal scored on a rebound to make it 3-1 at 12:48. It was Staal’s fourth goal of the series.
With 2:28 remaining, the Golden Knights got their first power play of the night after Hall slashed Ivan Barbashev, but Vegas wasn’t able to get much going. Instead, Carolina set up Hall on a breakaway as he exited the box. Hart came up with a massive save on what would have been a back-breaking goal.
For maximum drama, the Golden Knights had the puck in the offensive zone in the waning seconds of the period. Nic Dowd sent a cross-ice pass to McNabb for the one-timer as the seconds ticked off the clock. McNabb’s shot found twine, but the puck didn’t cross the goal line until after the clock reached zero, preventing what would have been a miraculous buzzer-beater.
The Golden Knights were down 3-1 after one despite trailing just 11-10 in scoring chances and leading 6-4 in high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
Through the first three games of the series, the Golden Knights outscored the Hurricanes 7-1 in the second period, and they needed another strong middle frame to recover from the rough first.
That’s exactly what they got, as the Golden Knights scored two goals in the middle frame to knot things up at 3-3.
Mitch Marner’s speed and effort in the neutral zone got things going for the home team, as Marner won a race and started the rush before getting the puck to Rasmus Andersson. Andersson—freshly reunited with Hanifin—skated around the net before finding William Karlsson for the one-timer. Karlsson’s third of the postseason made it a one-goal game at 4:22.
Marner earned the secondary assist on the play, recording his 19th helper and 29th point of the postseason, adding to his impressive totals. He continues to raise the bar for the record for most postseason points by a player in his first year with a team.
The Golden Knights got their second power play of the game and had an added advantage when Staal broke his stick, but Vegas passed the puck around without directing much at the net, ultimately failing to convert.
Later in the period, the NHL’s hottest goal-scorer made his presence felt once more, as Brett Howden scored with 2:52 remaining, using a toe-drag before beating Bussi up high. Howden’s 14th of the playoffs set a franchise record for most goals in a single postseason, surpassing Jonathan Marchessault’s record (13) from the 2023 Stanley Cup run.
The Golden Knights had just 12 shots on goal through two periods, but they had seven high-danger chances and three goals after 40 minutes.
They continued to push in the third.
Vegas generated some good looks on an early power play, though Jack Eichel hit the post and Pavel Dorofeyev was unable to make it happen.
The Golden Knights continued to get chances and looked more dangerous than they had in the second, but they were unable to convert, including when Stone missed wide a few times.
Carolina had a great opportunity courtesy of Seth Jarvis, but Hart made a massive stop. However, Vegas turned the puck over and overcommitted to the corner, leaving Staal uncontested. The Carolina captain made an exceptional play while falling down, finding a way to chip the puck past a diving Hart. Staal’s second of the night and fifth of the series proved to be the game-winner, giving the Hurricanes the 4-3 lead at 6:32 of the third.
Bussi later robbed Eichel on a backdoor bid to preserve the lead.
With the goalie pulled, Eichel had a glorious chance right off the faceoff but missed high. Shortly thereafter, Nikolaj Ehlers’ blind clear from behind his own net banked off the boards and somewhat made its way down the ice and into the empty cage to seal the 5-3 win for Carolina.
Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final followed a similar pattern as previous games, with the Hurricanes carrying play in the first period and Vegas responding with a much better second. There was another multi-goal comeback, as the Golden Knights crawled out of two two-goal holes to even things up through 40 minutes.
Though the Golden Knights had plenty of chances in the third, it was Carolina that pulled out the victory. The Hurricanes outscored the Golden Knights 2-0 in the decisive frame to take back home-ice advantage and make this a best-of-three series.
The Golden Knights and Hurricanes both had plenty of sloppy sequences, as the two clubs combined for another eight goals, bringing the series total to 33.
Bussi stopped 14 of 17 shots in his first career playoff win, while Hart surrendered another four goals for an .852 save percentage. He also finished with -1.29 goals saved above expected, per Money Puck. He needed to make one more stop, but the Hurricanes took advantage of Vegas turnovers and ultimately capitalized on the Golden Knights’ slow start.
It’s unclear why the Golden Knights were not ready to play. Stone got them into the fight, and they came as close as it gets to making it a one-goal game at the end of the period, but it was an ugly frame on home ice.
Carolina also won the special-teams battle once again, scoring one power-play goal on three chances, with another goal coming just a few seconds after a Vegas penalty had expired.
Vegas, meanwhile, went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage. The Golden Knights have scored just once on the power play in this series. Vegas’ penalty kill had been a strength through the first three rounds, while Carolina’s power play was dreadful. Rod Brind’Amour has made the necessary adjustments to flip that script completely. The Golden Knights need to find a way to change that.
At the end of the day, the Golden Knights can’t expect to win with only one strong period. The second period has been phenomenal for Vegas, which has now outscored Carolina 9-1 in the middle frame. But the Golden Knights gave up three goals in the first and were outscored 5-1 in the first and third combined. Even though the Golden Knights had their chances, that’s never going to get it done at this stage of the season.
Another recurring issue in recent games has been Vegas’ inability to stop the bleeding. The Golden Knights cannot allow Carolina to continue to score in bunches. The early deficit proved to be too much to overcome. Playing from behind is not new for Vegas, but it’s too draining to do so night after night when the competition is this intense and when every bounce means so much.
Marner, Howden and Karlsson were fantastic once again, and Stone was a threat all night. Eichel, meanwhile, hasn’t done enough in this series. There have been times where it really seems as though he’s battling an injury, and he hasn’t looked like his dynamic self. He had his chances, but he lacks the extra jump that has become synonymous with his game. Dorofeyev also needs to get involved in this series, as Vegas greatly misses his scoring touch.
This matchup was expected to go six or seven games, so the fact that the series is locked at 2-2 isn’t a shock. That being said, the Golden Knights had a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight and failed to capitalize. This was never going to be easy, and the Hurricanes are a formidable opponent, but self-inflicted mistakes have been costly.
The good news is that Vegas has been able to light the lamp as well as fight back after falling behind. But the Golden Knights were not good enough in Game 4. They will have to find some answers as the series shifts to Raleigh for Game 5 on Thursday.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Money Puck.
Photo via the Golden Knights