- Jordan Staal scored twice as Carolina beat Vegas 5-3 in Game 4 to even the Cup Final 2-2
- Staal has scored in all four games, the first to do it in a Final since Mike Bossy in 1982
- Read below for the full breakdown on the Hurricanes win and Game 5 on Thursday
Jordan Staal is rewriting Stanley Cup Final history, and the Hurricanes are alive because of it.
The captain scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, as Carolina knocked off the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 in Game 4 on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. The best-of-7 series is even at 2-2.
Staal has scored in every game of this Final. He is the first player to do that since Mike Bossy pulled it off with the Islanders in 1982. Only nine players have ever managed it.
His winner was the kind of goal you do not draw up. Nikolaj Ehlers slid him the puck from the left circle and Staal chipped it in on his backhand while falling to the ice at 6:32 of the third. Watch it:
Carolina jumped out early again. Logan Stankoven scored from the slot 1:06 in, and Jackson Blake made it 2-0 just over two minutes later.
Vegas kept clawing back. Mark Stone scored on a breakaway, William Karlsson buried a one-timer, and Brett Howden tied it 3-3 with his NHL-leading 14th goal of the postseason.
Then Staal took over. Ehlers, who finished with three points, set up the backbreaker and later added a length-of-the-ice empty-netter to put it away.
Brandon Bussi got the call in net and stopped 18 shots in his first career playoff start. He gave the Hurricanes exactly what they needed.
For the fourth straight game, a team built a 2-0 lead and could not hold it. That has never happened before in a Cup Final.
Take a look at the full Game 4 highlights:
Game 5 goes Thursday back at Lenovo Center in Raleigh at 8 p.m. ET. Staal has a chance to keep his streak going and put Carolina a win from the Cup.
