Staal scores 2, Hurricanes top Golden Knights in Game 4, even Stanley Cup Final
Captain breaks tie in 3rd, Ehlers has 3 points for Carolina
from Dan Rosen, at NHL.com/www.nhl.com
LAS VEGAS — Jordan Staal scored two goals, including the game-winner with 13:28 remaining in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes evened the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 in Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2. Game 5 is at Lenovo Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Staal has five goals in the series, including at least one in all four games. He is the first player to score in each of the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final since Mike Bossy did it with the New York Islanders in 1982.
Nikolaj Ehlers had three points on a goal and two assists. Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist, Logan Stankoven scored and Brandon Bussi made 18 saves in his first career start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
William Karlsson had a goal and an assist, and Mark Stone and Brett Howden also scored for the Golden Knights. Carter Hart made 23 saves.
Carolina took a 2-0 lead 3:28 into the first period. It’s the fourth straight game a team has led 2-0, and the fourth straight game a team couldn’t maintain a multi-goal lead, a first in Stanley Cup Final history.
Stankoven scored from the slot at 1:06 to make it 1-0. Blake made it 2-0 at 3:28.
Stone cut it to 2-1 at 7:22 with a breakaway goal set up by Shea Theodore’s pass from the Vegas defensive zone.
Staal scored his first at 12:48, cashing in off a rebound from the slot for a power-play goal to make it 3-1.
Karlsson scored on a one-timer from the left face-off circle at 4:22 of the second period to cut Carolina’s lead to 3-2.
Howden scored his NHL-leading 14th goal of the postseason with a shot from the left circle through K’Andre Miller’s legs to tie it 3-3 at 17:08.
Staal gave Carolina the lead at 6:32 of the third, chipping the puck in with his backhand as he was falling down in the low slot after Ehlers got him the puck from the left circle. Brayden McNabb inadvertently passed the puck to Ehlers, who one-touched it across to Staal.
Ehlers scored a length-of-the-ice empty-net goal at 19:05 for the 5-3 final.