The Vegas Golden Knights needed Jack Eichel to lead. They needed Carter Hart to hold. They needed a cleaner night in front of their own net and fewer trips to the penalty box.
They did not get enough of any of it.
Carolina scored four straight goals after Pavel Dorofeyev gave Vegas an early lead, and the Hurricanes beat the Golden Knights 4-2 Thursday night at Lenovo Center to take a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Game 6 is set for Saturday night in Las Vegas, where the Golden Knights will try to keep their season alive.
Dorofeyev scored twice for Vegas, including a power-play goal on the Golden Knights’ first shot of the game. But Carolina answered with another Jordan Staal net-front goal, two power-play goals from Andrei Svechnikov and an even-strength goal from Sebastian Aho.
Vegas finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Carolina went 2-for-5 and turned the middle of the game into the stretch that decided it.
Vegas Starts With One Shot, One Goal
The Golden Knights did not record a shot for the first 6:24 of the game, but their first power play changed the start.
Nikolaj Ehlers sent the puck over the glass for delay of game, and Vegas needed only 28 seconds to cash in. Dorofeyev scored from in tight at 6:52, finishing a setup from Eichel. Tomas Hertl also assisted.
The goal gave Vegas a 1-0 lead and snapped a series-long power-play struggle. The Golden Knights entered the chance 1-for-12 on the power play in the Final.
Carolina answered at 11:46, and the goal came from the exact area John Tortorella had called out before the game.
Asked in the morning whether Vegas was losing the net-front battle against Staal or abandoning the area, Tortorella said, “Both. Both.”
Staal made that point again in the first period, tipping in a shot from the slot/front of the net to tie it 1-1. Ehlers and Seth Jarvis assisted.
The first period ended tied, with Vegas holding a 7-5 shot edge and the Golden Knights set to start the second on another power play after K’Andre Miller put the puck over the glass with six seconds left.
Carolina Takes Over the Second
The second period has been one of Vegas’ strengths throughout the postseason, but Carolina flipped that script in Game 5.
The Golden Knights did not turn the carryover power play into anything, then took a hit midway through the period when William Karlsson went to the locker room with an apparent arm or wrist injury.
Moments later, Jeremy Lauzon was called for roughing at 8:56. Vegas killed that penalty, but the relief lasted only one second. Brayden McNabb was called for cross-checking at 10:57, sending Carolina right back to the power play.
Svechnikov made the Golden Knights pay at 11:58, scoring on the man advantage off assists from Shayne Gostisbehere and Ehlers to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.
Dylan Coghlan said before the game that the series had punished lapses quickly.
“If you take a shift off or a couple shifts off, it’s going to kill you,” Coghlan said.
That was the second period for Vegas. One penalty kill became another penalty. One Carolina goal became a period the Hurricanes controlled.
Aho stretched the lead to 3-1 at 17:51, finishing an even-strength goal off assists from Sean Walker and Jordan Martinook. Carolina outshot Vegas 10-5 in the period and took a two-goal lead into the third.
Penalties Bury Vegas
Vegas needed the third period to become another chaotic swing in a series full of them. Instead, penalties buried the Golden Knights.
Eichel went off for tripping at 3:23. Vegas killed that one, but Mark Stone took a double-minor for high-sticking at 8:38, giving Carolina four minutes of power-play time with a two-goal lead.
Svechnikov scored again at 11:08, beating Hart on the power play to make it 4-1. Ehlers and Gostisbehere assisted again.
Dorofeyev gave Vegas a little life at 13:49, scoring his second of the game off assists from Shea Theodore and Eichel. The goal cut Carolina’s lead to 4-2 and gave Eichel his second assist of the night.
Tortorella said before the game that Vegas needed Eichel to produce.
“We do need him to score,” Tortorella said. “We do need him to lead the way, but he’ll accept the responsibility.”
Eichel helped set up both Vegas goals, but the Golden Knights never found enough offense around him. Theodore came inches from making it a one-goal game, ringing a shot off the post with 1:20 left during a 6-on-4 push after Hart had been pulled.
Carolina survived the late power play and closed out the win.
Hurricanes One Win Away
Both teams finished with 24 shots. Hart stopped 20 of 24 for Vegas. Brandon Bussi stopped 22 of 24 for Carolina.
Dorofeyev scored both Golden Knights goals. Eichel had two assists, while Hertl and Theodore each had one.
Svechnikov scored twice for Carolina, both on the power play. Staal and Aho also scored. Ehlers had three assists, and Gostisbehere had two.
The Hurricanes now lead the Stanley Cup Final 3-2 and are one win from the championship.
Vegas scored first. Carolina took over from there.
Now the Golden Knights head home with no room left.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
