"Alive and Kicking": 2025-26 Postseason Round 4, Game 2: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Vegas Golden Knights

It's a new day, which means it's a chance for the Carolina Hurricanes to win Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. I still haven't gotten over the fact that I'm writing about the Canes being in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 wasn't bad, per se, but it certainly wasn't good. It was incredibly entertaining, which is probably not what the Canes were going for. They prefer things to stay boring, as do I. A 5-4 finish marked just the second time that the team has allowed three or more goals this postseason, and they've lost both times. It's the first time they've lost when scoring at least three times. Still, there is plenty of series left to be played, but for the Canes' sake, they really needed to win Game 2.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

VGK (13:33)- Brett Howden (12) (Mitch Marner (16))

2nd Period

VGK (7:23)- Brett Howden (13) (Ivan Barbashev (8) & Noah Hanifin (7))

3rd Period

CAR (10:20)- Logan Stankoven (10) (unassisted)

CAR (12:46)- Mark Jankowski (1) (William Carrier (4) & Eric Robinson (4))

CAR (15:25-PP)- Jordan Staal (4) (Shayne Gostisbehere (5) & Andrei Svechnikov (5))

VGK (18:39)- Mark Stone (6) (Mitch Marner (17) & Tomas Hertl (7))

Overtime

CAR (3:56-PP)- Seth Jarvis (4) (Shayne Gostisbehere (6) & Sebastian Aho (4))

My Thoughts

I don't believe that it's hyperbole to say that the Carolina Hurricanes' power play might've saved their season tonight. All of the credit in the world needs to be given to Logan Stankoven and the entire fourth line for their goals, and we'll talk more about them in a second, but tonight's game comes down to the Canes converting on their two biggest power plays of the season. The first conversion was a gift from either Vegas or Toronto's Situation Room after a failed challenge, tipped home by Jordan Staal off the shot by Shayne Gostisbehere. The second conversion was the result of hard work from the captain to draw the infraction, and Seth Jarvis wiring the one-timer home. Both goals came from the top unit, and they'd all desperately needed to find ways to enter the series. All three forwards on the top line recorded a point on the two goals, with Gostisbehere extending his point streak by providing the primary helper on both tallies. That's really what this game came down to.

Before talking about the comeback, we must explain just how the Canes got into that position. The explanation is as simple as Brett Howden being stronger than pretty much every Hurricane on the ice. On his first goal, while he might've been guilty of holding Sean Walker's stick, he outmuscled the Canes' defenseman in a one-on-one battle before snapping it home. On his second goal, he fought off the entire defense and outwaited Frederik Andersen to slide it around his right pad. Howden had at least two more great chances because he won a battle against Jalen Chatfield, ending in Andersen kicking one out and Mitch Marner hitting the crossbar on the other. Another big issue was the Canes allowing goals right after a successful penalty kill. Twice tonight, including the tying goal in regulation, they gave up a goal within seconds of returning to even strength. That's something to pay attention to moving forward.

For the better part of two and a half periods, Vegas' defense was giving the Hurricanes no space to operate. The Canes only had 15 shots through two periods, which was still more than Vegas' 11, but the Golden Knights also led 2-0. It all changed with the bulldog-like effort of Logan Stankoven. He forced Rasmus Andersson to turn the puck over behind the net after losing the face-off. Sure, he got a lucky bounce to pull off the goal, but they don't ask how, and no one supporting the Canes in the building was going to complain about it. Then, the fourth line gave Vegas a taste of its own medicine. Winning a battle on an aerial flip by Eric Robinson, William Carrier did a good job of staying onside and pushing the puck to Mark Jankowski. It was about time that he scored a goal this postseason, and he picked the right moment for it. After looking lost and hopeless all night, the Canes completely changed the game in 2:26. You know how the rest of the game went. 

In Game 1, Carter Hart was one save better than Andersen. Tonight, Andersen returned serve by being literally one save better than his Vegas counterpart, stopping 23 of Vegas' 26 shots, while Hart stopped 22 of 26. It wasn't necessarily a good start for Andersen, allowing two goals on six shots. However, I think he was just as big a part of the win. He made one of his biggest saves of the night after Alexander Nikishin blew a tire, sending Vegas into the zone with an odd-man chance. Shortly after that, he made the stop from his stomach on Ivan Barbashev's wrap-around, leading to the wild challenge from Vegas. The tying goal was a bit of bad luck, and one that is just as much on Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield in front of the net. This has to be a big confidence-building win for him as we head west. 

First Star of the Game: Jordan Staal

Sometimes, you need your captain to be the most impactful player on the ice. The Canes were hit or miss throughout the night, but the two biggest moments of the night happened because of Jordan Staal. First, he scored the short-lived go-ahead goal on the power play to send the building into a frenzy. Then, he drew the tripping penalty early in overtime that ended the game seconds later. As one of the two players with a Stanley Cup victory, he has looked every bit the experienced veteran the team has needed him to be. 

Next Up: This tied series is heading to Las Vegas for the next two games. Games 3 and 4 will be played on Saturday and Tuesday, giving us an extra day between contests. The series is guaranteed to be back at the Lenovo Center next Thursday night, and we'll see if more games are needed over the next few days.