"Seeing the Light": 2025-26 Postseason Round 4, Game 5: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Vegas Golden Knights

It's the biggest game of the season, and it's going down in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has been a wild few days, with the Canes drawing even with the Golden Knights on Tuesday, sending us back to the Lenovo Center in a 2-2 tie. All eyes have been on the goalie situation for the Canes. Brandon Bussi was solid in his first postseason start, but there were still lingering questions heading into tonight's contest. However, it appears that things will remain in place for Game 5, with Bussi back in the net and Pyotr Kochetkov backing him up. Otherwise, it's business as usual for the Canes, in the loosest sense of the word. There is nothing normal about their current predicament. They're two wins from the Stanley Cup, but none of that matters. All that they can control is what's in front of them. You can't look to the future without playing tonight, and all eyes will be on Game 5.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

VGK (6:54-PP)- Pavel Dorofeyev (11) (Jack Eichel (19) & Tomas Hertl (9))

CAR (11:46)- Jordan Staal (8) (Nikolaj Ehlers (8) & Seth Jarvis (7))

2nd Period

CAR (11:58-PP)- Andrei Svechnikov (5) (Shayne Gostisbehere (8) & Nikolaj Ehlers (9))

CAR (17:51)- Sebastian Aho (5) (Sean Walker (3) & Jordan Martinook (3))

3rd Period

CAR (11:08-PP)- Andrei Svechnikov (6) (Nikolaj Ehlers (10) & Shayne Gostisbehere (9))

VGK (13:49)- Pavel Dorofeyev (12) (Shea Theodore (12) & Jack Eichel (20))

My Thoughts

Would I have liked to see Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov get to their games earlier than Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final? Without question. Will I complain about them finally getting to their game in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final? Not a chance. This was the game that the Hurricanes needed from their top line, and they powered their group to victory. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, with both goals coming on the power play. Sebastian Aho's first goal of the series served as the game-winner late in the second period. They played with a purpose and were rewarded for their efforts. Personally, I think a lot of the talk heading into the game about their absence from the series has been a tad overblown. Aho had four assists in four games, though you still needed him to reach that next level. It might've taken them a while during this run to truly take over a game, but I'm glad that this is when they chose to do it.

There's one moment during each goal that really stood out to me. Jordan Staal won a race to the front of the net against Brayden McNabb after putting him into the boards. The captain made his stick available for the redirection to score his sixth goal of the series. On Svechnikov's first goal, we have to rewind a bit. The Canes had just put together a rough power play when McNabb took a cross-checking penalty one second after it ended. The second time around, Svechnikov put his shot through a set of legs in front of the net before it eluded Carter Hart. On Aho's goal, it's all about Jordan Martinook's forecheck. He wins a battle behind the net against Shea Theodore, gets the puck to Sean Walker, and he puts it in Aho's skates for him to kick to his stick and lift home. On Svechnikov's second power-play goal, Mark Stone was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking Jalen Chatfield, and while the first half was weak, Shayne Gostisbehere made one small fake to get the play going. Coming up the ice from behind the net, Gostisbehere fakes the drop pass, freezing Mitch Marner, and allowing himself space to create a 3-on-2. Ehlers makes another unreal pass, doing a full 360 to find Svechnikov for the tap-in and picks up his third assist of the night. They might seem like little plays. However, they make a big difference in the grand scheme of the game.

You can't say enough positive things about how Brandon Bussi has come into this series and stolen the show in the net. Tonight was the first time that a team was kept under two goals, which is an insane thing when you consider that there have been five games. Pavel Dorofeyev scored both goals for Vegas after enduring a long drought, so that's not ideal. Jack Eichel had two assists in what was an otherwise unremarkable game for him. The Canes kept Mitch Marner off the board, which felt like a Herculean feat. They gave Vegas' top defensive group fits. It felt like everything that the Canes did went right tonight, and it began with the man between the pipes. Bussi was composed under pressure, moved efficiently, and handled tips and redirections well. He has been their rock during some tough times this season, and he's doing it again on the biggest stage of them all.

All of this created a 4-2 win for the Carolina Hurricanes, giving them three wins in this series and 15 for the postseason. That means there's only one more to get, and I'll say it a million times that it's the toughest of them all to get. However, the Canes have put themselves in this spot with their efforts in the last two games. Over the course of tonight's game, you could see them starting to finally play the way they've wanted to the entire series. Never was that more present than during the second period. After struggling through the middle frame in four straight games, the Canes found a way to win it for once. Vegas appears confident that they'll be back in Raleigh for Game 7. The Canes have two cracks to win the Stanley Cup, and they should feel certain that they'll get a very desperate Vegas team on Sunday night.

First Star of the Game: Andrei Svechnikov

There was once again no shortage of incredible efforts from the Canes tonight. There's no wrong answer to this, but two goals on the power play from Andrei Svechnikov feel like a very big deal. He's now scored three times in the series, and all of them have come with the man advantage. After compiling just four shots through four games, Svechnikov had three tonight, two of which went into the net. He added a pair of hits as well. 

Next Up: The Stanley Cup will be at The Fortress on Sunday night for Game 6, and it's the Hurricanes who'll have the honor of playing for it first. With Carolina up 3-2 in the series, the scenarios for Game 6 are self-explanatory. If the Canes win, the NHL season comes to an end with Carolina once again the center of the hockey world. If the Golden Knights win, it'll all come down to a winner-take-all Game 7 at the Lenovo Center next Wednesday night.