Hurricanes top Golden Knights, even Stanley Cup Final at 2-2 - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal can't believe the Stanley Cup Final has been this chaotic, with his team and the Vegas Golden Knights trading leads and goals through four intense games.

«It's a wild ride, isn't it?» he said after Carolina evened the series with a 5-3 win in Game 4 on Tuesday night. «Lots of emotion. Lots of ups and downs.»

Staal was literally part of those ups and downs on his desperation game-winning goal at 6:32 of the third period, as he dived to the ice while using his stick to knock the puck past the outstretched glove of Vegas goalie Carter Hart, breaking a 3-3 tie.

• 4th player in expansion era (since 1967-68) with a goal in each of the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final
• 1st player age 37 or older with a goal in each of the first four games of a Final
• 1st captain with a goal in each of the first four games of a Final
• 5 goals this Final, second most in single Stanley Cup Final by a skater age 37 or older behind Brad Marchand (six in 2025)
• 1st player with five goals in the first four games of a Final since Mario Lemieux had five in a four-game sweep in 1992
• 4th player age 37 or older with a multigoal game in the Final
• 2nd oldest to score a third-period game winner in the Final, trailing Ray Bourque in 2001 Game 3
— ESPN Research

«That was incredible,» Carolina center Logan Stankoven said. «That was insane. We were very excited for him, and he just keeps pulling through for us. He's having a heck of a series.»

The Hurricanes captain scored twice in Game 4, having also netted a critical power-play goal in the first period to give Carolina a 3-1 lead. Staal fought off a check and deposited a Hart rebound into the net. The goal answered a Mark Stone tally against