Hockey Wiretap

The Carolina Hurricanes scored twice in the first 3:30 and held on for a 5-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 on Monday, evening the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at two games apiece.

Carolina's Polymarket championship probability jumped from 38 percent to 56 percent following the win. The Hurricanes entered the series as 59 percent favorites before Vegas climbed to 58 percent after Game 1, eventually peaking at 75 percent after a Game 3 double-overtime victory. Carolina returns home for Game 5 on Thursday as 59 percent favorites on Polymarket.

Mitch Marner, who scored a natural hat trick in Game 3, was held off the scoresheet in Game 4. His Conn Smythe odds fell from 67 percent to 53 percent. Taylor Hall climbed to 17 percent and Jordan Staal entered the market at 11 percent after his two-goal night.

Logan Stankoven opened the scoring 66 seconds in on a rebound. Jackson Blake doubled the lead off a cross-crease feed from Hall before the game was three and a half minutes old. Mark Stone pulled Vegas within one on a breakaway goal set up by a Shea Theodore stretch pass, but Staal's third-period winner off a Nikolaj Ehlers setup restored Carolina's advantage for good. Ehlers added an empty-netter in the final minute.

Vegas had leveled the game at 3-3 in the second period on a William Karlsson one-timer and a Brett Howden toe-drag wrist shot on the rush. Carter Hart started in net for Vegas. Backup Brandon Bussi made his first career playoff start for Carolina, stopping 18 shots including nine in a frantic third period.

The series returns to Raleigh for Game 5 Thursday, with Games 6 and 7, if necessary, back in Las Vegas and Carolina respectively.

Stanley Cup Odds Before Each Game:

Game 1: Hurricanes 59%, Golden Knights 41%
Game 2: Golden Knights 58%, Hurricanes 42%
Game 3: Hurricanes 56%, Golden Knights 44%
Game 4: Golden Knights 62%, Hurricanes 38%
Game 5: Hurricanes 56%, Golden Knights 44%

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The NHL will investigate Mike Babcock's brief tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets after the NHL Players' Association informed the Edmonton Oilers it wants a review completed before approving his hiring as head coach, per a source with knowledge of the situation.

The league declined to comment, but the investigation will move forward and will include interviews with players from that Columbus team. There is no set timeline for its completion. No investigation would proceed if Babcock withdraws from consideration, per TSN's Darren Dreger.

Babcock resigned from Columbus in September 2023, two months after being hired, following allegations on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast that he had asked players to share personal photos from their phones. An investigation would have been launched at the time had he remained with the club.

Edmonton is seeking a replacement for Kris Knoblauch, who was dismissed in May following a first-round playoff exit against the Anaheim Ducks. Knoblauch had led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the previous two seasons.

Babcock's last NHL game came in November 2019 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fired him after a 9-10-4 start. He was four years into an eight-year contract at the time.

The veteran coach led the Detroit Red Wings to a Stanley Cup title in 2008 and guided Team Canada to gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.

Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal scored twice, including a diving third-period winner, as Carolina defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 Tuesday to pull the Stanley Cup Final level at 2-2.

Staal dove to knock the puck past goaltender Carter Hart at 6:32 of the third period, breaking a 3-3 tie. The sequence began with Seth Jarvis losing and recovering the puck on the forecheck before feeding Nik Ehlers for the primary assist.

"For a second there, I wasn't sure if it exactly went in, and I heard everyone go quiet," said Staal. "I was in my own world, man. It was an incredible moment, obviously. I just let a big yell, and then I celebrated with the guys. I knew it was a big goal."

Staal has scored in each of the first four games, making him the first player since Mike Bossy in 1982 to achieve that mark. His five Final goals rank second among skaters age 37 or older in a single series, trailing only Brad Marchand's six in 2025.

"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."

Vegas coach John Tortorella said his team must do more to contain the veteran captain.

"He's a big man. He's a good player. That's where he lives," said Tortorella. "We've got to be stronger, and we've got to win that battle."

Game 5 is set for Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, the league announced Tuesday.

The Messier is presented "to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey."

The award receives input from team personnel and those around the NHL, with the winner ultimately being selected by Messier.

The Masterton is awarded to the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." The Masterton is voted upon by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The Minnesota Wild signed Michael McCarron to a six-year, $20 million contract on Tuesday, taking one of their impending free agents off the market after his productive arrival following a midseason trade.

McCarron, 31, played in 20 regular-season games for the Wild after he was acquired from the Nashville Predators for a 2028 second-round draft pick on March 3. The 6-foot-6 center had his best NHL season, setting career highs with 109 shots on goal, 205 hits and 77 blocked shots.

The Stars are closer to having a new arena in the Dallas suburb of Plano after the city council there approved a letter of intent Monday for a potential sports and entertainment district.

The Plano City Council approved using $700 million in public money toward building what is a roughly $1 billion project at The Shops of Willow Bend, according to local media reports.

"I'd like to thank Mayor [John] Muns and the entire Plano City Council for their support, and their approval of our letter of intent and several other items connected to the redevelopment of The Shops at Willow Bend," Stars owner Tom Gaglardi said in a statement. "We look forward to taking the next steps in the journey toward making Plano our new home in 2031."

The 2026 NHL Draft features no clear-cut top prospect, with scouts and front-office executives describing an unusually balanced group led by a strong pool of defensemen, according to a wide-ranging survey of league evaluators.

"There's no clear guy this year. There's a group," said one scout. "And I could see that group go in almost any order, although I think Gavin McKenna should be in the top two somewhere."

Multiple evaluators identified clusters of six to nine players they considered interchangeable at the top. One scouting director put it plainly: "There's no A's this year, just a bunch of B+'s."

McKenna, a winger long considered the presumptive first overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, draws divided opinions. Scouts acknowledge his elite offensive tools and scoring history, but several question whether his game holds up in physical, playoff-style hockey.

"He's going to score a ton in the NHL," said one executive. "My concern is he's like Artemi Panarin. He'll get his accolades, but he'll also be on three to four teams and never make real noise in the playoffs."

Ivar Stenberg has emerged as a credible alternative at No. 1. The 5-foot-11 winger earns praise for his direct style and net-front presence, though some scouts warn his limited secondary game creates downside risk if his offensive production falls short.

"I could honestly see Stenberg get closer to 5 than to 1," one executive said. "He's not the same type of talent as McKenna."

With the top of the board unsettled, several scouts suggested the final decision may bypass scouting departments altogether.

"It doesn't matter what the scouts think when you win the lottery," one veteran evaluator said. "The GM can wipe their ass with your list."

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has requested a trade by submitting a three-team list of desired destinations, according to multiple reports.

Larkin, 29, has a full no-trade clause as part of his contract, and his list was limited to being dealt to Vegas, Minnesota and Florida. He has five years left on an eight-year, $69.6 million contract, which carries an annual salary cap hit of $8.7 million.

The Edmonton Oilers are closing in on hiring Mike Babcock to be their next head coach, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Babcock and the Oilers have been in talks to have him succeed Kris Knoblauch behind the bench. The 63-year-old Babcock, who won a Stanley Cup in 2008 with the Detroit Red Wings, is 12th all time in career wins by an NHL coach (700).

Peter Laviolette has been hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings on a three-year deal. Laviolette didn't coach last season after he was fired by the New York Rangers in 2025.

Laviolette led the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup win in 2006.

Laviolette was also a candidate for the vacancies for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers.

The Kings were swept in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche. The Kings fired Jim Hiller as head coach after the Olympic break and D.J. Smith was then interim head coach.