Hockey Wiretap

Andrei Svechnikov scored twice on the power play and Sebastian Aho added his first goal of the series as Carolina defeated Vegas 4-2 in Game 5 Thursday, taking a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

Carolina's Polymarket Stanley Cup championship probability jumped from 56 percent to 80 percent following the win. The Golden Knights, who held a 62 percent championship edge entering Game 4, now sit at just 20 percent to lift the Cup.

Jordan Staal scored for the fifth straight game in the series, while Brandon Bussi stopped 23 shots in just his second career postseason start. The second period proved decisive, with Carolina reversing a 9-1 middle-frame deficit across the first four games by scoring three times to seize control.

Aho's tally came after Jordan Martinook won a puck battle behind the net, with Sean Walker finding Aho cutting to the left side. Svechnikov's first power-play strike put Carolina ahead 2-1, before Nikolaj Ehlers fed him a sharp pass for a 4-1 cushion. Ehlers totaled three assists despite drawing two delay-of-game penalties.

"It required everything we have," said Staal.

Game 6 is Sunday night in Las Vegas with the Hurricanes slight favorites at 53 percent in the road game.

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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Vegas Golden Knights coach John Tortorella vowed that the Stanley Cup Final would return to Raleigh for Game 7 after the Carolina Hurricanes pushed his team to the brink of elimination.

"We'll be back here. We're just going to do it in a different order," Tortorella said after the Golden Knights' 4-2 loss in Game 5 on Thursday night, putting them down 3-2 in the series to the Hurricanes. "I'm going to leave my clothes here. That's for sure. They'll be in the hotel."

Darnell Nurse's time with the Edmonton Oilers could be coming to an end soon.

Nurse provided the Oilers with a short list of teams he would be willing to be traded to, according to multiple reports.

The 31-year-old left-shooting defenseman has four seasons left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $9.25 million. Because the eight-year, $74 million contract he signed in August 2021 was largely front-loaded, Nurse is only owed $29.6 million in actual dollars through 2030, and that dips to $23.6 million after he receives his bonus this summer.

Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic said that head coach Jared Bednar and his staff will return for the 2026-27 NHL season.

"No plans to make any moves. We feel he's the best coach for our team," said Sakic.

The Avalanche won the President's Trophy for having the NHL's best regular season record (55-16-11, 121 points) and started out the Stanley Cup Playoffs like a juggernaut: Sweeping the Los Angeles Kings and eliminating the Minnesota Wild in five games. But Colorado was stunned in the Western Conference Finals by the Vegas Golden Knights, who swept the Avalanche.

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov won his second Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP on Thursday in an extremely close race against Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.

Kucherov, 32, was listed in the top five on 196 of 198 ballots and received 72 first-place votes. That gave him 1,436 points -- 10 more than McDavid (1,426 points), who was a top five pick on all 198 ballots, including 68 first-place votes. MacKinnon (1,297 points) was listed on 195 ballots, collecting 52 first-place votes.

Andrei Svechnikov scored twice on the power play and Sebastian Aho added a goal as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 5 Thursday night, taking a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

The second period proved decisive. Carolina had been outscored 9-1 in the middle frame across the first four games but reversed that trend with three goals to seize control. Jordan Staal scored for the fifth consecutive game in the series, and Brandon Bussi stopped 23 shots in just his second career postseason start.

"I liked our effort for sure, and I hope we're getting better," said coach Rod Brind'Amour. "I think there's certain areas of our game that are starting to look a lot like we need it to look. But I do think there's still another level that we're going to need to get to find that next one."

Aho's first goal of the series came after Jordan Martinook won a puck battle behind the net on the forecheck, with Sean Walker finding Aho cutting to the left side. Svechnikov's first power-play goal gave Carolina a 2-1 lead before Nikolaj Ehlers set up his second with a sharp feed for a 4-1 advantage. Ehlers finished with three assists despite drawing two delay-of-game penalties.

"It required everything we have," said Staal.

Game 6 is Sunday night in Las Vegas. Carolina plays for its first Stanley Cup title since Brind'Amour captained the franchise to the championship in 2006.

Brandon Bussi is expected to start in goal for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday, though coach Rod Brind'Amour stopped short of making an official announcement. Bussi occupied the starter's crease at Carolina's morning skate and was the first goaltender off the ice, both traditional indicators of a starting assignment.

The 27-year-old rookie replaced Frederik Andersen in the third period of Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights, stopping 18 of 19 shots in a double-overtime loss. Bussi then made a surprise start in Game 4, making 18 saves in a 5-3 Carolina victory that evened the series at 2-2. Pyotr Kochetkov served as his backup.

Andersen, 36, has not participated in a full team practice since being pulled and was a healthy scratch for Game 4. Brind'Amour said the veteran netminder skated privately Thursday morning before the team session and has not been ruled out.

"Everybody's available. He skated this morning, early," said Brind'Amour. "As far as the lineup goes, that's all I'm going to talk about. Everybody's available."

Andersen's numbers have fallen sharply against Vegas after back-to-back series sweeps of Ottawa and Philadelphia. He carries an .815 save percentage and a 4.44 goals-against average in the Final, surrendering 12 goals on 65 shots. Goalie coach Paul Schonfelder recommended rest for Andersen ahead of Game 4.

"If you're going to give him a break, you need to give him a break," said Brind'Amour. "So to me, him dressing and going through all that is just not really giving him a night off."

Bussi, a Sound Beach, New York native, went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage in 39 regular-season starts.

"He's just confident in his ability to be a good goalie," said Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook. "Obviously, the confidence he gained throughout the regular season, knowing that he can win and win often, it definitely helps. I don't want to compare him and Freddie, but they both have that calm confidence about both of them, which is something that you admire in a goalie."

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.

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%

Want to trade on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals? New Polymarket users can claim a $50 welcome bonus with a $20 deposit. Use promo code ACQUIRE04 at sign-up or claim the Polymarket welcome offer through RealGM.

Must be 18 years or older. Terms and conditions apply.

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.