Hurricanes hold off Golden Knights in Game 5, move within 1 win of Stanley Cup

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The big boys showed up in the biggest game of the year to date, and the Carolina Hurricanes are one win away from their first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years.

Jordan Staal scored for the fifth consecutive game, Andrei Svechnikov added two on the power play, Sebastian Aho scored his first of the series, Nikolaj Ehlers had three assists for his second straight three-point game, and Brandon Bussi made 23 saves in his second straight start.

Put it all together and the Hurricanes stormed to a 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center on Thursday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. 

Game 6 is at T-Mobile Arena (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC) on Sunday.

"This is the biggest win in my life, personally," Svechnikov said. "Thank God we won that game and obviously all focus right now in our mind is we've got one more win to (get) here."

Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice for Vegas and Carter Hart (20 saves) allowed four goals for the fifth consecutive game, the last two resulting in losses.

"We'll be back here," Vegas coach John Tortorella said. "We're just going to do it in a different order."

It's the first time the Golden Knights have lost consecutive games since Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference First Round against the Utah Mammoth.

"I'm going to leave my clothes here, that's for sure," Tortorella later said. "They'll be in the hotel."

Vegas center William Karlsson left with what appeared to be an injury to his left arm stemming from a hit he took from Carolina defenseman Sean Walker at 8:19 of the second period. Karlsson went to the locker room during a stoppage at 8:35. 

Tortorella said he didn't have an update, but he intimated that Karlsson, a center who plays in all situations for the Golden Knights, would not be available for Game 6 at least, saying "he's not going to be with us, probably."

"It's tough," Vegas center Jack Eichel said. "You lose somebody like 'Karl', who's so valuable to our team, has been playing so well -- just means everybody else has to step up. He's a world-class player, he plays in all situations, he's extremely reliable in our own zone, and he creates a lot of offense. So, yeah, I mean, he's a huge part of our group."

Staal joined Yvan Cournoyer (1973, Montreal Canadiens), Jean Beliveau (1956, Canadiens), Maurice Richard (1951, Canadiens) and Cyclone Taylor (1918, Vancouver Millionaires) as the only players to score in five consecutive games in the Stanley Cup Final.

No one has ever scored in six straight games.

"Good company," Staal said, "but I'm looking for wins."

Now 37, Staal is also the first player in NHL history to have a five-game goal streak at age 18 or younger and 35 or older. His only other five-game goal streak came when he was 18 years old (Feb. 3-10, 2007). 

"Doing it at his age just says a lot about him," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He's our guy and he's our warrior, and I'm really happy for him."

Bussi is the first goalie in NHL history to make his first two career playoff starts in the Stanley Cup Final and win both. He has allowed six goals on 65 shots (.908 save percentage) since replacing Frederik Andersen in the third period of Game 3.

"Just stay focused, stay to myself, enjoy it," Bussi said. "I don't know how I'm able to keep my composure, just that I am."

Dorofeyev gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 6:52 of the first period. Vegas also outshot the Hurricanes 7-5 in the first period.

"We did have a good start," Eichel said. "Obviously, we get the first goal. I thought we were playing well in the first, put some pressure on them, but they get the equalizer, and then it seems like maybe it became a little bit of a special teams battle."

Staal got the equalizer at 11:46, making it 1-1 with a high-slot redirection over Hart's left pad off a pass from Ehlers.

"So, you can take a breath and be like, 'All right, no damage done,' " Brind'Amour said. "Can't say enough about him (Staal)."

The Golden Knights were called for back-to-back penalties midway through the second period; roughing on Jeremy Lauzon at 8:56 and cross checking on Brayden McNabb at 10:57.

Svechnikov made them pay at 11:58, scoring a power-play goal with a shot from the top of the left circle to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.

"That was the kind of shooting mentality," Svechnikov said. "Try to get the quick shot as possible and obviously it worked out."

Aho extended the lead to 3-1 at 17:51, when he took a pass from Walker and went skate to stick to the back of the net over Hart's blocker and into the far side. 

It was Aho's first goal in six games and second in 14. 

"Getting on the scoresheet, he knows he needs to do that," Brind'Amour said. "He's playing all the power play, he's getting all that time to cash in. It doesn't mean you're not playing well. All playoffs he's, I think, played really well. But, man, if we can get that out of him, you know, that's just a big bonus for our team."

Mark Stone was called for a high-sticking double-minor at 8:38 of the third period, and Svechnikov scored his second power-play goal to make it 4-1 at 11:08.

"It certainly makes it a lot smoother if they're scoring," Brind'Amour said of Aho and Svechnikov. 

Dorofeyev answered at 13:49, putting it in from in front of the net to make it 4-2, but Carolina killed a delay of game penalty on Ehlers at 17:47, with Hart pulled for the extra attacker, to preserve the victory and earn the chance to win the Stanley Cup as soon as Sunday.

"We're ready for it," Ehlers said. "This team has been working all year for moments like these, and especially this moment."

NOTES: The Hurricanes are the second team in Stanley Cup Final history to score at least four goals in each of the first five games, joining the 1973 Canadiens. … Ehlers is the 12th player in Stanley Cup Final history to have consecutive three-point games.