3 Things to Watch: Hurricanes at Golden Knights, Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final

(1M) Carolina Hurricanes at (1P) Vegas Golden Knights

Stanley Cup Final, Game 4

Vegas leads best-of-7 series 2-1

8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC

LAS VEGAS -- The Carolina Hurricanes haven't lost two games in a row since mid-January. They really don't want it to happen in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

A 5-4 loss in double overtime on Saturday has the Hurricanes trailing 2-1 in the best-of-7 series.

"It's a massive game," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. "I mean, 3-1 or 2-2, what are you going to pick? We know it's huge."

It is for both teams, because the last thing the Golden Knights want is for the Hurricanes to find a way back after such a deflating loss in Game 3 on Saturday, when they rallied from down 4-0 in the third period only to lose on Shea Theodore's shot off the end boards at 5:38 of the second overtime.

"A win is a win," Vegas captain Mark Stone said. "Would we have liked to close that game out a lot earlier? Of course. But they're a good team, and they're not just going to sit down and roll over. So, we've got to have that killer instinct when we get those leads."

A lead has not meant much in this series.

Carolina led 2-1 in the first period of Game 1. The Golden Knights had a 3-2 lead less than five minutes into the second period, and they won 5-4.

Vegas led 2-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third period of Game 2. Just over five minutes later, it was 3-2 Hurricanes. They won 4-3 in overtime.

The Golden Knights led 4-0 after 40 minutes in Game 3. They won 5-4 in double-overtime.

It's the first Stanley Cup Final in history to feature a team erasing a multigoal deficit in three straight games.

"I have zero answers as far as the lead changes going back and forth," Vegas coach John Tortorella said. "We're trying to play defense. They're trying to play defense. Give the credit to the players as far as some of the plays they've made and just some of the bounces that have gone to each team."

Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final have historically gone on to win the series 97.4 percent of the time (38-1).

"We know what time of year it is, we know how important the game is," Stone said. "We've been in these situations plenty of times over the last five to six years, so nothing changes for us."

Here are three things to watch in Game 4:

1. Goalie games

Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour kept the suspense until pregame warmups, when Brandon Bussi led the Hurricanes onto the ice with Pyotr Kochetkov as the other goalie. It will be Bussi’s first career start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Frederik Andersen, who has started all 16 games in the playoffs until now, is not dressed for Game 4. He took what Brind’Amour called a maintenance day Monday and didn’t practice, but there was no indication that he wouldn’t be available or wouldn’t at least dress for Game 4.

The Hurricanes have not given an injury designation on Andersen, so it’s possible he is a healthy scratch.

Andersen played every minute in the playoffs until Bussi replaced him to start the third period of Game 3 following his allowing four goals on 16 shots. Bussi played well, making 18 saves on 19 shots, as the Hurricanes rallied from down four goals, and now he gets his first career NHL postseason start.

"He's grateful for the moment," Brind'Amour said. "Every day, he's just happy to be here, grateful for any opportunity he can get. To be honest, pretty much every time we've given him any type of opportunity, he's seized the moment. That's what he did the other night too."

Andersen gave up four goals on 16 shots in the first two periods of Game 3 before Bussi replaced him. Andersen has allowed 12 goals on 65 shots in the series for a 4.44 goals-against average and .815 save percentage.

2. Vegas' quick-up play

The Golden Knights are getting scoring chances out of a play designed to relieve the pressure Carolina's forecheck puts on them in in the defensive zone.

Oftentimes, when the Golden Knights get the puck in the defensive zone, they have a winger flying out into the neutral zone and they're finding him by either lofting the puck up in the air and flipping it out of the zone or sending a crisp pass up to him in stride.

The puck clears past the red line and with the Hurricanes' defensemen pressuring up, they're getting breakaways or odd-man rush chances.

"They pressure hard up the ice, so we're trying to be smart with pucks, see what they give us," Vegas forward Brett Howden said.

The play worked especially well in the second period of Game 3, and it's something the Hurricanes know they have to guard against, especially when forward Mitch Marner, who had a hat trick in Game 3, and Howden are on the ice.

"There's no question we talked about that," Staal said. "We can't just give breakaways out of a high flip and a quick-up far side. That shouldn't happen. There's no question our 'D' for sure have to be aware of that when they're leaving the zone, especially in the second (period). They're taking off and we know that, and we understand we have to be better for sure not giving up those. We're on top of guys all the time, so they're trying to stretch our 'D' out and find openings. It's clearly been a game plan of theirs and we definitely have to shore that up."

3. Marner's encore

Marner set two single-game Stanley Cup Final records in Game 3: fastest hat trick (6:10) and first player with four points in a period (three goals, one assist in the second).

In the process, he set the Vegas record for most points in a single postseason. He has 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 19 games, besting Jack Eichel's record of 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 22 games in 2023, when the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup.

A strong and productive Game 4 from Marner that also features a Vegas win will only further solidify his candidacy to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs.

He has to be the leading candidate now after what he did in Game 3.

"When he gets the puck and he moves it, they're looking to give it right back to him, all over the ice, and I don't blame them. He's a fantastic hockey player," Carolina forward Taylor Hall said. "He's very tough to get a lick on. He's hard to hit. He's slippery and he's more sturdy than he looks. There's a few things we can do, but if he's playing like that and scoring goals like that, it gives them an advantage, and we have to figure that out."

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Jordan Martinook

Taylor Hall -- Logan Stankoven -- Jackson Blake

Nikolaj Ehlers -- Jordan Staal -- Seth Jarvis

William Carrier -- Mark Jankowski -- Eric Robinson

Jaccob Slavin -- Jalen Chatfield

K'Andre Miller -- Sean Walker

Shayne Gostisbehere -- Alexander Nikishin

Brandon Bussi

Pyotr Kochetkov

Scratched: Frederik Andersen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Mike Reilly

Injured: None

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Mark Stone

Brett Howden -- William Karlsson -- Mitch Marner

Tomas Hertl -- Colton Sissons -- Pavel Dorofeyev

Cole Smith -- Nic Dowd -- Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson 

Jeremy Lauzon -- Dylan Coghlan

Carter Hart

Adin Hill

Scratched: Brandon Saad, Akira Schmid, Reilly Smith, Ben Hutton, Jaycob Megna, Braeden Bowman, Kaedan Korczak

Injured: Jonas Rondbjerg (lower body)

Status report

Brind'Amour did not name a starting goalie Monday, but on Sunday he said he doesn't anticipate lineup changes. … Andersen didn't practice Monday because of maintenance, Brind'Amour said. … McNabb and Hanifin did not practice Monday but are expected to play. McNabb played 35:47 in Game 3 wearing a full cage on his helmet but is still recovering from facial injuries he sustained in Game 2; Hanifin left Game 3 with 11:34 remaining in the second period but returned for the third and finished the game with 20:53 of ice time.