Stankoven steps up, sparks Hurricanes to Game 2 OT win in Stanley Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Midway through the third period, the Carolina Hurricanes needed a spark. So, trailing the Vegas Golden Knights 2-0 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center on Thursday, the Hurricanes turned to the smallest player on their roster.

Vegas had won a defensive zone face-off behind the net to Rasmus Andersson, who seemed to have plenty of separation and time to skate the puck up on his forehand. But Logan Stankoven, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs all of 165 pounds, rode Andersson off the puck, skated around the net and had his stuff attempt at the right post deflect in off Vegas defenseman Jeremy Lauzon’s stick.

All of a sudden, the score was 2-1 at 10:20 and Carolina had life.

“When you’re down and out, you’ve just got to rely on hard work and be able to hunt pucks,” said Stankoven, who leads the Hurricanes with 10 goals this postseason. “I just tried to take it to the net and kind of got lucky it ramped up (Lauzon's) stick. I saw it go in and I was pretty excited.”

The goal clearly energized the Hurricanes, who quickly tied it 2-2 on a goal from Mark Jankowski at 12:46.

“(Stankoven’s goal) was huge,” Jankowski said. “We’re trailing 2-0 in the third period, we needed someone to step up and get us going. He had a great individual effort on that. Not the biggest guy, but he has the biggest heart. He had a huge 1-on-1 battle getting to the net, a greasy goal (to) get us going.”

Jordan Staal, who then put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2 with a power-play goal at 15:25, also credited Stankoven for getting Carolina in gear.

“We were looking for a spark,” Carolina's captain said. “They were kind of shelling it up a bit and not giving us much. It’s tough to find goals, but we got a bounce. That’s kind of all it took. The boys kept rolling. So many great individual efforts were there.”

Stankoven has been providing a spark for Carolina since he was acquired from the Dallas Stars in the trade for Mikko Rantanen on March 7, 2025. He finished last season with nine points (five goals, four assists) in 19 regular-season games for the Hurricanes before getting eight points (five goals, three assists) in 15 playoff games.

On July 1, the Hurricanes rewarded the now 23-year-old with an eight-year $48-million contract ($6 million average annual value).

But Stankoven’s value goes beyond his production on the ice. Carolina started this season without a clear option for a top-six center behind Sebastian Aho, so Stankoven, despite his stature, was slotted into the middle even though he had never played center in his career. He quickly thrived between Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake, and as a result he had an NHL career-high 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) 81 games.

Still, his growing reputation in Carolina has been earned as much on his determination as his offensive contribution.

“You can’t measure that stuff,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He keeps doing it night in and night out. A combination of all that stuff. It’s pretty amazing.”

The Hurricanes, who would go on to defeat the Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime in Game 2 on Thursday, will continue to count on Stankoven leading the way, beginning with Game 3 on Saturday (8 p.m ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

That might seem obvious, considering he has scored 17 goals in his past 23 games dating back to the regular season. Few of those goals, however, were as important as the one that helped the Hurricanes roar back in Game 2.

“Everyone contributed,” Stankoven said. “It took a little longer to break open than we would have liked, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. It’s two tight teams playing hard. Just the way it goes sometimes.”