Stanley Cup Final Live Blog: Game 5 between Golden Knights, Hurricanes

Welcome to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes. The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2. 

NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is high atop Lenovo Center in Raleigh to provide all the sights, sounds and highlights of this crucial game.

10:30 p.m. ET 

We have just under 12 minutes to ago, the Hurricanes lead 3-1 and seem to be in control. 

And now the Canes are going to a four-minute power play after Mark Stone gets a double-minor for a high stick on Jalen Chatfield. 

It's do or die time here for Vegas. 

Vegas has just two shots on goal in the first 8:10 of this period. 

Again, no lead is safe in this Final, but the Canes seem to be finding the game they had when they dominated the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Final. 

They have shown a few fans with tarps off, but we had not had widespread de-tarping yet. YET.

10:20 p.m. ET

The Bus Man just made a huge save on Brett Howden just 1:42 into the third to keep it a 3-1 Carolina lead.

He's made 14 saves to this point.  

And now Carolina goes to the power play with 16:37 left after Jack Eichel trips Ehlers.

We have under 17 minutes to go here in Game 5, and Carolina leads 3-1. 

Before the period started, they did a techno version of "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple and then "Separate Ways" by Journey.

Again, why mess with greatness? That's about the Deep Purple song. Journey, do whatever you want. 

They guy in the inflatable yellow suit with B U S written the front was just shown doing a dance on the big board. 

They love the Bus Man here. And why not? 

Another possible nickname for him is Big Bus, in honor of that classic 70s disaster movie. 

I got fooled by the DJ. I thought he was busting out some Volbeat for the first time, but no.

10:13 p.m. ET

We have 20 minutes of regulation to go here, the Hurricanes lead 3-1 in Game 5, hoping to take a 3-1 lead in this best-of-7 back to Vegas for a potential clinching Game 6 on Sunday.

And no William Karlsson to start the third. Not good. 

But hold on. We have a long way to go, it's only a two-goal game and anyone watching this series knows no lead is safe until the final buzzer sounds. 

That being said, the Canes appeared to take control in the second period, using a heavy forecheck and strong defense to hold Vegas to five shots on goal in the second. 

And as we said earlier, William Karlsson went to the room in the second period and if he doesn't come back, that's a big blow to the Vegas attack. 

We are also monitoring the tarps off situation. It did come in the third period of Game 2, but that was when Carolina was trailing. 

To start the third, someone who goes by the moniker of "the viral tattoo guy' rang the siren.

9:54 p.m. ET

We are now 40 minutes into a crucial Game 5 and the Hurricanes lead the Golden Knights 3-1. 

Carolina, which had really struggled in the second period in the first four games, played maybe one of its best periods of the Final to take the lead. 

They are making life miserable for the Vegas defensemen, who are losing battles along the boards. On that Aho goal, Jordan Martinook took it away from Shea Theodore to set up the goal. 

And the crowd is appreciative of that, going absolutely bananas. 

But remember, no lead has been safe in this Final, so nothing is decided yet. Long way to go. 

But wait, we have free T-shirts and the crowd goes every crazier. 

William Karlsson is still not back on the bench.

Looking back at that Howden breakaway, Jaccob Slavin made a great backcheck to stop the scoring chance. The game has turned significantly since then.

9:50 p.m. ET

This game is turning into another classic with the teams going up and down the ice. 

And now Carolina goes up 3-1 with 2:09 left in the second on a goal from Sebastian Aho. 

He scored on tough angle, but got the puck over Carter Hart, who seemed to be slow getting over to his side. 

The goal comes after Brett Howden had a chance to tie it on a breakaway, but Bussi stoned him, the crowd breaking into a "Bussi, Bussi" chant. 

This crowd is on fire right now, with Carolina leading 2-1 with under three minutes to go in the second. 

And again, everyone is still fully tarped. 

One thing that is really cool here is when the Canes score and the PA announcer - who wears a jersey with a big PA on it - announces the goal-scorer and the players who got the assists, the fans all say the names along with him. 

Pretty, pretty cool. 

Still no William Karlsson on the Vegas bench. If he's out, that's a huge loss.

9:42 p.m. ET

Carolina takes a 2-1 lead with 8:02 left in the second on a power-play snipe from Andrei Svechnikov. 

This place is going nuts and why not? The Canes are starting to carry the play and have cashed in on a Vegas penalty. 

There are now two guys in front of me yelling "hit him" each team a Vegas player touches the puck. 

The last time they yelled it, as if on cue, Brett Howden of Vegas was drilled in the corner. The "hit him" guys were happy. 

They still have their tarps on as well. So that's good.

9:38 p.m. ET

The Hurricanes get their second straight power play after Brayden McNabb goes off for roughing with 9:03 left in the second of a 1-1 game. 

It comes right after Vegas kills a roughing penalty on Jeremy Lauzon. 

The Hurricanes didn't score on that first power play, despite plenty of pressure on Carter Hart and Vegas. Hart made a nice save on a Jarvis one-timer that was a similar shot to what won Game 2 in OT.

Hart also made a big save on Jordan Staal in the slot. 

We had some argy-bargy after Jeremy Lauzon took down Taylor Hall, resulting in the Hurricanes' power play with 11:04 left in the second. 

Something to keep an eye on, Vegas' foward William Karlsson took a hard hit against the boards from Sean Walker and, after his left arm was checked out on the bench, went to the Vegas room with about 11:20 left in the second.

9:31 p.m. ET

For the first time in this entire series, we are seeing the hockey we all expected - tight checking, not a lot of chances on either side. 

Both teams are being very careful and very defensive-minded, knowing just how big the stakes are here. 

How big? 

Here's this from NHLStats:

Stanley Cup Final Game 5 Trends 

When a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series is tied 2-2, the Game 5 victor goes on to win the series nearly 75% of the time (20-7; .741). That includes a 15-3 (.833) record for the home team and a 5-4 (.556) mark for the road team.

Stanley Cup Final When Tied 2-2, Game 5 Winners (Since 2000)  

2025: Panthers (5-2 W at EDM) 4-2 series win  
2019: Blues (2-1 W at BOS) 4-3 series win  
2017: Penguins (6-0 W vs. NSH) 4-2 series win  
2015: Blackhawks (2-1 W at TBL) 4-2 series win  
2013: Blackhawks (3-1 W vs. BOS) 4-2 series win  
2011: Canucks (1-0 W vs. BOS) 4-3 series loss  
2010: Blackhawks (7-4 W vs. PHI) 4-2 series win  
2009: Red Wings (5-0 W vs. PIT) 4-3 series loss  
2004: Flames (3-2 OT W vs. CGY) 4-3 series loss  
2003: Devils (6-3 W vs. ANA) 4-3 series win  
2001: Devils (4-1 W at COL) 4-3 series loss

9:26 p.m. ET

It's 1-1 with 13:45 left in the second.

Talk about a deep cut. The scoreboard just played a clip from "Army of Darkness" with Bruce Campbell, portraying a Hurricanes player, punching out a guy representing Vegas with the "shoe is untied" bit. 

There's a guy in front of us who yells "hit him" every time a Vegas guy gets the puck. I had to look a few times to make sure it wasn't Shawn Roarke, who I know is dying for some argy-bargy in this series. It's been tight checking, but we haven't seen any goonery or not many dust-ups so far. 

The stakes are too high to take a dumb penalty. 

Brayden McNabb and Taylor Hall just traded cross checks, but no call on either one.

9:19 p.m. ET

Vegas on its second power play and the Hurricanes dodge an early bullet, Bussi making a nice save on Jack Eichel, who certainly appears to be on his game tonight.

As the penalty runs out and Bussi makes more saves, the crowd gets whipped into a frenzy. 

Vegas appeared to have a great shot to score right at the end of the power play, but Mark Stone whiffed on a shot to the side of the net. 

Before the second period started they played a club mix of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and I have to ask, why? Why mess with greatness? It's like repainting the Mona Lisa or redoing those Jardiance commericals. 

The original cannot be improved upon. Don't try.

9:15 p.m. ET

The second period has begun, it's 1-1, but Vegas starts this period on the power play due to a K'Andre Miller delay of game at the end of the second.

That's two delay of game penalties against Carolina, the first one resulting in a Pavel Dorofeyev goal that gave Vegas a 1-0 lead.

Jordan Staal tied the game and that's where we are after 20 minutes.

Some notes from the first period from NHLStats:

* Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 11th of the playoffs and first since Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Vegas is 5-1 when scoring first on the road this postseason.

* Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 48th goal of 2025-26 (including regular season), the second most in Vegas history and two back of William Karlsson’s mark of 50 set in 2017-18.

* Pavel Dorofeyev scored his League-leading fifth power play goal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and established a Golden Knights single postseason benchmark.

* Jack Eichel notched his eighth assist on a go-ahead goal this postseason, tying Carolina’s Jackson Blake for the most in the NHL. Overall, Eichel is now one helper from tying the single-season franchise record of 20 he set in 2023.

* Jordan Staal has tied the NHL record for longest goal streak in a Stanley Cup Final. Overall, he is the fifth player in NHL history to achieve the feat and first in more than 50 years, following Yvan Cournoyer (5 GP in 1973 w/ MTL), Jean Beliveau (5 GP in 1956 w/ MTL), Maurice Richard (5 GP in 1951 w/ MTL) and Cyclone Taylor (5 GP in 1918 w/ VMI). Staal, Beliveau, Richard and Taylor all did so from the start of the series. Staal will have a chance to set a new benchmark Sunday in Las Vegas.

8:55 p.m. ET

And that's it for a very fast-moving first period. 

The Hurricanes and Golden Knights are tied 1-1 with Vegas holding an 8-6 shot advantage.

However, Vegas will be on the power play for 1:54 to start the second because K'Andre Miller took a delay of game penalty with 5.8 seconds left. 

That's another bad penalty for Carolina.  

Vegas struck first with Pavel Dorofeyev scoring a power-play goal at 6:52, but Jordan Staal came back to tie the game at 11:46. 

He's scored in every game of this Final, making history. 

Here's the note from NHLStats. 

Jordan Staal has tied the NHL record for longest goal streak in a Stanley Cup Final. Overall, he is the fifth player in NHL history to achieve the feat and first in more than 50 years, following Yvan Cournoyer (5 GP in 1973 w/ MTL), Jean Beliveau (5 GP in 1956 w/ MTL), Maurice Richard (5 GP in 1951 w/ MTL) and Cyclone Taylor (5 GP in 1918 w/ VMI). Staal, Beliveau, Richard and Taylor all did so from the start of the series. Staal will have a chance to set a new benchmark Sunday in Las Vegas.

Some special guests in the house tonight are the Norwegian men's World Cup soccer team. If they go tarps off we may have a riot on our hands here. 

I would say after the first period, there have been very few tarps removed. That must be for later in the game.

8:48 p.m. ET 

The Staal goal has seemingly lit a fire under the Hurricanes. 

There is no question it's gotten this crowd into a frenzy. 

Staal has now tied an NHL record for goals in five straight Cup Final games. 

The others are Yvan Cournoyer (5 GP in 1973 w/ MTL), Jean Beliveau (5 GP in 1956 w/ MTL), Maurice Richard (5 GP in 1951 w/ MTL) and Cyclone Taylor (5 GP in 1918 w/ VMI). Beliveau, Richard and Taylor all did so from the start of the series.

I wonder if Dave Stubbs has Cyclone Taylor's phone number. 

He's your Conn Smythe winner if Carolina wins this series. I'm calling it now.

Meanwhile, Vegas is putting the pressure on Bussi, but he's been up for the challenge. 

Needless to say, this place is rocking right now.

8:44 p.m. ET

Well, the Canes listened to the fans and shot and now we are tied. 

Jordan Staal with a gorgeous redirection of a Nik Ehlers shot and it's 1-1 with 8:14 left in the first. 

Wow, what a goal and what a stretch Staal is putting together. 

This place is nuts.

8:41 p.m. ET

They're not booing, they are saying "shooooot" at the Hurricanes. 

Carolina is generating some chances, but seems to be looking for the perfect shot, maybe overpassing in the zone. 

On the other hand, Vegas is peppering Brandon Bussi with five shots so far, including Pavel Dorofeyev's goal at 6:52 that's given Vegas a 1-0 lead. 

They just did the Military Mission Thanks for service member John Kolar and played "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden to kick if off. 

Then they did a bit with Stormy, the Canes mascot, asking Mother Nature from Vegas if she had any offseason plans while "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner played. Pretty funny.

8:34 p.m. ET 

And the Golden Knights strike first. Pavel Dorofeyev scores 30 seconds into a power play on a gorgeous pass from Jack Eichel. 

The Golden Knights get the first power play when Nik Ehlers clears the puck out of his defensive zone all the way across the ice and into the crowd. That's a no-no and really inexcusable. He wasn't under that much pressure. He just sailed the puck into the crowd from the other side of the ice. 

If you get a chance, check out the videos of Canes radio guys Mike Maniscalco calling the game-winning goals. Each time, he nearly knocks over his partner, Tripp Tracy. Comical.

8:27 p.m. ET

This crowd is fired up for this one. 

They are cheering every hit, every completed pass, or for the Canes, every pass breakup. 

Anytime a Canes player gets near the puck in the Vegas zone, you can hear the anticipation rise. 

They are ready to erupt - they just need to Canes to put one in the net. 

But no one has gotten close yet. Taylor Hall and Jalen Chatfield have the only two shots on goal through the first five minutes of the game. It's 0-0, or nil-nil as the soccer fans like to say.

8:20 p.m. ET

And here we go.

The greatest song of the 1980s - "Rock You Like A Hurricane" by Scorpions - has played, anthem singer Adam Lee Decker has whipped the crowd into a frenzy and Mike Commodore - bathrobe and all - has got the siren cranked.

Yes, that's right. Former Canes player Mike Commodore was introduced as the siren ringer and when he was showed on the big screen, was wearing a white Canes bathrobe. That, and his wild head of red hair, made for quite a scene.

It certainly seems like a harbinger of another nutty night here in the Cup Final.

No team has won two straight games in this series, a trend Carolina is hoping ends tonight.

We just got the official lineups - Freddy Andersen and Amir Miftakhov are each listed as scratches, so there's that.

7:58 p.m. ET

Warmups are over and we are about 15 minutes from the pregame antics here in Raleigh. 

What a series this has been to this point. Four really incredible games. 

Some of the players and coaches were asked today about the similarities between this series and the NBA Finals with no lead being safe and every game like a mini drama. Jack Eichel said he didn't watch the NBA game last night, while Vegas coach John Tortorella agreed with the idea that both series have been nuts.

During warmups they showed two people in the crowd with Bussi shirts that were a play on the famous Buckee's truck stop shirts. 

And another guy in the crowd is wearing a giant inflatable suit with the letters B U S on the front.

It's Bussi mania here. 

During the morning skate, Jordan Staal referred to Bussi as Bus Man. Me and Shawn Roarke were trying to think of other nicknames for him. Shawn suggested Ralph or Kramden after the world's most famous bus driver. 

Also, breaking news: As of 7:55 p.m. some tarps are already off in here.

7:42 p.m.

The players are on the ice and one mystery is over - Brandon Bussi is back in goal for the Hurricanes. 

This will be his second straight start after Freddy Andersen started the first 16 games of the postseason. Bussi relieved Andersen in Game 3, which the Hurricanes lost in 2 OTs, and was the winning goalie in Game 4. 

But there still is another mystery. Earlier Thursday, the Hurricanes recalled goalie Amir Miftakhov from the American Hockey League. 

We are told that Miftakhov and Andersen are each eligble to be the EBUG in case Bussi and backup Pyotr Kochetkov each get hurt. 

It's starting to fill up in here, with many people still outside enjoying the last of the tailgating festivities. 

It's such a fun atmosphere in and out of the arena down here. And really, really loud. 

I'll check back after warmups.

7:30 p.m. 

Another game, another mystery surrounding the Hurricanes’ starting goalie. 

While we all expect Brandon Bussi to be back between the pipes for the Canes, coach Rod Brind’Amour was coy this morning, saying “everyone is available.” 

Frederik Andersen, who started the first three games of this series, was pulled after two periods in Game 3 in favor of Bussi, and did not dress in Game 4, was not on the ice for the morning skate Thursday but was on the ice before that, according to Brind’Amour.

However, about an hour or so ago, the Hurricanes added Amir Miftakhov, an AHL goalie, to their roster. We will wait to see what the Hurricanes say, but it could mean Andersen is no longer available.

Here is what Tom Gulitti had to say about it this morning. 

Needless to say, the tailgate parties were in full swing outside the arena. The “honk if you love hockey” lady was back after I didn’t see her out there for Game 2.

It’s pretty hot down here in Carolina – not as hot as Vegas, but close – but those fans were out there, in their jerseys, getting tuned up for a massive game. 

The folks who got here early were able to find spots under trees. Very smart. 

And then the other folks who got here early got into the arena as soon as the doors opened to get their Tarps Off shirts. There was a big line outside the main gift shop right around 6:40. I expect plenty of tarps off tonight. It worked in Game 2, so why not try it again.

Warmups will start in a few minutes and then I will report back with the goalie update for the Canes.