Golden Knights at home on road going into Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final

CARY, N.C. – Normally the thought of heading out on the road after losing a heartbreaker at home, after watching a series lead disappear into a 2-2 knot, would be daunting. But this is not a usual series, and this has not been a usual Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Which is why the Vegas Golden Knights aren’t exactly worried, even if Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is in Raleigh, North Carolina at Lenovo Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC), with the winner set to push itself one win away from the title in the best-of-7 series.

“I don’t care where we play,” Vegas Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said on Wednesday after his team arrived in Raleigh. “I think we have a really good team and it doesn’t matter where we play. We’re trying to get better each and every game. It doesn’t matter which building we’re in.”

Both the Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes are 1-1 on the road through the first four games of the series. In 10 playoff games on the road, the Golden Knights are 7-3. In nine playoff games at home, the Hurricanes are 7-2.

Asked if home ice means the same as it used to, Tortorella was emphatic, “I think it’s totally different from back in the day,” he said. “Back in the day when the game was played differently. I think the players policed the game back then. The game is policed by the League basically now, and I think it changes a lot of different things as far as the buildings.

“It’s just a different game. Whether you feel it’s good or bad, the changes in it, it’s totally different. I think you could talk to either coach or either team, they just want to play. This is the Finals and they just want to play, they don’t care what building they’re in.”

On Thursday, though, that building will be Lenovo Center, the site of the Golden Knights’ 5-4 win in Game 1 after going down 2-0, and the site of the Hurricanes’ 4-3 overtime win in Game 2 after going down 2-0. In Game 1, it was Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers scoring the first two goals; in Game 2, it was Golden Knights forward Brett Howden.

“I don’t see it as a huge difference, I guess, in the entire playoffs,” Golden Knights forward Mark Stone said. “I think now teams are so prepared, and deep throughout the lineup, that we’re not chasing matchups, so we just go out and play. So I think that’s the major difference.”

There’s also the fact that, at least in this series, no lead is safe.

If nothing else, the Golden Knights and Hurricanes have proved that over the first four games. Each of the four games has included a team rallying from a multi-goal deficit to tie or win the game, a first in Stanley Cup Final history. And each of the first four games has featured a tied game at some point in the third period.

“I think you’ve got to stay even-keeled,” Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “You can’t get too high or too low, no matter if you’re up, if you have a lead or if you’re down. This series there’s been a lot of that.

“But all year, I think we’ve been a resilient group. If we’re down, we’ve found ways to claw back into games, which is a great sign of a mature team. So that definitely gives us confidence in those situations. But I think when we get leads, obviously we want to be better in that regard.”

The teams are averaging 8.3 goals per game combined, with 33 goals total in the four games. That’s tied for the second-highest total ever through four games, behind 1981 (36), 1918 (36) and 1980 (33).

“I don’t think it changes anything,” Tortorella said. “I think you always have to be ready. I mean, two of the best teams in the National Hockey League are playing. Two really good teams. So I think no matter what goes on in the game, you have to keep on pushing forward and try to be better, and stay on your toes.”

So how has this series compared to his expectations, with the series now more than halfway done, with the teams locked at 2-2, with three games to go to decide who wins the Stanley Cup?

“I don’t think anybody expected this,” Tortorella said. “That’s playoffs. Expect the unexpected, I guess.”