Staal's Ageless Heroics Lift Hurricanes in Game 4

Written By Gina Anton

LAS VEGAS — At 37 years old, Jordan Staal continues to prove that experience can be just as dangerous as speed.

While younger stars filled the ice at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night, it was Carolina's veteran captain who once again took center stage, scoring twice and leading the Hurricanes to a 5-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The win evened the best-of-7 series at 2-2 and turned the championship matchup into a best-of-3 heading into Game 5 at Lenovo Center on Thursday.

Staal's second goal of the night, scored with 13:28 remaining in regulation, stood as the game-winner in another dramatic contest between the two teams.

"Right away just focusing on what we have to do to keep going and how we're going to win this game," Staal said. "That's all I've been focusing on. We just have to win games and win games. We have two more."

The captain's performance continued what has become a remarkable Final. Staal now has five goals in the series and has scored in all four games. He became the first player to score in each of the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final since Mike Bossy accomplished this with the New York Islanders in 1982. He is just the fourth player in the NHL expansion era, which began in 1968, to do so.

His two-goal effort also added another notable achievement. At 37, Staal became the oldest player to score at least two goals in a Stanley Cup Final game since Mark Recchi did so for the Boston Bruins in 2011 at age 43.

"He's killing us in front of the net," Vegas coach John Tortorella said.

Staal's fingerprints were all over Carolina's biggest victory of the series.

After Logan Stankoven opened the scoring from the slot at 1:06 of the first period and Jackson Blake doubled the lead at 3:28, Staal restored a two-goal cushion later in the opening frame. His power-play goal at 12:48 came on a rebound from the slot and gave Carolina a 3-1 advantage.

"I've been telling the guys to get to the hoop for I don't know how long, years," Staal said. "Good things happen around there."

Vegas refused to go away.

Mark Stone scored on a breakaway at 7:22 of the first period to cut the deficit to 2-1. William Karlsson added a one-timer from the left circle at 4:22 of the second, and Brett Howden tied the game 3-3 with his NHL-leading 14th goal of the postseason at 17:08.

The Golden Knights had erased another multi-goal deficit, continuing a trend that has defined all four games of the Final.

But Staal delivered again when Carolina needed him most.

The decisive sequence began after Seth Jarvis was stopped on a breakaway by Carter Hart at 6:24 of the third period. Jarvis recovered the puck below the goal line before Vegas had an opportunity to clear the zone. Instead, Brayden McNabb's clearing attempt found Nikolaj Ehlers in the left circle. Ehlers quickly sent a pass toward the front of the net, where Staal, while stumbling and falling to the ice, managed to push the puck home for the go-ahead goal.

Carolina's supporting cast also played a major role in the victory. Ehlers finished with three points and sealed the game with an empty-net goal from the length of the ice at 19:05. Blake added a goal and an assist, while Brandon Bussi stopped 18 shots in his first career NHL postseason start.

Bussi became just the third goalie in the expansion era to make his first career playoff start in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2015 and Jussi Markkanen in 2006. He also became only the third goaltender in NHL history to earn a victory in his first career playoff start when that debut came in the Stanley Cup Final.

Vegas generated several opportunities to tie the game late, including shots that struck the post and crossbar, but could not solve Bussi again.

"Flush this," Tortorella said. "We worked hard to get back into it. And I thought we had a really good third period. Jack (Eichel) hits the crossbar. We hit a post. But we don't get it done. So we need to flush it and get ready for our next game."

For Carolina, the night belonged to its oldest and most reliable leader.

As the Hurricanes return home with the series tied, Staal's message remains simple.

"It's a good time to get hot," he said.