New problem emerges for Golden Knights as Hurricanes force another Finals tie

Often, when a playoff series winds up being this close, it comes down to who has the best player on the ice every single night.

In Game Three, it was Mitch Marner ’s natural hat trick that helped propel the Golden Knights to victory. However, Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal has made an impact with goals in three straight games heading into Game Four. Unless the Golden Knights can find answers, that line will wreak havoc throughout the entire Finals, potentially to a Stanley Cup.

That focus has never been more apparent after Game Four, when Staal’s two goal effort put the Hurricanes level with the Golden Knights once again in a 5-3 victory on Tuesday.

“He’s killing us in front of the net,” said Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella about his team’s latest nemesis. “We have got to do a better job around the blue.”

The first period could not have started any rockier for the Golden Knights, as Logan Stankoven got the scoring started for Carolina 66 seconds in, quickly followed by Jackson Blake hitting a one-timer to put Vegas in a 2-0 hole less than four minutes in.

“They’re…just highly competitive players, but they’re super talented too,” said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour about two-thirds of one of his top lines. “So…you have that combination, that’s pretty special.”

However, as this entire series has proven, no team is willing to stay down for long. After delivering a hit to Staal, Mark Stone found himself on a breakaway against Brandon Bussi . Stone would fake the postseason-debuting goaltender with a slapshot, then deke around him for a tap-in to put Vegas on the board and bring life back to T-Mobile Arena.

The celebration would be short-lived as Staal would get his revenge on a power play goal to restore the two-goal advantage, although Brayden McNabb nearly cut the deficit to one with a shot that just crossed the goal line a second too late.