Hurricanes Beat Golden Knights, Goal Scorers, Highlights and Recap from NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 5

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by the final score of 4-2 in Game 5 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center on Thursday night.

Carolina now holds a 3-2 series lead.

Vegas opened the scoring with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first period, as Jack Eichel found Pavel Dorofeyev for a power-play goal.

Carolina responded roughly five minutes later, with Jordan Staal tipping in a shot from Nikolaj Ehlers to tie the score at 1-1.

It marked Staal's fifth consecutive Stanley Cup Final game with a goal, representing the longest streak since 1973 (h/t ESPN).

The Hurricanes continued to build momentum once the second period started, taking their first lead of the game after Andrei Svechnikov ripped a shot into the back of the net on a power play.

Carolina quickly extended its lead to 3-1 before the period came to a close, as Sebastian Aho scored on a difficult angle after the puck bounced off his skate.

The Golden Knights were forced to finish the game without forward William Karlsson, as he suffered an injury in the second period and did not return.

Carolina picked up its second power-play goal of the game to take a 4-1 lead midway through the third period, as Svechnikov scored off a spinning pass from Ehlers.

The Golden Knights showed signs of life late, cutting the deficit to 4-2 following Dorofeyev's second goal.

Vegas couldn't get on the board for the remainder of the contest, though.

Carolina finished the game with six takeaways compared to just two for the Golden Knights, as the Hurricanes are now one win away from capturing the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006.