High-scoring, history-making, lead-blowing hockey is on full display in the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights.
That much is certain, but is it among the greatest NHL title series ever played?
“Everyone that texts me is saying it’s the best hockey they’ve ever watched,” Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “It’s been fun to play. There’s a lot of momentum swings in the games, and I feel like it’s one of those series where you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
That unpredictability has made it must-see entertainment every night since the series began, which is reflected in this being the most-watched Stanley Cup Final in more than a decade. The teams are tied 2-2 going into Game 5 on Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a Game 6 is guaranteed to have the storied trophy in the building Sunday night, when the series returns to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“We need to flush it and get ready for our next game,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “I don’t think we should be looking any farther than just the next game.”
Focusing on the moment is always good advice, but definitely right now. After all, no lead has been safe in the series.
In the opener, Carolina led 2-0 at home a little more than 12 minutes in, fell behind 3-2 and tied it again late before losing on Tomas Hertl’s go-ahead goal with 3:24 left in the third period.
In Game 2, Vegas led 2-0 with less than 10 minutes left in regulation, before a flurry of four goals — and one that was called off — with Mark Stone tying it with 81 seconds remaining. With Hertl in the penalty box, Seth Jarvis scored in overtime to win it for the Hurricanes.
In Game 3, the host Golden Knights led 4-0 in the third period after Mitch Marner’s hat trick led to a goalie change by Carolina. The Hurricanes scored four goals in a row to come all the way back, and then Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore’s shot off the boards banked in off goaltender Brandon Bussi 5:38 into the second overtime period to end it.
In Game 4 on Tuesday night, visiting Carolina led 2-0 and 3-1 only for Vegas to tie it again. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal scored the go-ahead goal with 13:28 left on the way to evening the series.
This is the first Stanley Cup Final to feature a multigoal comeback to tie the score in each of the first four games. Each of the first two were comeback wins, one shy of the most in an NHL title series; there were three such games in 1950 and again in 1987.
“It’s a wild ride, isn’t it?” Staal said. “There’s a lot of emotion, lots of ups and downs.”
These teams came in as two of the top three in fewest goals allowed in the playoffs through the first three rounds, suggesting a defensive struggle might be in store. They have instead combined to score 33 goals through four games, the highest total since the Minnesota North Stars and New York Islanders totaled 36 in 1981.
There were at least four goals scored in each period from the second in Game 3 through the first in Game 4. It’s just the second time that has happened three regulation periods in a row, and the first since the Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers during a span in Games 5 and 6 in 1980.
Vegas forward Brett Howden leads all scorers this postseason with 14 goals, breaking the franchise record set by Jonathan Marchessault on the way to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for the Golden Knights’ run to the 2023 Stanley Cup.
Marner’s natural hat trick — three goals in a row — came in a span of 6 minutes, 10 seconds in Game 3. That is by far the fastest in a Stanley Cup Final, breaking Ted Lindsay’s mark of 11 minutes, 27 seconds for the Detroit Red Wings in 1955.
The Hurricanes are the third team to score four-plus goals in each of the first games of the title round, following the Montreal Canadiens in 1973 and the Boston Bruins in 1970. Their Game 3 breakout was the fastest three goals in the history of the Stanley Cup Final, coming in a span of 39 seconds.
Staal’s gap between goals in the NHL’s title round — from June 9, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, until Game 1 on June 2, a span of 6,202 days — broke brother Eric’s record of 6,198 from 2006-23, according to Sportradar. Jordan is the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1992 to score five goals in the first four games of the title round and first since Mike Bossy in 1982 to score in each of the first four.
This is also just the third title series in which the score has been tied at some point in the third period in each of the first four games. It last happened between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015 and St. Louis and Montreal in 1968.
The first three games were all decided by a goal for just the 10th time. A n empty-netter by Nikolaj Ehlers in Game 4, a long-range clearance that was something of a highlight itself, was the only thing keeping it from being four in a row.
Despite these being teams in smaller, so-called nontraditional markets, the country is tuned in. The first three games are the most-watched first three in a Stanley Cup since the Blackhawks against the Lightning 11 years ago, with an average of 4.9 million viewers on ABC. Game 3 on ABC and ESPN was the most-watched in a Stanley Cup Final since Carolina-Detroit in 2002, with 5 million.
This has not exactly been a goaltending series for the ages, though Carter Hart of Vegas and Carolina’s Frederik Andersen and Bussi have all made some big-time saves.
Hart, Andersen and Bussi have a combined save percentage of .855, which is on pace to be the lowest in the Stanley Cup Final since the .850 in 1973 for the series between Chicago and Montreal. That is significantly lower than even the league average of .896 during the regular season that was the lowest since 1993-94.
Bussi in Game 4 became the third goalie to make his first NHL playoff start in the final and win it (Hank Bassen in 1961 and Alfie Moore in 1938 were the first two).
With Andersen picking up the Game 2 victory, the Hurricanes are the first team since the Edmonton Oilers in 1984 to have two goalies each win a start in the title series. The only teams to win the Stanley Cup with multiple goaltenders starting and winning in the title round are the Bruins in 1972 and the Oilers in 1984.