RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes had spent the entire NHL postseason waiting for their power play to get going, along with top-line performers Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov.
And they had spent the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final being outplayed in critical second-period sequences.
On Thursday night, it all came together, aligning to bring Carolina within a victory of winning hockey’s most storied trophy.
Svechnikov scored twice and Aho added a second-period goal in a breakout offensive game for both, helping the Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at the Lenovo Center for a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I liked our effort for sure, and I hope we’re getting better,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I think there’s certain areas of our game that are starting to look a lot like we need it to look. But I do think there’s still another level that we’re going to need to get to find that next one.”