Hurricanes Tie Cup Final 2-2: Staal Joins Bossy, Bussi Wins NHL Debut

Jordan Staal scored twice and Brandon Bussi stopped 18 of 21 shots in his first career NHL playoff start as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 in Game 4 to even the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at two games apiece. Staal's third-period go-ahead goal with 13:28 to play made him the first player in 44 years to score in each of the first four games of a Cup Final, joining Mike Bossy (1982 Islanders), Steve Payne (1981 North Stars), and Johnny Bucyk (1970 Bruins) as the only players to do it in the expansion era. The series shifts to Raleigh, with Game 5 set for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

The Hurricanes had lost three of their previous four to Vegas counting Games 1 and 3 of this final, both decided by a single goal. Carolina now has home ice for the most important game of the series.

What Happened in Game 4

Carolina trailed 3-2 entering the third period at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas had taken the lead on a Mark Stone power play look midway through the second, and the math was sliding toward 3-1 series math with Game 5 back in Raleigh as a save situation, not a closeout.

Staal flipped it. He tied the game in the first period, then put the Hurricanes ahead for good on a second-effort jam at the side of the net with 13:28 left in regulation. Carolina added an empty-netter to close the door. Nikolaj Ehlers produced three points, and rookie Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist to give the depth scoring Rod Brind'Amour has been hunting for since Game 1.

The bigger storyline came from the crease. Frederik Andersen, whose goals against average climbed in every round of these playoffs and topped out at 4.44 in the first three Cup Final games, did not start. Brind'Amour gave the net to Bussi, the 27-year-old who came on in relief during Game 3 and stopped 18 of 18 including a Mitch Marner penalty shot. Bussi backed it up. He turned aside 18 of the 21 shots Vegas put on him over 60 minutes and never looked rattled in the third when the Golden Knights pushed for an equalizer.

The Staal Goal That Ties Him to Bossy

The historic context on Staal's streak is worth pausing on. The expansion era goes back to 1968. In nearly six decades of Cup Finals, only four players have scored in each of the first four games: Bucyk in 1970, Payne in 1981, Bossy in 1982, and now Staal in 2026.

Bossy's 1982 stretch came in the middle of the Islanders dynasty (he scored in seven straight Cup Final games that year, an NHL record). Staal is not chasing that mark yet, but he has put himself in the only company that matters at this point in a Cup Final. He is the captain, he is 37 years old, and he has scored four goals in four games against the best defensive structure Vegas could throw at the Hurricanes' top six.

The five-on-five usage matters too. Brind'Amour leaned on the Staal line as a matchup unit against the Stone, Eichel, Marner trio through three games of this series, and that line has now produced goals in every game while holding Vegas's first line under expectations.

Bussi's Place in NHL History

Brandon Bussi became the third goaltender in NHL history to make his first career playoff start in a Stanley Cup Final and win the contest. The other two have to be Googled to be remembered: Hank Bassen (Game 2 in 1961 for Detroit) and Alfie Moore (Game 1 in 1938 for Chicago). Bussi joined a club of three.

The Hurricanes signed him as organizational depth, not as a Game 4 starter against a Cup contender on the road. He had 11 career NHL regular-season starts entering this spring. Brind'Amour's call was a read on Andersen's body language and the trend line on the GAA, and it paid out cleanly. Carolina did not give up a third-period goal. The penalty kill went 3-for-3. The structure in front of Bussi was tighter than it had been in Games 1 and 3, but Bussi also did not allow the soft middle-distance look that Vegas had been beating Andersen with through the series.

The Game 5 question now becomes whether Bussi has earned a second start, or whether Andersen comes back at PNC Arena with the home crowd behind him. Brind'Amour will not say. Carolina's playoff history under him is to ride the goalie that gives the team a chance to win that night.

Betting Impact

Game 5 opened with Carolina as a -145 home favorite at DraftKings, with Vegas at +120 (DK Network, posted June 9 immediately after Game 4). Series futures on the Hurricanes have moved from underdog territory back toward even money. Vegas had been a -180 series favorite before Game 4 at multiple books.

The total opened at 6 with juice on the over, which reflects what the Hurricanes have done at home in this postseason (Carolina averaged 3.6 goals per game at PNC Arena across the first three rounds, per NHL.com data) and what Vegas has done on the road in this series (multiple goals in every game).

For prop exposure, Staal goalscorer markets reset hard after Game 4. Anytime goalscorer prices on him moved from longshot territory pre-series into the +250 to +350 range at most books on June 10 morning, given the structural usage Brind'Amour is giving him on the matchup line. The Ehlers anytime points prop is the other one to watch given his Game 4 line.

If Bussi gets the Game 5 start, his under-on-goals-allowed market becomes the most interesting prop on the board because there is no NHL track record to anchor against. The book pricing will lean on Andersen's season numbers (.911 SV% regular season) and Vegas's expected shot volume on the road.

DFS exposure on Ehlers and Blake should climb for Game 5 lineups given depth-scoring price points. Staal has been priced as a defensive forward, not a top-six points producer, all postseason. That gap has closed as of last night.

What to Watch Next

Game 5 is Thursday, June 11 at 8 p.m. ET at PNC Arena in Raleigh, broadcast on ABC, SN, and CBC. Two storylines decide the night: the goalie Brind'Amour picks (Bussi or Andersen), and whether Vegas adjusts how it attacks the Staal line at five-on-five. Stone, Eichel, and Marner have been the Knights' best matchup unit all postseason and they have been outscored by the Carolina checking line through four games.

If Carolina wins Game 5, Vegas faces a Game 6 elimination back in Raleigh, with the home team playing for a Cup. If Vegas wins, the Knights have two chances (one of them at T-Mobile Arena) to close out their second Cup in four years.

Chad AI tracks every line move and prop reset for Game 5 inside the app. Daily NHL picks refresh through Thursday morning.