Overview
- Carolina beat Vegas 4-2 in Game 5 Thursday to move ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven Final and will try to clinch the title in Game 6 on Sunday at T‑Mobile Arena.
- Andrei Svechnikov scored two power-play goals that proved decisive, and Jordan Staal extended his goal streak to five straight Final games, matching a rare NHL mark.
- Brandon Bussi made 22 saves for his second straight start and became the first goalie to make his first two career playoff starts in the Final and win both.
- Vegas goaltender Carter Hart allowed at least four goals for a fifth straight game, deepening questions about Vegas’s netminding late in the series.
- Vegas center William Karlsson left Game 5 with an apparent arm injury and did not return, and the series’ heavy scoring and special-teams swings mean Game 6 will hinge on goalie play and discipline.