2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Stanley Cup Final Game 4: Carolina Hurricanes @ Vegas Golden Knights
VGK leads 2-1
How to watch
Start time: 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English) TVA Sports (French)
In the U.S.: ABC
Streaming: Sportsnet+
Things were going about as poorly for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final as they had in Game 1 of the previous round. The Vegas Golden Knights scored four goals in the second period, including the fastest hat trick in NHL history from Mitch Marner. With Frederik Andersen up to 12 goals allowed through two games and two period, Rod Brind’Amour made the switch to Brandon Bussi to give his team a chance.
The Hurricanes took that chance all the way to tying up the game with four goals of their own in the third period to get the game to overtime. One of the biggest collapses in playoff history was avoided when the Golden Knights got the winning goal in the second extra frame, recovering to take a 2-1 series lead.
All the questions are about which goalie will start for Carolina now. Carter Hart hasn’t fared a whole lot better than Andersen in the series so far, also seeing 12 pucks get beyond him, so Brind’Amour has to be thinking a few more saves will be the difference for his team. It’s a matter of which goalie he can trust to make a few critical stops.
Carolina Hurricanes projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #37 Andrei Svechnikov |
#20 Sebastian Aho |
#48 Jordan Martinook |
| #71 Taylor Hall |
#22 Logan Stankoven |
#53 Jackson Blake |
| #27 Nikolaj Ehlers |
#11 Jordan Staal |
#24 Seth Jarvis |
| #28 William Carrier |
#77 Mark Jankowski |
#50 Eric Robinson |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #74 Jaccob Slavin |
#5 Jalen Chatfield |
| #19 K’Andre Miller |
#26 Sean Walker |
| #4 Shayne Gostisbehere |
#21 Alexander Nikishin |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #32 Brandon Bussi |
#52 Pyotr Kochetkov |
Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #49 Ivan Barbashev |
#9 Jack Eichel |
#61 Mark Stone |
| #21 Brett Howden |
#71 William Karlsson |
#93 Mitch Marner |
| #48 Tomas Hertl |
#10 Colton Sissons |
#16 Pavel Dorofeyev |
| #22 Cole Smith |
#26 Nic Dowd |
#55 Keegan Kolesar |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #3 Brayden McNabb |
#27 Shea Theodore |
| #15 Noah Hanifin |
#4 Rasmus Andersson |
| #5 Jeremy Lauzon |
#52 Dylan Coghlan |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #79 Carter Hart |
#33 Adin Hill |
