Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal picked a great time to get hot.
Staal has five goals through the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, helping keep the best-of-7 series tied heading into Game 5 on Thursday evening in Raleigh, N.C.
“I just want to contribute any way I can, and the puck’s going in for me,” Staal said. “I’ll take it.”
Staal, 37, has scored in each of the first four games of the series, becoming the first to do so in the Stanley Cup Final since Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in 1982.
“He’s a dog,” Carolina forward Jackson Blake said. “He does everything. I just think it’s how bad he wants to win. We all want to win so badly, but he’s playing like it’s his last games right now. That’s how good he’s playing.”
Staal has been doing most of his damage in front of the crease. The team captain was in that area in the third period of Game 4 on Tuesday night when he swept the puck into the net as he was falling to the ice, breaking a 3-3 tie in a 5-3 win.
“That fourth goal for us was incredible,” Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven said. “I don’t know how he found a way to put that in. Yeah, he just does all the little things right, and we’re in a position like this because of him, so we’re going to need him to keep doing that.”
Vegas coach John Tortorella said Staal’s impact has been game-changing.
“He’s killing us in front of the net,” Tortorella said. “He’s a big man. He’s a good player. That’s where he lives. We’ve got to do a better job.”
Maintaining a lead also has been a struggle for both teams.
The Hurricanes took an early 2-0 lead in Game 1 only to lose 5-4.
Vegas held a 2-0 lead entering the third period of Game 2 before losing 4-3 in overtime.
The Golden Knights blew a 4-0 lead at the start of the third period in Game 3 before regrouping to win 5-4 in overtime, and Carolina had a 3-1 lead in Game 4 before Vegas came back to tie it with two goals in the second period.
“That’s what’s crazy about this series, to be honest,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s just very unpredictable. Things are happening that I know I haven’t seen in succession. It’s been crazy.”
With a travel day Wednesday, neither team will get a chance to take the ice until the morning skate Thursday.
Tortorella said it’s important that the Golden Knights keep their focus ahead.
“Just getting ready for the next game. Flush this,” Tortorella said. “We worked hard to get back into it and I thought we had a really good third period. Jack (Eichel) hits the crossbar, we hit a post, but we don’t get it done.
“So, we need to flush it and get ready for our next game. I don’t think we should be looking any further than just the next game. So, we’ll get on the plane (Wednesday) and get ready to play.”
For the Hurricanes, the burning question of who will start in goal in Game 5 will have to wait until Thursday.
In his first playoff start in Game 4, Brandon Bussi made 18 saves in place of struggling veteran Frederik Andersen. Andersen didn’t even dress as Bussi’s backup, with Pyotr Kochetkov serving that role.
“We’re not going to discuss the lineup,” Brind’Amour told reporters Wednesday. “We haven’t even met as a staff or anything to figure out what we’re doing. It’s too early in the morning.”
