The 2026 Stanley Cup Final heads to Game 5 deadlocked at two wins apiece after a wild series where neither team could protect multi-goal leads. Carolina Hurricanes erased deficits in Games 1 and 3, while Vegas Golden Knights rallied in Games 2 and 4, setting up Thursday's pivotal matchup at Lenovo Center.

Carolina's Game 4 victory came with unexpected heroics from Brandon Bussi, who made his first career playoff start in place of Frederik Andersen and stopped 18 shots. Jordan Staal continued his remarkable Final run with goals in all four games, giving him five scores in his last six postseason contests after a slow start.

Mitchell Marner leads the playoff scoring race with 29 points and remains the Conn Smythe favorite, though his natural hat trick in Game 3 wasn't enough to secure the win. Pavel Dorofeyev enters Game 5 on a seven-game goal drought despite scoring six times in a four-game stretch earlier in the playoffs.

SportsLine analyst Scott Erskine favors Dorofeyev as an anytime goalscorer (+270) and Shayne Gostisbehere for 1+ points (+110), citing the over 6.5 total goals trend that has produced at least seven tallies in each contest. Carter Hart will start for Vegas despite allowing four goals in each of the first four Final games.