Vegas Golden Knights vs. Carolina Hurricanes Odds, Picks & Predictions - Game 5 - 06/11

After 82 regular season games and three rounds of the postseason, the NHL season has reached its zenith as the Stanley Cup Finals roll on in the Tar Heel State. The Vegas Golden Knights are on the road as they travel to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in a pivotal Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals series Thursday night and we have you covered with our Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes prediction.

In Game 1 of the series, Vegas rallied to pick up a 5-4 victory, drawing first blood. Carolina rallied in Game 2, picking up a 4-3 overtime victory last Thursday night to square the series. Vegas won a wild Game 3, prevailing 5-4 in double overtime Saturday night at home. Carolina responded again, winning Game 4 5-3 on the road Tuesday to square things up? Which team prevails here to head to Sin City with a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s chalice after Game 6? Let’s break down this Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes matchup.

Golden Knights Shooting to Win on the Road Again

Vegas, at this point, hopes that the trend of the series continues. After all, they won Games 1 and 3 while dropping Games 2 and 4 entering this contest. Seeing that this is an odd game, the pattern, should it hold, is in their favor. Of course, that means that things have to play out that way on the ice, which means Vegas needs better defensive play.

In Game 4, Vegas fell behind early and played catchup the rest of the way. The Golden Knights seemingly ran out of steam late and wound up with the loss. Vegas lost the shot battle 14-6 in the opening period and trailed 3-1 on the scoreboard after 20 minutes. After going down 2-0 in the opening four minutes, Mark Stone got Vegas on the board with his seventh goal of the playoffs at 7:22. Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb drew the assists on the goal. The Golden Knights surrendered another goal before the period was out to trail by a pair of goals.

In the second period, Vegas lost the shot battle 9-6 but outscored Carolina 2-0. That left the game even at three at the second intermission. William Karlsson got the Golden Knights within a goal with his third of the playoffs at 4:22. Rasmus Andersson and Marner drew the assists on that marker. Later in the period, Brett Howden tied the score with his 14th goal of the playoffs at 17:08. Colton Sissons and Karlsson drew the assists on that goal. The third period saw Vegas with a 9-5 shot advantage but was outscored 2-0 to wind up with the loss.

Carter Hart made 23 saves for the Golden Knights, who were outshot 28-21, in the loss. As of Wednesday, Vegas has not formally announced a starting goaltender. Hart became the first goaltender in Stanley Cup history to allow at least four goals in the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final.

Hurricanes Seek to Take 3-2 Series Lead

Carolina actually started strong in Game 4 and their ability to do damage in the late stages carried them to a win, evening the series. The Hurricanes try to put together a full 60 minutes in this contest as they seek their first lead in games in the series.

In Game 4, Carolina got going almost immediately and then finished strong late to earn the win. The Hurricanes owned a 14-6 advantage in shots in the opening period and took a 3-1 lead to the first intermission. Logan Stankoven opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the playoffs at the 1:06 mark. Jalen Chatfield and Jackson Blake drew the assists on the goal. Blake made it a 2-0 game with his sixth of the playoffs at 3:28 of the period. Taylor Hall and Nikolaj Ehlers drew the assists on that marker. After Vegas got on the board to halve the margin, Jordan Staal restored the two-goal margin with his sixth of the playoffs. That goal, which came on the power play at 12:48, was assisted by Shayne Gostisbehere and Sebastian Aho.

In the second period, Carolina held a 9-6 shot edge but gave up the only two goals of the period. That left the game even at three after 40 minutes. In the third period, the Hurricanes lost the shot battle 9-5 in the third period but scored the only two goals to earn the win. Staal gave Carolina a 4-3 lead with his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs at 6:32. Ehlers drew the lone assist on the marker. Ehlers closed the scoring with an empty net goal, his seventh of the playoffs, at 19:05. That marker was unassisted.

Brandon Bussi made 18 saves for the Hurricanes, who owned a 28-21 advantage in shots, in the win. As of Wednesday, Carolina has not officially named a starting goaltender for this contest.

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Stats to Know

Vegas is:

• 2nd in the league in the postseason in scoring offense (3.70 goals per game)
• Tied for 5th in goals against (2.75)
• 5th in power play success (20.7%)
• 8th in penalty killing (83.1%)

Carolina is:

• 4th in the league in the postseason in scoring offense (3.47 goals per game)
• 1st in goals against (2.18)
• 11th in power play success (16.4%)
• 2nd in penalty killing (92.3%)

Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes Prediction

Both teams have a question mark as to who gets the start between the pipes here. Rob Brind’Amour made the decision to go to Bussi in Game 4. Even more jarring was that Frederik Andersen was out of uniform and made the emergency goaltender. Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup netminder for the Hurricanes in the game. Now, John Tortorella and the Golden Knights face a similar situation here. Do they go away from Hart, who has played every second when Vegas had a goalie in net for the postseason? Can Akira Schmid or Adin Hi’’ suddenly step in and turn the tide for the Golden Knights? Carolina has the momentum and home ice advantage. Take them here as Vegas fails to regain momentum.

Our Prediction: Hurricanes ML (FanDuel, -152)

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