Svechnikov and Aho Score as Hurricanes Beat Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 5 to Lead Stanley Cup Final 3-2

Raleigh's Lenovo Center on Thursday night was the kind of building that makes visiting teams feel very unwelcome, and the carolina hurricanes gave that crowd everything it came for a dominant home performance that puts the team one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Carolina won Game 5 by 4-2 and leads the series 3-2, with Game 6 heading back to Las Vegas on Sunday night, and the story of the game was finally getting what the Hurricanes had been waiting for all series long Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho showing up in the same game when it mattered most.

Svechnikov scored twice, both on the power play, and the way the second one went in told the whole story of the night as Nikolaj Ehlers spinning through traffic and finding Svechnikov at the back door with a pass that left Carter Hart with absolutely nothing to do about the tap-in that followed, and Lenovo Center went completely off its head.

Sebastian Aho added a wrist shot from the left circle with just over two minutes left in the second period to make it 3-1 and remove whatever doubt remained in the building, with Jordan Staal adding a goal of his own to bring his series total to six as the captain continued his remarkable run of form across this entire Final.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice for Vegas to keep the scoreline from getting completely one-sided, but the Golden Knights were flat for long stretches and their lack of discipline on the penalty kill cost them dearly, giving Carolina two consecutive power-play opportunities that the Hurricanes converted with the kind of clinical efficiency that has defined their game throughout these playoffs.

Brandon Bussi made 23 saves and was steady throughout, while Carter Hart stopped 20 of 24 at the other end in a night where the goaltending story remained exactly what it has been all series.

Sportscapefeels that the Hurricanes getting Svechnikov and Aho firing in the same game at home with the Stanley Cup within touching distance is the worst possible thing that could have happened for Vegas heading into Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena, because a Carolina team that has been winning this series without its two best forwards performing at their peak has just shown what it looks like when they do and Sunday night in Las Vegas is now a must-win situation for the Golden Knights or this series ends there.