Stanley Cup Final Game 4: Carolina, Vegas ready for another physical battle
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- Carolina Hurricanes practiced with all skaters on the ice Monday at T‑Mobile Arena.
- Forward William Carrier returned at full speed after leaving Game 3 with an upper‑body.
- Jalen Chatfield, Taylor Hall, and K’Andre Miller practiced despite earlier injuries.
The Carolina Hurricanes had all of their skaters on the ice Monday for practice as they prepared for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Forward William Carrier, who left Game 3 with an upper-body injury, was back and at full speed. Other players who appeared dinged up at some point in the double-overtime loss — Jalen Chatfield, Taylor Hall and K’Andre Miller — were also on the ice at T-Mobile Arena.
The only player missing was goaltender Frederik Andersen, who Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said was given a maintenance day. Andersen was pulled after a four-goal second period by the Knights and relieved by Brandon Bussi, who made his playoffs debut.
Losing in double overtime was excruciating enough. But to lose it on a shot by defenseman Shea Theodore that was wide of the net, hit the bottom of the end boards, then bounced back and off the skate of Bussi made it doubly tough to handle.
What was a classic game had a less-than-classic ending,
“That’s hockey,” Brind’Amour said after the game.
Coaches in all sports like to tell their teams not to let a tough loss beat them twice. The Hurricanes had an extra day between games to shake it off and refocus on winning Game 4 to tie the series.
“In any series if you lose two in a row you’re in a world of hurt,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said Monday. “We know it’s a massive game. It’s not the end, but we’ve got to make sure it has to be our best.”
Chatfield played more than 28 minutes in a bruising Game 3, and the defenseman once went crashing back-first into an open gate at the Vegas bench.
The Knights were credited with 66 hits in the game, 14 by Cole Smith. The Canes had 44 as Andrei Svechnikov, Alexander Nikishin and Sean Walker each had five.
Most physical game of the playoffs?
“Each round we’ve had some games similar to that,” Chatfield said Monday. “It’s the Final and that’s the way the hockey is going to be.
“It’s about the recovery. We have two days between games. At this time of the year, there’s not one guy on the ice feeling 100 percent. You just get as close as you can, and let the adrenaline and why you’re playing take you from there.”
Chatfield had to leave Game 3 when he was pushed into the open gate on the Vegas bench. It’s a hazardous situation. Chatfield came away hurting, but able to continue playing.
“I didn’t know what happened,” he said. “Sometimes, those doors get loose and not closed all the way and you get bumped into it.
“That was the first time it happened to me. Definitely not ideal. I’ve seen in the past that it can be a dangerous play. Bad things can happen and I’m just happy I’m all right.”
The Hurricanes spent much of Sunday again going over video and seeing what can, and needs to be corrected. The Knights’ Mitch Marner had the fastest hat trick in Final history as Vegas took a 4-0 lead after two. The Canes then scored three times in 39 seconds, another Final record, and tied the score on a late power-play goal by Svechnikov after pulling Bussi for a sixth attacker.
It was back and forth in the overtimes — the Canes with eight shots, Vegas with 10 in the OTs — before Theodore won it, 5-4.
“Giving up five goals is obviously not the answer,” Staal said. “It’s been some crazy hockey, for sure. But each team is trying to find a way to win.
“That’s the beauty of these playoffs. You’ve got to find ways to win, and some games look completely different than others. The script can always change completely.”
One part of the script the Hurricanes need to change is trying to slow Vegas forward Mitch Marner. The Canes faced him for years when he was with Toronto, but has been a shining star in the playoffs with a league-high 28 points.
Marner, the Conn Smythe Trophy favorite as playoffs MVP, had the three goals and an assist in Game 4 and could have had more. Bussi stopped him on a breakaway early in the third that earned Marner a penalty shot, Bussi stopped that, too.
“In Toronto, you knew he was out there, every shift,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s ‘OK, here he comes, making plays, scoring goals, setting someone up.’ He was always like that.
“So I don’t see any different, unfortunately. He’s one of the elite players of the game, and you have to find ways not to give him free ones.
