Hurricanes Vs Golden Knights: Carolina Can Win Game 6 With Karlsson Out
The hurricanes vs golden knights series reaches Game 6 on Sunday night with Carolina one win from the Stanley Cup. The Stanley Cup will be in the building, and the Hurricanes have not had this chance in 20 years.
William Karlsson Sits Out Game 6
Vegas lost William Karlsson in Game 5 when Sean Walker delivered a heavy check that left him with an upper-body injury. John Tortorella ruled Karlsson out for Game 6 and said he is unlikely to return this series, leaving the Golden Knights without one of their most relied-upon centers and penalty killers.
Karlsson had centered Mitch Marner and Brett Howden on one of Vegas's most productive lines. That absence lands in the middle of a team that has to win Game 6 to force a Game 7.
Carter Hart Gets Another Start
Carter Hart will start again for Vegas in Game 6 after John Tortorella announced that plan after Game 4. Hart has allowed at least four goals in five straight Stanley Cup Final games, and Game 5 brought a 2.73 expected goals against with minus-1.27 goals saved above expectation.
Tortorella said Saturday: "Because I know him, Tortorella said Saturday. I know there’s a better game in him. I’ve seen it throughout the playoffs. Yeah, I think he’s a very good goalie. We’ve got to do a better job around him, too. You can look at the numbers, and you guys (media), that’s what you do. You spit out those numbers, but I’ve got to look at things differently and watch the play going on around him and what type of goals are being scored."
Vegas Leaned On Its Stars
In Game 5, Vegas stacked Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone together on the top line for nearly eight minutes of five-on-five play. Those three logged over 20 minutes each, while no Carolina forward played more than 20 minutes, a workload split that showed how hard Vegas leaned on its top group to stay alive in the series.
Carolina still found three goals on low-danger shots in Game 5. Brandon Bussi is in goal for the Hurricanes in this matchup, and Sunday night gives them a direct path to the Cup before a possible Game 7 ever arrives.
