Golden Knights eye a 3-1 edge as a wild Stanley Cup Final heads to Game 4

Stanley Cup Hurricanes Golden Knights Hockey

Candice Ward/AP Photo/Candice Ward

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, top, celebrates his goal with center Tomas Hertl during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

By: Mark Anderson

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a Stanley Cup Final filled with more twists and turns than a Six Flags roller coaster, it's difficult to imagine what more could be in store when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Vegas Golden Knights for Game 4 on Tuesday.

There certainly is plenty at stake.

WATCH | The Golden Knights talk preparations for Game 4

Coach John Tortorella:

Coach John Tortorella speaks on VGK's preps for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Finals

Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar:

VGK's Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar talk Game 4 preps for Stanley Cup Final

Nic Dowd and Ivan Barbashev:

VGK's Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar talk Game 4 preps for Stanley Cup Final

Should the Golden Knights win and take a 3-1 series lead, they will be in an almost unbeatable position. Teams with such an advantage in the final are 38-1, the one defeat occurring 84 years ago when Detroit lost a 3-0 lead and fell to Toronto.

A Hurricanes victory would not only even the best-of-seven series, but regain home-ice advantage with potentially two of the three remaining games in Carolina.

Good luck trying to predict where this series will go. What was largely expected to be a high-checking, low-scoring championship round has been wide open at times, with each team capitalizing on the other's mistakes. The teams have combined to score 25 goals, the highest total through three games in the final since the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars had 30 in 1981.

There have been blown leads of at least two goals in each game. Vegas rallied from such a deficit in Game 1 and Carolina did it in Game 2.

Then came the real doozy in Saturday night's Game 3 when the Golden Knights led 4-0 well into the third period before the Hurricanes scored three goals in a record 39 seconds. Carolina eventually forced overtime, but the Golden Knights won in double OT when Shea Theodore bounced a puck off the boards that caromed off goalie Brandon Bussi's skate.

Because of course it did.

Bussi, who hadn't played in two months, entered in the third period after coach Rod Brind'Amour had seen enough of Frederik Andersen. The Golden Knights couldn't figure out Bussi until that final wacky shot, so he might start Tuesday. Brind'Amour said he knows who will start, but isn't letting on.