LAS VEGAS — Jordan Staal scored two goals, including the go-ahead tally in the third period, and Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists as the Carolina Hurricanes evened the Stanley Cup Final at two wins apiece with a 5-3 victory on Tuesday.

It marked the fourth straight game that Staal scored a goal. He has five total in the finals after registering just two in Carolina’s first 13 playoff games this spring.

Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist and Logan Stankoven also scored for Carolina. Brandon Bussi, making his first NHL playoff start after coming off the bench in Game 3, made 18 saves.

William Karlsson had a goal and an assist and Brett Howden and Mark Stone also found the net for the Golden Knights. Vegas’ Carter Hart stopped 23 of 27 shots.

Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is set for Thursday in Raleigh, N.C.

The Hurricanes led 3-1 after one period, but the Golden Knights leveled the contest 3-3 in the middle frame.

Staal put Carolina back in front at 6:32 of the third period, flicking in the rebound of Ehlers’ shot over Hart’s glove while diving to the ice near the right post. The score came after the Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis intercepted a clearing pass from Shea Theodore in the high slot, but Hart turned away Jarvis’ backhand try.

The Golden Knights pulled Hart for an extra attacker late in the game, and Ehlers sealed it with an empty-netter from behind his goal with 54.9 seconds remaining.

The Hurricanes needed only 66 seconds to take a 1-0 lead, and they did it with a goal similar to the one that beat them in double overtime on Saturday. Jalen Chatfield fired a point shot that, like Theodore’s winning tally in Game 3, bounced off the end boards. This one went to Stankoven, who beat Hart with a backhand shot.

Blake made it 2-0 at 3:28 of the first, firing in a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle off a Taylor Hall crossing pass.

Vegas halved the deficit at 7:22 of the opening period. Stone took a long stretch pass from Theodore and broke in, faked a shot in the slot and then wrapped a wrist shot around Bussi’s right pad.

The Hurricanes, taking advantage of a Vegas penalty for too many men on the ice, extended the lead to 3-1 at 12:48 of the first period. Staal, stationed in front of the crease, knocked in a rebound of a Shayne Gostisbehere point shot.

Vegas nearly scored at the end of the period on a Brayden McNabb shot from the right circle at the buzzer, but the goal was waived off when replays showed time had expired before the puck crossed the goal line.

The Golden Knights battled back to tie it 3-3 in the second period on goals by Karlsson, a one-timer through traffic from the left circle at 4:22, and Howden, who finished an odd-man rush with a wrist shot through the legs of defenseman K’Andre Miller and over Bussi’s right shoulder at 17:08.

It was Howden’s league-leading 14th goal of the playoffs, setting a franchise record for most goals in a postseason campaign.

–Steve Guiremand, Field Level Media

Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar homered as the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 in Denver on Tuesday.

Edouard Julien had two hits and drove in three runs, Willi Castro finished with three hits and Kyle Karros had two hits for Colorado, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

Tomoyuki Sugano (6-4) allowed three runs on six hits in five-plus innings for the Rockies. He struck out three and walked two.

Michael Busch homered and Alex Bregman had two hits and an RBI for Chicago, which has lost six of its past eight games.

Colorado jumped on top in the first inning against Colin Rea. TJ Rumfield was hit by a pitch with two outs, and Goodman followed with his team-leading 18th home run of the season to make it 2-0.

Tovar expanded the Rockies’ lead when he led off the second with his fifth long ball of the season, and the hosts tacked on two more in the frame. Karros hit a one-out single, Julien drove him home with a double and Jake McCarthy followed with an RBI single.

Chicago got one back in the third against Sugano. Dansby Swanson led off with a double, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Busch walked to load the bases, and Swanson scored on Bregman’s sacrifice fly.

Colorado responded in the bottom of the inning. Goodman led off with a walk and went to third on Troy Johnston’s double. Rea fanned Tovar and Cole Carrigg before walking Karros. Julien then laced a two-run single to center to make it 7-1.

Rea (5-4) lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing season-high totals of seven runs and nine hits. He walked three and fanned two.

The Cubs cut into the lead in the sixth inning. Busch led off with his seventh homer of the season, and Bregman singled. Seth Halvorsen relieved Sugano and walked Ian Happ, then threw a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third with no outs.

Bregman scored on Seiya Suzuki’s groundout, but Halvorsen got out of the jam with two consecutive groundouts.

–Field Level Media

Marco Penge has withdrawn from next week’s U.S. Open as the English golfer continues to deal with nervous system issues along with ear and neck problems.

Penge, 28, suffered a viral infection in November 2025 but was enjoying a strong start to his rookie season on the PGA Tour until announcing last month that he was going to take a break from competition to focus on his health.

That came following the PGA Championship, where he missed the cut after contracting a sinus infection that caused vertigo symptoms. Penge hoped to return in time for next week’s major at Shinnecock Hills, but he announced his withdrawal on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, myself and my team have decided that i am going to have to WD from the @usopengolf championship which Im gutted about,” Penge posted on X. “My health is the no.1 priority for now and until i get to the bottom of the issues i wont be competing. The plan is to return fully fit.

“I have had numerous scans and seen several specialists and we are getting close to resolving the issue that I’ve been struggling with for 8 months. I Appreciate the continued support as always and Ill be back soon!”

Penge posted on X on May 12 that he had been dealing with “ear/neck/nervous system” issues since the viral infection last November and that after continuing to deal with a sinus infection and vertigo, he underwent an MRI on his brain, head and neck.

“Thankfully the images were great and so a few of the doubts I have had have gone away which is a big relief,” he posted at the time.

After winning three times on the DP World Tour last season, Penge has made seven cuts in 12 starts this season, including a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship. He has reached as high as 29th in the Official World Golf Ranking but has slipped to 47th since stepping away from competition.

–Field Level Media