RALEIGH, N.C. — In the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, plenty of things clicked for the Carolina Hurricanes. Not on the list: strong play in the second period or high-end production from its leading scorers.In Game 5 on Thursday night, the Hurricanes found both. Now, they find themselves within one win of their first Stanley Cup title in two decades.Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho scored second-period goals to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 Carolina advantage, Brandon Bussi made 23 saves and the Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2. Game 6 is in Las Vegas on Sunday night.The Vegas Golden Knights, meanwhile, are trying to force a Game 7 in a series in which they’re trailing for the first time.Svechnikov added a third-period power-play goal on a wide-open net, courtesy of a spinning feed from winger Nikolaj Ehlers and Bussi made several key stops down the stretch that allowed Carolina to maintain a multi-goal lead.The second period, though, was the key. With Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb in the box for boarding, Svechnikov put Carolina up 2-1 with a power-play goal at 11:58, sending a feed from Shayne Gostisbehere through traffic and between the pads of Vegas goaltender Carter Hart. Aho, less than six minutes later, kicked a pass from defenseman Sean Walker to his own stick and beat Hart again, giving the Hurricanes a two-goal lead at the second intermission. Vegas had previously outscored Carolina 9-1 in the second period, including a 4-0 edge in Game 3.The game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, with goals by Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev, a 37-goal scorer in the regular season who’d gone cold in the Final, and Carolina’s Jordan Staal, whose historic run of production has pushed him to the top of the Conn Smythe Trophy race.That’s not the piece of hardware Staal is primarily chasing. The Cup will be in T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, and Carolina will have the chance to hoist it.Staal makes historyStaal scored his sixth goal of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday — two more goals than he had during 24 playoff games during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ run to the 2009 Stanley Cup.Staal tied the NHL record for longest goal streak in the Stanley Cup Final at five games. The others were Yvan Cournoyer in 1973, Jean Béliveau in 1956, Maurice “Rocket” Richard in 1951 and Cyclone Taylor in 1918.After finishing his check on Brayden McNabb, Staal was able to skate alone to the front of the net and chip Nikolaj Ehler’s pass past Carter Hart. Staal is the first player in 70 years to score in the first five games of a Stanley Cup Final.Staal is just the second captain to record six or more goals in a single Stanley Cup Final in the last 100 years, joining Edmonton Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky, who had seven in 1985. — Michael Russo, NHL writerKarlsson injuredOne of the biggest reasons for Vegas’ turnaround after Coach John Tortorella was the return of William Karlsson from injury.But on Thursday, Karlsson was hurt in the second period when hit hard by Walker. Karlsson’s left arm was in clear discomfort on the bench. Not long after, the athletic trainer whispered in Tortorella’s ear, and the coach was clearly not happy.If Karlsson can’t play Game 6, the Golden Knights can move Tomas Hertl to center and insert Reilly Smith or Brandon Saad. — Russo Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi made 23 saves against the Golden Knights in Game 5. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)Bussi wins again, Andersen doesn’t dress againBrandon Bussi became the first goaltender in NHL history to make his first two career playoff starts in the Stanley Cup Final and win both games.Bussi made 23 saves, getting his second straight start over Frederik Andersen, who skated on his own Thursday morning but didn’t dress for the second game in a row after being pulled after two periods in Game 3.Coach Rod Brind’Amour and GM Eric Tulsky claimed that Andersen was at least available to play Thursday, yet they recalled Amir Miftakhov from AHL Chicago despite the Wolves beginning the Calder Cup Final on Friday. — RussoSlavin/Staal vs. EichelJack Eichel’s offensive struggles in the Cup Final have been well chronicled, although he came out with more jump in Game 5 Thursday night and set up Pavel Dorofeyev’s power-play goal in the first period with a perfect pass. Still, another quiet night offensively at five-on-five for Eichel, who took accountability Thursday morning by saying he needed to be better. Tortorella tried to help Eichel out Thursday night, loading up his top line by moving leading Vegas scorer Mitch Marner to Eichel’s line with Mark Stone. But it still didn’t lead to an offensive breakthrough for Eichel.And to his defense, there are some top offensive players in Montreal, Philadelphia and Ottawa who know what it feels like lining up against Staal and top defenseman Jaccob Slavin.“Jordan’s a huge part of that,” Slavin said Thursday morning when asked to break down the matchup against Eichel. “He could be up for the Selke every single year. Jordan helps out big time and I think he frustrates other teams’ centers. We need him to continue to do that.“But when Eichel is out there, you got to take away that time and space,’’ added Slavin on his own part in it. “You have to know where he is on the ice and know that he doesn’t need much to make a lot of it. He’s a dangerous player and he’s obviously a big part of their team.’’ — Pierre LeBrun, NHL columnistCarolina power playThe Hurricanes entered the Stanley Cup Final with a mediocre power play, but the unit has found its stride, scoring six goals between Games 2 and 5 with the latest being Andrei Svechnikov’s pair of power-play goals Thursday night.What’s changed with the power play?“I think just simplifying,’’ power-play quarterback Shayne Gostisbehere said Thursday morning. “We started maybe taking a little bit of what they’re giving us. And simplifying. You see a lot of our goals are just shots to the net and the big man’s (Staal) in front putting them away.” — LeBrunPavel Dorofeyev scored two goals for the Golden Knights in Game 5. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)Dorofeyev on the boardVegas’ leading scorer from the regular season scored his first and second goals of the series on Thursday. Dorofeyev buried a cross-crease feed by Eichel on the power play to deliver an early lead for the Golden Knights. It was his league-leading fifth power-play goal of the playoffs and it broke the Vegas franchise record for the most in a single postseason.The 25-year-old winger scored 10 goals in the first 13 playoff games, and stood atop the postseason scoring race at one point, but had gone seven games without a goal going back to the Western Conference final against the Colorado Avalanche. He had been quiet through the first four games of the Cup Final, with only 18 shot attempts and seven shots on goal.Following his early goal, Dorofeyev was playing with noticeably more confidence and assertiveness with the puck. He had three shots on goal in the first period alone, and finished with a series-high seven shot attempts. Late in the third period, he pounced on a rebound in front of the Carolina net and lifted it over Bussi’s glove to cut the deficit to two. — Jesse Granger, Golden Knights writer