The Athletic has live coverage of Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights in Game 6 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.RALEIGH, N.C. — John Tortorella all but guaranteed his Vegas Golden Knights will be back here for a seventh and deciding game of the Stanley Cup Final.“We’ve got to find a way,” Tortorella said. “I’m going to leave my clothes here, that’s for sure. They’ll be in the hotel.”For that to happen, Vegas will need to reverse what’s apparent to anyone else. The Carolina Hurricanes continue to improve in this NHL championship series, while the Golden Knights look stuck in neutral.In a series that was so even early on, with both teams struggling to wrestle enough control during wild back-and-forth games, unable to dictate with their brand of game for 60 minutes, what we saw on Thursday night was the Hurricanes playing the closest version of their best game that helped them romp through the opening three rounds.“It’s starting to look more and more like Hurricane hockey,” captain Jordan Staal said after his team’s 4-2 win Thursday night in Game 5.Almost every Stanley Cup championship team in history has talked about its game improving as the series reached an end. It’s exactly what we’re seeing from Carolina, now one win away from its first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years.“I honestly don’t know if we’ve still gotten to our best hockey, but that’s as close as it’s been in this series,” Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker said. “Earlier in the playoffs, you saw us really dominate and take over games. It didn’t feel like the other teams were getting any chances at all. Tonight was pretty close to that. We’ll look to do that in Vegas (in Game 6).’’With Carolina’s shot suppression and its suffocation of the Vegas attack, Thursday night felt like a turning point in the series, the moment the Hurricanes finally got to the essence of their game.“Yeah, I would say so,” said winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who had three assists. “It’s the closest to a full 60 that we’ve played in the last five games. And that’s obviously a positive. But we also have to realize how we played, how we did those things, and how we need to play to give ourselves a chance. Because we’re playing against a very good team. But yeah, definitely.”The contrast from both head coaches after the game Thursday night gave an indication of where their head space will be going into Sunday night. While Tortorella talked about leaving clothes behind for Game 7, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour tried to downplay the return of Hurricanes hockey. He’s making sure his team doesn’t get ahead of itself with a Stanley Cup championship one win away.Brind’Amour complained that his team wasn’t very good in the first period Thursday night, before finally acknowledging that yes, that’s finally a closer version of their game that came through in the final 40 minutes.“I liked our effort for sure. I hope we’re getting better,” Brind’Amour said. “I think there’s certain areas of our game that are starting to look like we need it to look. But I do think there’s still another level that we’re going to need to get to to find that next one.”If he feels Carolina still needs to find another level, what does that mean for Vegas? The Golden Knights had their worst game of the series on Thursday night, by any measure.When the Golden Knights were last at the Lenovo Center, they were 10 minutes away from grabbing a 2-0 series lead on the road. How quickly fortunes can be reversed.The biggest momentum swing in that Game 2, which has since echoed through the entire series, came when Tortorella made the questionable decision to challenge a no-goal call after Ivan Barbashev shoved the puck across the line in a goal-mouth scramble.That ignited a dormant Hurricanes power play, with Staal (who else?) scoring on the ensuing delay-of-game penalty and Seth Jarvis adding the winner in overtime on another power play.Carolina is 6-for-12 with the man advantage since Tortorella’s failed challenge, with two more power-play goals in a Game 5 that pushed Vegas to the brink while raising serious questions about its ability to find answers.As is his way, Tortorella only had limited interest in fielding questions afterward, but he made a point of promising that the Golden Knights were going to find a way to push this series to a Game 7.“We’ll be back here,” he said. “We’re just going to do it in a different order.”Vegas is likely going to have to do it without center William Karlsson, who left Game 5 during the second period with an upper-body injury after he took a hit from Sean Walker. Karlsson went to a local hospital during the game, according to a league source.That’s a significant loss. The Golden Knights’ lineup found another gear when Karlsson returned from a lengthy injury layoff during the second round against Anaheim.Tortorella at least has an extra day of preparation to sort out his lineup before his team faces elimination for the first time in these playoffs back home on Sunday night.Tortorella started juggling his forward lines early in Thursday’s game, moving leading scorer Mitch Marner alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone in an effort to spark his offense. It didn’t work. They were outchanced and outshot in almost eight minutes together at even strength.The snakebitten Eichel did pick up assists on Pavel Dorofeyev’s two goals, one on a lovely cross-ice pass on the power play, but he didn’t shy away from the need for more.“Mitch, he’s been phenomenal all playoffs and I thought we were able to generate some chances,” Eichel said. “I would have liked to have capitalized on a few of ‘em. But when you lose (Karlsson), obviously we’re moving things around and guys are playing different situations and more minutes, this and that.“Everyone else, as a whole, I think we all need to step up.”That would include goaltender Carter Hart, who surrendered four goals for a fifth straight game in this series. He’s the first goalie in NHL history to do that. Still, Tortorella’s conviction in his starter remains so strong that he dismissed a question about whether he considered sending in Adin Hill by saying “that could be the stupidest question I’ve heard.”Their backs against a wall, the Golden Knights are digging in.They were in danger of missing the playoffs entirely when Tortorella was hired to replace Bruce Cassidy on March 30 with eight games remaining in the regular season. They’ve put together a dizzying run since. In order to lift the Cup again, they’ll have to hand Carolina two straight losses – something that hasn’t happened since Carolina’s back-to-back set on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13.“We’ve done it the hard way all year,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “It’s been that way. So, why not do it again, right?”In the meantime, we are getting closer to a Conn Smythe Trophy decision. After Game 3, it sure looked like Mitch Marner’s to lose, with the former Toronto Maple Leafs star lapping the playoff scoring field after his natural hat trick that night.That feels like a long time ago. If the Hurricanes win one more game, it’s tough to envision anything other than Staal lifting that trophy for the playoff MVP. The Hurricanes’ captain scored yet again Thursday night, becoming the first player to score in each of the five opening games of a Stanley Cup Final since the great Jean Béliveau in 1956.The surprising offensive outburst is a special feeling for the long-standing defensive wizard.“It feels great,’’ said the native of Thunder Bay, Ontario. “It’s a good time to get hot. I’m trying to contribute any way I can. The puck’s been going in and I’ll continue to do all the things I have to do to help our team win games.”As Staal continues to help shut down Eichel in his defensive matchup, the goals keep pouring in. It’s an incredible story by any measure.“It’s massive. Massive,’’ Brind’Amour said. “You’re not necessarily expecting him to put up those numbers, but when he does, it’s like an added bonus. He deserves it. He’s playing great. We got to get one more still. He knows it. He’ll have our group ready.”Staal was already in Game 6 mode late Thursday night, because the former Cup champion — with Pittsburgh in 2009 — understands how hard the last victory will be.“They have their back against the wall. It’s going to be everything we have, bottom line,” Staal said. “We need everybody. We’ve got to find a way.”Looks like they’ve found the Hurricanes way, just in time to tip this series in their favor.“Last win’s the toughest, but we’re in a good position,’” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky told The Athletic. “The team’s playing so well right now. So well. Up and down the lineup, we are playing to our potential in every spot, and that’s special.”