Graney: Golden Knights can’t handle the real Carolina Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. — So that’s what the Carolina Hurricanes look like.

We finally got a close-up look at the team that dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs, the team that went 12-1 through the first three rounds, the volume shooting, defensive side that is so hard to rally against when falling behind.

And it all played against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday at the Lenovo Center.

The Hurricanes beat Vegas 4-2 and will arrive for Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday with a chance to lift the Cup with a victory.

It wasn’t about chaos this time, about huge swings one way or the other, about a roller-coaster ride for 60 minutes.

It was just a hockey game.

And the home guys were better at their style than the Knights were theirs.

‘We’ll be back’

“We just have to get ready for our next game,” Knights coach John Tortorella said. “We’ll be back here for (Game 7). We just have to do it in a different order.”

If so, they would be smart to be a tad more disciplined when things commence on Sunday.

It changed, this game, it shifted towards Carolina’s side, when the Knights took consecutive penalties in the second period. When the Hurricanes scored on the second power play to gain a 2-1 advantage.

When just before the two minors, Knights center William Karlsson skated off with what appeared to be an upper body injury and didn’t return.

Advantage, Carolina.

“I mean, you want to be disciplined, but we’re going to play hard,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “Yeah, a little bit of self-inflicted stuff the last couple games. We know what we have to do to beat this team. It’s a matter of going home and winning one game and then hopefully we’re back here.”

Here’s the thing: The Knights had a great start, did a lot of good things throughout, weren’t overwhelmed by any of it. Carolina was just Carolina and when it’s like this, it’s awfully tough to crack.

It was a tough night for Vegas goalie Carter Hart, who saw two of the four goals Carolina managed come from the power play variety. Hart has made it a habit this series of, while allowing at least four goals in all five games, making key saves when the score was in balance. When they were needed most. When those in front of him left him out to dry.

But that was never the case on Thursday. The outcome was never really in doubt down the stretch. Carolina looked overly comfortable once taking a 4-1 lead with 8:52 remaining following a double minor assessed against Vegas forward Mark Stone for high sticking.

Tortorella was asked afterwards if he ever considered replacing Hart with backup Adin Hill in the third period.

Hill hasn’t played in two months.

“Christ,” the coach said, “that could be the stupidest question I’ve heard.”

Well, at least we know where he stands.

Special teams is such a big part of things this time of a season and if you’re not on the right side of it, which the Knights weren’t, it can mean the difference between winning and losing.

The penalties turned out to be killers, but so too was losing Karlsson. He does everything across 200 feet for the Knights. He’s valuable in so many ways,

And it appears now — Karlsson reportedly left the arena for the hospital — the Knights could be without him for the remainder of the series. And that hurts.

“He’s one of our best players, but we’ll figure it out,” center Nic Dowd said. “Obviously, when you give the other team a chance to get their best players on the ice for power plays and they’re out there feeling good about themselves and you’re a man down, that’s challenging. But we still have to do a better job there.”

Clothes at hotel

This wasn’t a hard one to figure out. These were the Carolina Hurricanes everyone watched, talked about, expected to see during this series. And for it, they sit a win away from claiming a Stanley Cup and bursting the dreams of those in Vegas sweaters.

Tortorella said the Knights will be back here for Game 7.

Said he’s keeping his clothes at the hotel.

They’ll have to be better if so.

“We’ve done it the hard way all year,” McNabb said. “It has been that way, so why not do it again, right? We just have to go win Game 6.”

That’s all.