Game 4 in Vegas takes dramatic turn after three key players receive major setback
Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb were not on the ice for Vegas Knights practice this morning, raising real concern about their availability for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Knights lead the series 2-1.
Game 4 goes tomorrow at home. That makes the timing of these absences about as bad as it gets.
Hanifin has played all 19 playoff games for Vegas. He has seven assists this postseason, holds a +3 rating, and is a fixture on the blue line every night. Missing him is not nothing.
McNabb is a different kind of story. The 35-year-old has been one of the quiet surprises of this run, posting a +13 rating over 18 playoff games. Six assists in his last five games alone. He has been the kind of defenseman who makes the right decision before the play forces his hand, the type you only notice when he is gone.
Losing both of those guys in the same lineup would strip John Tortorella down to options like Kaedan Korczak and Ben Hutton. That is not the depth you want exposed in a Cup Final game you absolutely need to win before heading back to Carolina.
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Frederik Andersen also absent from Hurricanes practice Monday
Carolina had its own concern this morning. Frederik Andersen did not dress for Hurricanes practice either, according to a report from Renaud Lavoie.
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Andersen posted a .910 save percentage over 16 playoff appearances this spring, with three shutouts. Rod Brind'Amour has leaned on him in big moments all the way through this run.
If Andersen cannot go tomorrow, Brandon Bussi steps into the crease. Bussi went 23-6 in the regular season and carries a .947 save percentage in his one playoff appearance. The numbers are fine. But starting a backup for the first time in a Cup Final game is a leap nobody wants to take.
The absences on both sides line up like a coin flip. One team loses more than the other. That part won't be settled until the warmups tell the real story.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||