Jordan Staal becomes first player in 70 years to score in first five Stanley Cup Final games
Jordan Staal is making history this spring.
The Carolina Hurricanes’ captain scored in the first period of Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night, becoming the first player in 70 years to score in the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final.
Jordan Staal is the first player to score in five straight games to start a Stanley Cup Final since Jean Beliveau in 1956. Maurice Richard (1951) and Cyclone Taylor (1918) are the only other players to do it.
The last player to achieve the feat was Hockey Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau, who did it for the Montreal Canadiens in 1956.
The only other players to score in the first five games of a Final were fellow Hall of Famers Maurice Richard in 1951 and Cyclone Taylor with the Vancouver Millionaires in 1918.
The last time a player scored in five straight Stanley Cup Final games was Hall of Fame forward Yvan Cournoyer, who did so with the Canadiens in 1976.
Staal scored his sixth of the series midway through the opening frame after tipping a Nikolaj Ehlers point shot past Golden Knights’ goaltender Carter Hart to tie the game 1-1.
5 STANLEY CUP FINAL GAMES FOR JORDAN STAAL WOW 🤯🔥 🎥 - ESPN
Staal is now one goal shy of the modern NHL record for the most goals in a Stanley Cup Final. Hall of Fame forward Mike Bossy scored seven in 1982; Wayne Gretzky did the same with the Edmonton Oilers in 1985 and Sam Reinhart accomplished the feat with the Florida Panthers in 2025.
Modern-era record for goals in a Cup Final is seven. And we have at minimum five periods to go in this series…. (Any-era record is nine)