A goal for the ages: Jordan Staal’s belly-flop winner puts him straight into Hurricanes lore

LAS VEGAS — If the Carolina Hurricanes go on to win the Stanley Cup, Jordan Staal’s stomach-sliding winner will become one of those immortal franchise images — the kind of goal Canes fans will see every time they close their eyes and think about this championship run.

No question, in a dizzying series that has featured 33 combined goals between Carolina and the Vegas Golden Knights, this was the goal of the series, the kind of goal that should be embedded on a postage stamp or murals pasted all over Lenovo Center.

This was Jordan Staal, the grizzled captain in his 14th year with this franchise, in his purest form — on his belly, in front of the blue paint, refusing to quit on a puck after tripping to his feet.

And when he realized that the eventual winning goal to even this epic best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final at 2-2 actually entered the net, Staal pumped his fists over his head, face down on the ice in pure ecstasy.

“For a second, I wasn’t sure if it exactly went in, and I heard everyone go quiet,” Staal said after Carolina’s 5-3 win. “I heard some guys yelling. So then, I don’t know, man, I was in my own world, and it was an incredible moment, obviously. And just let a big yell go, and then I celebrated with the guys. I knew it was obviously a big goal at the time.”

Just seconds earlier, Seth Jarvis picked off Shea Theodore’s errant pass. He didn’t score, but instead of giving up on the play, Jarvis attacked the puck and outplayed three Vegas Golden Knights players for it. He sent a pass to Nikolaj Ehlers, who slid the puck across to Staal for the tie-breaking goal.

“Well, I almost missed the pass because it was kind of rolling, and then I saw him falling in slow motion,” Ehlers recounted, with a laugh. “And, I mean, at the time you’re not laughing, but after it went in, I was laughing pretty hard … and celebrating.”

Nikolaj Ehlers and his Hurricanes teammates joined Jordan Staal to celebrate his goal. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

It was Staal’s second goal of the game and fifth this series. He has goals in all four games. He became the fourth player since the 1967-68 expansion to record a goal in the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final. The others? Mike Bossy, Steve Payne and Johnny Bucyk.

While Staal quipped sarcastically after the game that this is a good time to get hot after scoring only two goals in the first 13 playoff games for Carolina, former teammate Justin Williams sees something different.

Watching at home in Raleigh, the former “Mr. Game 7” said in a text exchange with The Athletic, “He is clearly a determined man who knows the magnitude of the moment and isn’t shying away from seizing his opportunity to hoist the Cup one more time. He is quite possibly the most valuable player on our team and I couldn’t be more proud of how he is leading this team.”

Williams, the three-time Stanley Cup champion who won with the Hurricanes 20 years ago, thinks Staal has entered the Conn Smythe Trophy conversation if Carolina wins it all.

There’s no doubt he’s making a good case, and it’s not just because of his iconic final series to date.

Staal is one of the best two-way centers in the game, and the top players he has largely been matched up against this postseason — Brady Tkachuk, Travis Konecny, Nick Suzuki and now Jack Eichel — have combined for no goals and six assists. Now he has goals in four consecutive Stanley Cup Final games and seven goals and 11 points in the playoffs.

“When you watch him all the time, you kind of get spoiled,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I coach him all the time. I know I’m spoiled with that player. That’s what he is, night in, night out, for however long he’s been around.”

Brind’Amour says Staal plays “every shift like it’s his last,” not to mention the pride he takes being the leader of the Hurricanes.

As former Canes general manager Don Waddell, now with Columbus, texted The Athletic on Tuesday night, “He is one of the best leaders I have been with. All by example. His work habits, whether (in) practice or games, you get the same effort.”

But now he’s lighting the lamp. The big reason, perhaps? Unlike past years, where he played with grinders, the Hurricanes are in a position where they’re playing him between more skilled players: Ehlers and Jarvis.

“That now can really kind of bring out the other side,” Brind’Amour said. “Everyone knew he was a good defensive player, but he’s got some real offensive abilities, too. Just for whatever reason, now their goals are going in, but he’s always played like this.”

Staal’s first goal came on a power play when camped at the net front, and the puck fell at his feet. His second goal came after being at the goalmouth, too.

“He’s killing us in front of the net, Staal,” said Golden Knights coach John Tortorella, who typically loathes lauding opposing players. “So we have got to do a better job around the blue. … He’s a big man. He’s a good player. That’s where he lives. We just got to do a better job. To me, it’s not self-inflicted. It’s just we’ve got to be stronger and we’ve got to win that battle.”

Staal said, “I’ve been telling the guys to get to the hoop for, I don’t know, how long — years. Good things happen around there.”

Carolina teammates are ecstatic about what Staal’s doing. He’s one of the most respected players who has ever played for a franchise with countless great pros, including his older brother Eric, who won a Cup with Carolina in 2006 and had his No. 12 retired by the organization.

The two youngest players on the team, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake, who each scored Tuesday, look up to him.

“He’s just such a huge part of this organization, and it’s why he wears the ‘C,’” said Stankoven, Carolina’s leading playoff goal scorer with 11, who sits next to Staal in the dressing room. “Just the things he does, not only on the ice but outside of the rink, and the way he welcomes guys to the team, and just the culture he’s kind of built, … it’s nice to have a great leader like that. He’s a huge guy to learn from, for a younger guy like myself.”

Added Blake, “He’s doing it all right now and it’s a lot of fun to watch. That’s what you want your captain to do. He’s done so many good things for us. He’s so good defensively, but scoring every night, winning faceoffs, penalty killing, on the power play, you name it — he’s doing it.”

At 37 years, 272 days old, Staal became the third-oldest player to record a multi-goal game in the Stanley Cup Final, following Mark Recchi at age 43 in 2011 for the Bruins and Igor Larionov at age 41 in 2002 for the Red Wings against the Canes.

He also became the third player in the past 40 years to record a four-game goal streak at any point in the Stanley Cup Final and the second player age 37 and older to score at least four goals in a Stanley Cup Final, following Brad Marchand’s six last year for Florida.

For a guy who won a Cup in 2009 with Pittsburgh but has struck out since, this is one tremendously impressive run.

Tuesday night, Eric Staal said he can’t wait to talk to The Athletic once more about his brother’s run this series after “two more wins.”

Naturally, Jordan was not about to put what he’s done in perspective yet either.

“Yeah, I don’t think big-picture right now,” Jordan Staal said. “I know you guys like asking those questions. It’s too hard to think like that. (For me), it’s the next shift, next play, next game, next everything, and that’s all that’s running through my brain. We gotta get two more wins. That’s it. We’ll talk about that after if you want, but right now that’s all that I’m focusing on, and I want to keep it that way.”