The Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes are deadlocked at two games apiece in the Stanley Cup Final after the Hurricanes’ 5-3 victory in Game 4 on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.

Carolina, facing a potential 3-1 series deficit, played with the urgency of a team on the brink. Jordan Staal scored twice, including the game-winner with 13:28 remaining in the third period on a flailing backhand shot that slipped past Knights goalie Carter Hart.

“Staal is killing us in front of the net,” Knights coach John Tortorella said. “We have to do a better job around the net. That last one, everybody panicked and chased the corner. I know it takes a funny bounce, but we have to do a better job.”

Vegas rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to tie the game 3-3 after two periods. But the Knights couldn’t complete the comeback, and Carolina added an empty-net goal to seal it.

“Just get ready for the next game and flush this,” Tortorella said. “We worked hard to get back in this game. I thought we had a really good third period. So we need to flush it and get ready for the next one. I don’t think we should be looking any further than the next game.”

The Knights had 23 giveaways, and turnovers proved costly. Still, Jack Eichel hit the crossbar off a face-off in the third period, keeping Vegas from tying the game.

“Obviously, need some (better) execution,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “Sometimes it’s not always going to work out. There are just things we need to clean up.”

Game 5 is Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the series now a best-of-three.