The Carolina Hurricanes got off to a fast start in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Vegas Golden Knights still came out victorious.
The Carolina Hurricanes got off to a fast start in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Vegas Golden Knights still came out victorious. Despite an 18-point difference in their regular-season records and the fact that the Canes needed three fewer games to get here, these two teams looked evenly matched all night. That is, except at first and right at the very end, when the Knights stole a road win.
Road teams had 0-55 when down by more than one goal at any point during a Stanley Cup Final series opener. The Carolina Hurricanes held a 2-0 lead after 12:08 of the first period thanks to two Nikolaj Ehlers goals. Not long after, the Vegas Golden Knights began to capitalize on mistakes.
Shea Theodore pulled one back just off the post after head coach John Tortorella lit into his team. Ivan Barbashev tied the score moments into the second period, and it didn’t take long for Mitch Marner to find William Karlsson wide open in front of the net, and he beat Canes netminder Frederik Andersen with ease.
The Hurricanes did tie it up again after Ehlers perfectly screened Vegas goalie Carter Hart, leading to Jordan Staal’s first Cup Final goal in 17 years. Once again, the miscues led to an early goal in the third period to break the tie. Then, after Shayne Gostisbehere scored without an assist to tie it, the Golden Knights took advantage of the defenseman’s later miscue to seal the win.
Gostisbehere lost track of Tomas Hertl, and he slotted home the winner with time waning. The Canes would pull Andersen with a little over a minute remaining, but they couldn’t crack the defense for a tying goal to send it to overtime.
This is very much like the Eastern Conference Finals. The Hurricanes had buzzed through prior opponents, but defensive lapses led to a ton of goals by the Montreal Canadiens. This time, they clawed back, but the result is the same: A 1-0 deficit at home to a team with a worse record. They bounced back with four straight wins last time, but it will be much harder to do so in the Final.
“They forced us into and we didn’t handle pressure particularly well. Sometimes there wasn’t pressure, and we made a few poor decisions with the puck. They capitalized,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. He also called Shayne Gostisbehere’s mistake that led to the winner “unacceptable.”
“There’s a ton of confidence in this group,” forward Seth Jarvis added. “We bounced back before. We felt like we were right there all night, so just clean up a few things and move on from it.” Despite the record, the Golden Knights appear to be the best team Carolina has faced thus far.
“Momentum swings can happen quickly,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “We want to keep the momentum going. So, there’s no question we’re looking to get two here.” The Hurricanes would like anything but that to happen.
