Golden Knights rally again, swipe Game 1 from HurricanesGreg WyshynskiJun 2, 2026, 11:18 PM ETClose
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
RALEIGH, N.C. — For three playoff rounds, the Carolina Hurricanes were bludgeoning opponents into bad decisions during their 12-1 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
But in Game 1, the Vegas Golden Knights’ relentless pressure put the Hurricanes on their heels and left searching for answers after a 5-4 loss Tuesday night.
“They forced us into [mistakes], 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,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour mentioned.
It was a historic win for Vegas. Entering Tuesday, road teams were 0-55 when down multiple goals at any point in a Stanley Cup Final Game 1. Carolina held a 2-0 lead after 12:08 of the first period.
The Hurricanes made uncharacteristic errors throughout the game, including on Tomas Hertl’s winning goal at 16:36 of the third period. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere lost Hertl as the Golden Knights forward moved to the slot and beat goalie Frederik Andersen (18 saves), giving Vegas its eventual margin of victory.
“That one’s definitely on me. Just took a breather for a second,” Gostisbehere mentioned.
Brind’Amour mentioned that was unacceptable, adding “it’s those mistakes we made tonight that really you just don’t make. And we made too many of those tonight.”
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The Hurricanes came out blazing as Nikolaj Ehlers scored the third-fastest goal in Game 1 of a Final, beating goalie Carter Hart (23 saves) on a rush chance 25 seconds into the game. The Hurricanes nearly increased their lead, but defenseman Jaccob Slavin put the puck off the iron moments later.
As Carolina controlled zone time and shot attempts, they made it 2-0 on another rush chance by Ehlers. Vegas center Jack Eichel turned the puck over to Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield, who found Ehlers for a breakaway goal at 12:08.
Down 2-0, Vegas coach John Tortorella had an emphatic discussion with his team on the bench about how they needed to play. Things started to turn. The Knights finally got on the board at 13:28 of the first period as defenseman Shea Theodore’s shot deflected past Andersen.
Vegas took over in the early part of the second period. Forward Ivan Barbashev one-timed an Eichel pass past Andersen to tie the score after 30 seconds. At 4:35, Mitch Marner found William Karlsson alone in front of Andersen for his second goal of the playoffs to give Vegas a 3-2 lead.
But the Hurricanes struck back on a failed clearing attempt by defenseman Noah Hanifin, as defenseman K’Andre Miller intercepted the puck and found captain Jordan Staal for a goal at 12:42. Ehlers expertly screened Hart on the play.
It was 3-3, and predictions of a low-scoring Game 1 were vaporized.
Vegas took a 4-3 lead with another impressive start to the third period. After Carolina killed off a power play for the first 25 seconds, the Golden Knights kept the pressure in the attacking zone until Theodore found Brett Howden cutting to the net for his playoff-leading 11th goal.
The Hurricanes struck right back again, as defenseman Gostisbehere beat Hart clean with a shot from inside the left circle at 11:19 to make it 4-4. Gostisbehere and Hart were once teammates on the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Golden Knights were unhappy with an icing call that set up the Hurricanes in the attacking zone, as Gostisbehere and forward Cole Smith were in a dead heat for the puck when the linesman whistled the play.
None of it mattered after Hertl scored and the Hurricanes were unable to find the equalizer with their net empty.
Game 1 went to the Golden Knights, as did home-ice advantage. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series go on to win the series 75.6% of time (65-21).
“After a rusty start, we did some good things,” Hertl mentioned. “Obviously, we’re not trying to get down on purpose, but that’s been the story this season. We have such a strong team. We just don’t panic.”
There’s no panic on the Carolina side, especially after the Hurricanes lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals before winning four straight times to eliminate the Montreal Canadiens.
“There’s a ton of confidence in this group,” forward Seth Jarvis mentioned. “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.”
Yet it’s clear after one game that the Hurricanes, who raced through the conference playoffs, are facing a team on another level in the Golden Knights.
“They’re a heavy forecheck team,” Gostisbehere mentioned. “They’re going to finish every hit. Maybe a little different than what we just played against. Maybe it takes some time to get used to.”
Added Jarvis: “It’s the Final. It should be the toughest test.”
The Golden Knights, meanwhile, don’t want to give the Hurricanes any time to figure things out.
“Momentum swings can happen quickly,” Tortorella mentioned. “We want to keep the momentum going. So there’s no question we’re looking to get two [wins] here.”
