Golden Knights beat Hurricanes 5-4

The Vegas Golden Knights opened the Stanley Cup Final with a 5-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Carolina led 2-0 in the first period behind two goals from Nikolaj Ehlers, but Vegas answered with five goals from five different scorers and got the winner from Tomas Hertl with 3:24 remaining. NHL.com said the comeback made Vegas the first road team in league history to rally from a multi-goal deficit to win Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final. ### How did Carolina jump in front so fast? Nikolaj Ehlers scored 25 seconds into the first period to give Carolina a 1-0 lead, the third-fastest opening goal in a Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and the fastest since Reggie Leach scored 21 seconds into the 1976 Final, NHL.com reported. Ehlers scored again at 12:08 of the first on a breakaway set up by Jalen Chatfield, pushing the Hurricanes ahead 2-0. (nhl.com) Jalen Chatfield assisted on both Ehlers goals in the opening period. The Athletic reported, and the source briefing said, that Chatfield became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to record multiple points in the opening period of a Stanley Cup Final game. (nhl.com) ### When did Vegas turn the game? Shea Theodore cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the first period, scoring with 7:22 left after Brayden McNabb and Cole Smith moved the puck to him for a one-timer. Ivan Barbashev tied it 30 seconds into the second period off a feed from Jack Eichel, and William Karlsson put Vegas ahead 3-2 at 4:35 of the second after a setup from Mitch Marner. (nhl.com) Jordan Staal tied it 3-3 later in the second for Carolina. Brett Howden then gave Vegas a 4-3 lead at 1:21 of the third by tipping Theodore’s shot, before Shayne Gostisbehere pulled the Hurricanes level again at 4-4 with 8:41 remaining. (nhl.com) ### What decided it late? Tomas Hertl scored the winner with 3:24 left in the third period, finishing a give-and-go with Colton Sissons from the slot past Frederik Andersen. The goal came 21 seconds after Vegas goaltender Carter Hart made a glove save on Seth Jarvis from the right circle to keep the score tied. (nhl.com) Carter Hart finished with 23 saves for Vegas, while Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for Carolina, according to NHL.com. Shea Theodore had a goal and two assists, and Brayden McNabb added three assists for the Golden Knights. ### What did the result say about Vegas? (nhl.com) Brett Howden told NHL.com the rally reflected the Golden Knights’ experience. “I think it says a lot about the locker room we have, the leadership, the experience that everybody has been through,” he said. “I think that goes a long way and I think it showed here tonight.” (nhl.com) NHL.com said Vegas has won seven consecutive postseason games, a franchise playoff record, since Game 5 of its second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks. Carolina, by contrast, lost the opener of the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal before winning the next four games. (nhl.com) ### What comes next in the series? Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday, June 4, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, with the same building hosting again before the series shifts to Las Vegas for Games 3 and 4. The NHL schedule lists an 8 p.m. ET start, with ABC carrying the game in the United States and Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2)