The Golden Knights did not need a perfect night to take Game 1. They needed their game.
Vegas beat Utah 4-2 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, out-hit the Mammoth 52-30, got a Mark Stone power-play goal, his 61st career playoff goal and the most in franchise history, and rode Carter Hart through a third-period swing that looked a lot like playoff Vegas.
In the hours before the Knights banked that opener, the first-round board was already moving. Sunday delivered three more Game 1s, and the results were loud in three different ways.
Yesterday’s games
Hurricanes shut the door
Carolina opened with a 2-0 win over Ottawa and a 1-0 series lead built on control.
Logan Stankoven scored at 2:11 of the second, Taylor Hall added one at 7:15 of the third, and Frederik Andersen turned aside all 22 shots. Ottawa finished with nothing on the scoreboard and not much inside the hard areas.
Wild flip the series fast
Minnesota jumped Dallas 6-1 in Game 1 and made the Stars pay for penalties and loose coverage.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice on the power play, Matt Boldy scored twice, and Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists. Dallas got a power-play goal from Jason Robertson, but spent most of the afternoon chasing the game.
Flyers steal it late
Philadelphia took Game 1 in Pittsburgh, 3-2, and grabbed home ice with a tight, patient road win.
Jamie Drysdale opened the scoring in the second, then Travis Sanheim put the Flyers ahead again at 10:00 of the third. Porter Martone snapped the winner with 2:37 left before Bryan Rust’s late goal turned the final minute into a scramble.
Kings-Avalanche stays tight
Colorado opened with a 2-1 win over Los Angeles in a Game 1 that never turned loose.
Artturi Lehkonen broke the tie late in the second, Logan O’Connor added an early third-period goal, and Scott Wedgewood held up with 24 saves. The Kings got a power-play goal from Artemi Panarin with 2:22 left but could not find an equalizer.
Canadiens steal one in OT
Montreal grabbed Game 1 in Tampa, 4-3 in overtime, and did it by living on the power play when the game tightened.
Juraj Slafkovsky scored late in the second, added another early in the third, then ended it 1:22 into OT on the power play to complete the hat trick. Tampa got two power-play goals from Brandon Hagel, but the Canadiens stayed composed in the late swings.
Sabres erupt late vs Bruins
Buffalo took Game 1 from Boston, 4-3, with a third-period burst that flipped the building in a hurry.
The Bruins led 2-0 early in the third, then Tage Thompson scored twice to tie it before Mattias Samuelsson put Buffalo ahead at 16:36. Alex Tuch added the empty-netter, and David Pastrnak’s late power-play goal only made the ending noisy.
Tonight’s games
Flyers at Penguins
Game 2 comes quick, and Pittsburgh’s first job is obvious: get to the middle earlier and spend less time chasing the puck.
Philadelphia already proved it can win a tight one in that building. If the Flyers manage the third period again, the pressure swings hard.
Senators at Hurricanes
Ottawa needs more than volume. It needs better looks and more second chances around the crease after getting blanked in Game 1.
Carolina will try to make it feel the same: layers in the neutral zone, clean exits, and a game that never opens up.
Wild at Stars
Dallas is favored at home for a reason, but Game 1 showed what happens when Minnesota’s power play gets time and space.
For the Stars, discipline is the headline. For the Wild, the question is whether that early surge travels or if Dallas pushes the pace back.
Ducks at Oilers
This is a new series and it starts in Edmonton with Connor McDavid on the ice and immediate expectations on the home side.
Anaheim has enough scoring to make it interesting, but if the Oilers get to their speed game early, Game 1 can tilt fast.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
