The Vegas Golden Knights did not start Game 1 like a team that had solved the layoff.
They finished it like a team that knew how to win anyway.
Vegas rallied from an early two-goal hole, survived a late Carolina push and beat the Hurricanes 5-4 on Tuesday night at Lenovo Center to take a 1-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Tomas Hertl scored the winner with 3:24 left, finishing off assists from Colton Sissons and Shea Theodore after Carolina had tied the game midway through the third period.
The win was Vegas’ seventh straight this postseason, and it came the hard way.
Carolina Hits First
John Tortorella said before Game 1 that he liked the Golden Knights’ preparation after the long wait between rounds.
“I think we’re right in that fine line of having confidence, but also business-like,” Tortorella said.
Carolina challenged that almost immediately.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored 25 seconds into the game on the Hurricanes’ first shot, then struck again at 12:08 after a Vegas turnover to give Carolina a 2-0 lead. The Hurricanes outshot the Golden Knights 12-4 in the first period and looked exactly like the pressure team Nic Dowd described before puck drop.
“They put pressure on you all over the ice,” Dowd said. “Their D are always pinching. They play man-on-man in our O-zone, and they’re a shot-volume team.”
For most of the first period, that was the game. Carolina had the puck, the crowd and the pace.
However, Vegas found enough of a counterpunch to keep the period from getting away. Theodore scored at 13:28 off assists from Brayden McNabb and Cole Smith, with Keegan Kolesar screening Frederik Andersen in front. The goal cut Carolina’s lead to 2-1 and gave the Golden Knights something to build on.
Vegas Flips the Second
The second period looked nothing like the first.
Ivan Barbashev tied the game just 30 seconds into the period, scoring his sixth goal of the playoffs off assists from Jack Eichel and McNabb. Tortorella had called Barbashev a “complete player” before the game, praising his physical play, puck battles and playoff value.
That showed up quickly.
William Karlsson then gave Vegas its first lead at 4:35, scoring off assists from Mitch Marner and Brett Howden to make it 3-2. After being outshot by eight in the first period, the Golden Knights outshot Carolina 11-4 in the second and pushed the game back onto even terms.
The Hurricanes still had an answer. Jordan Staal scored at 12:42 off a K’Andre Miller assist to tie it 3-3, stopping the Vegas surge before it could become a runaway.
Through two periods, the game had turned into a fight of responses. Carolina owned the first. Vegas owned the start of the second. Staal made sure the Hurricanes got to the third tied.
Howden Keeps Scoring
Howden needed only 1:21 of the third period to put Vegas back in front.
He tipped in Theodore’s shot for his 11th goal of the postseason, with McNabb also picking up an assist. Howden scored only 12 goals during the regular season, but he has nearly matched that total in the playoffs. Eight of his 11 postseason goals have come on the road.
That goal gave Vegas a 4-3 lead and briefly quieted the building.
Carolina pushed back. After Rasmus Andersson went off for closing his hand on the puck, the Golden Knights killed the Hurricanes’ power play. Then Carolina gave Vegas a chance to extend the lead when Mark Jankowski took a delay of game penalty with 10:57 left.
The Golden Knights could not take advantage. Their power play stayed quiet, finishing 0-for-3, and Carolina remained within one.
Disputed Icing Sets Up Carolina Tie
The Hurricanes tied the game at 11:19 of the third, but the sequence came with controversy.
A disputed icing call drew an immediate protest from the Vegas bench. A Golden Knights player appeared to get to the puck first, but the call forced a faceoff in the Vegas zone. Carolina turned the ensuing offensive-zone sequence into the tying goal when Shayne Gostisbehere scored unassisted to make it 4-4.
The call could have rattled Vegas. Instead, Carter Hart kept the game tied with two key late saves, and the Golden Knights found one more answer.
Hertl scored his fourth goal of the postseason at 16:36, beating Andersen off assists from Sissons and Theodore to restore the Vegas lead at 5-4. The goal came less than five minutes after Carolina’s tying goal and gave the Golden Knights one final lead to protect.
Carolina pulled Andersen late and used its timeout with 1:06 remaining, but Vegas held on. Hart stopped 23 of 27 shots, including a Gostisbehere chance with 25 seconds left.
Vegas Takes Game 1
The Golden Knights did not win Game 1 because it was clean. They won because they recovered from a bad start, answered every Carolina push and got the last big swing.
Theodore finished with a goal and two assists. McNabb had three assists. Barbashev, Karlsson, Howden and Hertl all scored after Vegas fell behind 2-0. The Golden Knights also won the faceoff battle 32-31, outhit Carolina 35-25 and blocked 15 shots.
Neither team scored on the power play. All nine goals came at even strength.
Carolina finished with a 27-23 shot edge, but Vegas erased most of that gap after the first period. The Golden Knights went from being outshot 12-4 in the opening period to matching Carolina’s pressure over the final 40 minutes.
Game 1 had almost everything: an early Carolina surge, a Vegas comeback, a disputed late call, a Hurricanes tying goal and a Golden Knights answer.
Vegas took all of it and left Raleigh with the series lead.
Game 2 is Thursday night at Lenovo Center.
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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.
