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Vegas Golden Knights Defeat Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

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Golden Knights Edge Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1

Vegas leads Stanley Cup Final series 1-0 after a back-and-forth thriller in Raleigh.

The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. The best-of-seven series is now led by Vegas, 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday in Raleigh.

"It's a find-a-way league. We found a way." — Vegas coach John Tortorella

Scoring Summary

First Period

  • Carolina's Nikolaj Ehlers scored at 0:25 and again at 14:47, giving the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead.
  • Vegas's Shea Theodore scored at 17:55, reducing the deficit to 2-1.

Second Period

  • Vegas's Ivan Barbashev scored at 0:30, and William Karlsson scored at 2:00, giving Vegas a 3-2 lead.
  • Carolina's Jordan Staal tied the game at 3-3 at 12:42.

Third Period

  • Vegas's Brett Howden scored at 3:14, giving Vegas a 4-3 lead.
  • Carolina's Shayne Gostisbehere tied the game at 4-4 at 7:39.
  • Vegas's Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal at 16:36.

Goaltending Performances

  • Frederik Andersen (Carolina): Allowed 5 goals on 23 shots (Source 1) or 5 goals on 30 shots (Source 2).
  • Carter Hart (Vegas): Allowed 4 goals on 27 shots (Source 1) or 4 goals on 30 shots (Source 2).

Key Statistics

  • Turnovers: Carolina had 16 giveaways and 7 takeaways; Vegas had 18 giveaways and 3 takeaways.
  • Momentum Swings: Carolina outshot Vegas 12-4 in the first period; Vegas outshot Carolina 11-4 in the second period.
  • Historic Win: Teams that win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final have won the series 76.4% of the time (81-25).
  • Silent Stars: Carolina's top line of Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Sebastian Aho recorded no points and six combined shots.
  • Milestone Night: Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb recorded three assists in his 1,005th NHL game.
  • Streaking: This was Vegas's seventh consecutive win.

"Those are the mistakes we made tonight that, really, we just don't make, and we made too many of those tonight." — Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour

Series Status

Vegas Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday in Raleigh.