In the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals of the National Hockey League of the United States and Canada, Vegas defeated Carolina 5:4 on the road. Played to 4 Wins.
Tomas Hertl received a pass from Colton Sisson and beat Frederick Anderson with 3:24 left in the third period, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5:4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
It was Vegas' seventh straight playoff victory, starting with the last two games of the six-game second-round series against Anaheim and then four straight wins against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. That series included overcoming a 3-0 deficit to Vegas to win Game 3, and now the Golden Knights have followed suit, erasing a 2-0 deficit in the first period against the team that finished second to the Avalanche in the regular season.
The second game of the seven-game series is Thursday, when Carolina will once again host.
Shi Theodore, Ivan Barbashev, William Karlsson and Brett Howden also scored for the winners, while Nikolai Ehlers scored twice and Jordan Staal and Ghostisbear scored once each.
Howden, with his 11th goal in the playoffs, took sole possession of the all-time leading scorer spot, surpassing Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorfoev.
This is the third Stanley Cup appearance for both teams. Carolina won the trophy in 2006, and Vegas won it in 2023. The teams reached the finals in 2002 and 2018, respectively. Vegas has been playing in the NHL since the 2017/2018 season.