Vegas stretched its playoff winning streak to seven games with a 5-4 come-from-behind win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina stunned the crowd in Raleigh when Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring 25 seconds in and the Hurricanes grabbed an early 2-0 edge. Vegas answered with goals from Shea Theodore, Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson, and Tomas Hertl buried the go-ahead marker with 3:24 left on a Colton Sissons backhand feed to take a 1-0 series lead ahead of Game 2 on Thursday in Raleigh.

The Hurricanes grabbed a 2-0 lead inside the first minute, but the Golden Knights erased it with a sustained push that flipped Game 1 on its head.

Carolina stunned the raucous home crowd with a lightning-fast start. Nikolaj Ehlers finished a breakaway 25 seconds into the game and the Hurricanes pushed their advantage to 2-0 shortly thereafter, handing Vegas an early test on the Stanley Cup Final stage. The early momentum belonged to Carolina, and for a while it looked like the Hurricanes might ride that start into a lead they could protect.

Vegas' rally, line by line

Vegas answered by grinding through the middle frames and converting when it counted. Shea Theodore opened the scoring sequence for the visitors with a goal that cut into the deficit, then Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson followed to complete a three-goal burst that carried Vegas to a 3-2 lead by the second period. That sequence changed the tone of the game: what began as Carolina's momentum became sustained pressure from the Golden Knights.

Carolina wouldn't fold. Jordan Staal tied the game late in the second period, restoring parity and setting up a tense third period. Brett Howden nudged Vegas back ahead 82 seconds into the third period, extending a personal postseason run; that tally was Howden's 11th playoff goal, continuing the streak that has become a steady source of offense for the Golden Knights during this postseason run.

Mastheads

Shayne Gostisbehere answered to make it 4-4, and the game lurched toward overtime until Tomas Hertl finished the decisive play. A Colton Sissons backhand feed put Hertl in the slot, and Hertl buried the go-ahead goal with 3:24 left on the clock. The finish came after a tense scramble in the Carolina end and followed a key stop by Vegas goalie Carter Hart on a Seth Jarvis chance seconds earlier, a save that helped preserve the late opportunity for Hertl.

Standouts and the thin margins

Defenseman Brayden McNabb finished with three assists, a line that showed how much of Vegas' production came from the blue line. Shea Theodore had a goal and two assists, a performance that bookended the Knights' comeback and kept the evening balanced between defensive structure and opportunistic scoring. Goaltender Carter Hart made 23 saves and delivered several momentum-shifting stops, including the one on Jarvis that preceded Hertl's winner.

For Carolina, Ehlers scored twice and supplied the burst that put the Hurricanes in front so early. The team created early chances and leaned on them to try to dictate the game's tempo. But the Hurricanes were unable to close out a victory after building that early lead, and their defense couldn't hold off Vegas' late pressure.

After the game, Vegas coach John Tortorella emphasized the team's resilience and patience. "I’ve said it all through the playoffs: it’s a find-a-way league," he said, noting the club's focus on sticking with the game plan even when the scoreboard looked bleak. That insistence on structure and composure has been a through line for Vegas as it has advanced, and it showed on Tuesday night when the Knights overcame a multigoal deficit on hockey's biggest stage.

The result extends Vegas' winning streak to seven playoff games. It also hands them the early advantage in the best-of-seven Final, where home-ice and momentum matter but are rarely decisive on their own. The thin margins in this game were both individual and collective: a handful of timely stops, a backhand feed that split defenders, and the finishing touch from Hertl all separated the two teams by a single goal at the end of regulation.

Game 2 now sits two nights away, and Carolina will try to recover the home-ice edge before the series shifts west for Game 3 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

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Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday in Raleigh, where Carolina will try to answer and Vegas will try to keep its seven-game playoff streak intact. Originally reported by AP.

This article was created with AI assistance.