Tomas Hertl scored to break a third-period deadlock and give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the opener of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.
Shea Theodore scored once in a three-point performance for the Golden Knights in the comeback win. Brett Howden tallied once and added an assist, and Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson added singles.
Vegas goaltender Carter Hart made 23 saves, and Brayden McNabb posted a career playoff-high three assists.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice and Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere contributed a goal apiece for the Hurricanes, who blew a 2-0 lead. Jalen Chatfield recorded two assists, and goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Thursday in Raleigh.
With overtime looming in the back-and-forth affair, Hertl played give-and-go with Colton Sissons, receiving the puck in the slot and firing a top-shelf shot with 3:24 remaining in regulation.
The club that claims the opener of the finals has won the Stanley Cup 76.4% of the time. When the visiting team has prevailed in Game 1, that mark drops to 65.6%.
The Hurricanes lost for only the second time in this year’s playoffs, but they are under pressure to draw even next outing before the series shifts to Las Vegas. Carolina had an early edge, too.
Ehlers opened the scoring with the third-fastest goal in history to start a finals. The first shot of the clash banked off the post and into the net after just 25 seconds.
Ehlers made it a 2-0 game with a breakaway tally at 12:08 of the first period.
The Golden Knights regrouped and responded with a trio of goals.
Theodore put Vegas on the board 80 seconds after Ehlers’ second tally, with his long point shot ricocheting off a defender and into the cage.
Barbashev tied the contest 30 seconds into the second period with a top-corner shot from the slot. Karlsson then gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 4:35 of the middle period when he converted a chance from the doorstep.
Staal tied the clash eight minutes later. The Hurricanes took advantage of a turnover in Vegas territory, and Staal wired a slot shot to make it 3-3 heading into the third period.
Howden gave Vegas its second lead when he redirected a shot-pass from Theodore 81 seconds into the third period.
However, Gostisbehere tied the clash again by finding the mark from the left faceoff dot at 11:19 of the final frame.
