Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal with 3:24 remaining in the regulation, converting a sweet give-and-go play with Colton Sissons, to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a wild 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC.
After Nikolaj Ehlers scored a pair of first period goals to put the Hurricanes up by two, Shea Theodore’s shot bounced in off the leg of Eric Robinson of at 13:28 to halve the deficit.
Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson scored 4:05 apart early in the second to give Vegas the lead before Jordan Staal’s wrister evened it up.
Theodore (1G/2A) and Brayden McNabb (3A) each picked up their third point of the night when they combined to set up Brett Howden for a tip-in marker to give the Golden Knights the lead back 1:21 into the final frame.
Shanye Gostisbehere beat Carter Hart off a broken play following an offensive zone face-off at 11:19 to forge a 4-4 tie.
Hart finished with 23 saves to pick up his 13th win of the postseason as Vegas wrested home ice advantage away from the Prince of Wales Trophy-winners.
Looks like this series could be a good one.