RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights were up one, down to a frantic 5.6 seconds left to secure Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes won a faceoff in the Vegas zone, with Logan Stankoven passing to Alexander Nikishin up top for a one-timer from a young defenseman known for his hard shot. But Mitch Marner jumped in the path of the blast and blocked the puck with the inside of his left knee, a painful stop that ultimately closed the door on Carolina.
It epitomized the edge, precision and killer instinct that these Golden Knights are playing with as they try to win the Cup for a second time in four years. After winning twice on the road to start a shocking sweep of Colorado in the West final, they now have a chance to do the same against the team that finished second to the Avalanche in the regular season. Game 2 is Thursday night.
“To me that’s common sense,” coach John Tortorella said Wednesday. “You win one, you want to win the next one. You don’t want to let any momentum slip away.”
When Vegas went into Colorado and won Game 1 last round, Tortorella and his players brushed off stealing home-ice advantage, making it clear they were there for more instead of being content with a split.
The same goes now after Tuesday’s 5-4 win at Carolina, with Tortorella noting afterward, “Momentum swings happen quickly.”
That can be particularly true when playing a team that went 12-1 through three rounds to secure its first shot at the Cup in two decades, coming after years of building in an eight-year playoff run before finally punching through its East final roadblock.
The Hurricanes’ only loss before Tuesday had come with a rusty start in Game 1 of the East final against Montreal after going 11 days between rounds, the longest playoff break in more than a century. And they pounced on Vegas with an opening-minute goal en route to a 2-0 first-period lead.
Yet the Golden Knights — who rallied from a three-goal deficit in Game 3 against the Avalanche — have an opportunity to hand the Hurricanes more losses in a week than they had the rest of the playoffs combined, largely by sticking together and sticking to their game.
“If you start to change and you start to chase the game, usually it doesn’t go so well for you,” captain Mark Stone said. “We have done a really good job of just sticking to the way we play and not taking too much unnecessary risks, and we were able to get ourselves back in the game.”
Game 1 offered another chapter in Vegas’ march that began with a late-season coaching change by firing Bruce Cassidy to hire Tortorella. The Golden Knights have won 20 of 25 games since, and seem to be getting better in every playoff round with a roster featuring tested talent from that 2023 title with players like Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, William Karlsson, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.
They regrouped from a 2-1 deficit in Round 1 by winning a pair of overtime games before closing out Utah in six games. They beat Anaheim in six, winning the last two. Then came the sweep of Colorado, with the high-powered Avalanche managing seven goals in four games after leading the league in scoring (3.63).
Against Carolina, the Golden Knights gave up a goal to Nikolaj Ehlers on the rush just 25 seconds in, then another to Ehlers on a breakaway for the 2-0 lead.
But Vegas pushed back with three unanswered goals to silence a hostile crowd. They also twice responded when the Hurricanes tied the score, the last coming with Tomas Hertl taking a backhand pass from Colton Sissons and beating Frederik Andersen from the slot with 3:24 left.
Then came Marner’s final stop, when he jumped in front of Nikishin’s shot — it registered 89.6 miles per hour, according to NHL EDGE — to knock the puck off its laser-line trajectory toward Carter Hart in the crease.
“I don’t think it’s anything special,” Tortorella said of the block. “I think that’s part of playing defense, especially at this time of year.”
Regardless, the effort had multiple Vegas players going straight to Marner at the horn to hug him with a seventh straight playoff win secured — and the chance for more.
“I think the way they think the game, you can see it,” said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained Carolina to its lone Cup title in 2006. “They’re not making plays when they don’t have to, and they don’t turn pucks over. It’s out of their end, it’s through the neutral zone. if there’s no space, they’re putting it behind you, and they’re just staying above it, and they’re doing it right.”
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