- Tomas Hertl scored with 3:24 left in the third to give Vegas a 5-4 Game 1 win over Carolina
- Road teams were 0-55 all-time when trailing by multiple goals at any point in a Cup Final opener
- Read below for the full Hertl game-winner video, Shea Theodore’s three-point night, and how Vegas erased a 2-0 first-period hole
Vegas just did something no road team had ever done in a Stanley Cup Final.
Tomas Hertl scored with 3:24 left in the third period to give the Golden Knights a 5-4 Game 1 win over the Hurricanes, capping a wild comeback from a 2-0 first-period hole Tuesday at Lenovo Center. Road teams had been 0-55 all-time when trailing by multiple goals at any point in a Cup Final opener.
The winner came on a give-and-go that ended with Colton Sissons feeding Hertl a no-look backhand pass. Hertl cut to the slot and beat Frederik Andersen blocker-side from between the hash marks. It happened 21 seconds after Carter Hart robbed Seth Jarvis with a glove save on a one-timer from the right circle.
Watch the third-period stretch that flipped Game 1:
Shea Theodore had a three-point night with a goal and two assists, and Brayden McNabb chipped in three helpers of his own. Hart finished with 23 saves while Andersen stopped 18 in a back-and-forth that featured eight goals and a Cup Final first: Ivan Barbashev’s tally 30 seconds into the second period made it the first game in Final history with goals scored inside the opening 30 seconds of both the first and second periods.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a monster night for Carolina even in the loss. He scored 25 seconds into the game on a 2-on-1, the fastest opening goal in Cup Final history since Reggie Leach in 1976, then added a breakaway at 12:08 to push the lead to 2-0.
Then came the response. Theodore got one back at 13:28 when his one-timer from the right point deflected in off Eric Robinson’s shin, and Ivan Barbashev tied the game 30 seconds into the second period.
William Karlsson gave Vegas its first lead of the night off a slick Mitch Marner backhand from below the goal line. Jordan Staal answered, Brett Howden put the Knights back in front 4-3 in the opening 90 seconds of the third, and Shayne Gostisbehere knotted it again at 4-4 before Hertl ended it.
Here’s the full Game 1 recap:
Game 2 is Thursday at Lenovo Center (8 p.m. ET, ABC). Vegas grabbed the early jump in a Final that’s already off the rails in the best way.
