Hertl’s late goal gives Golden Knights Game 1 win over Hurricanes
If that’s how this series is going to go, this is going to be a fun ride.
In a wild contest, a late goal from Tomas Hertl helped the Vegas Golden Knights steal a 5-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The game went down to the wire. Frantic action and poor goaltending led to many goals on Tuesday night, with the teams tied at three heading into the third period. Just over a minute into the frame, Golden Knights forward Brett Howden tipped in his NHL-leading 11th goal of the playoffs to give his team the lead for the second time.
Fans inside the Lenovo Center started to get a little worried that their team couldn’t find the equalizer. However, a little past the halfway mark of the frame, Hurricanes forward Shayne Gostisbehere found a loose puck and hammered a shot past Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart to tie the game ocne again.
Time was ticking down and overtime seemed inevitable. Yet, with just a few minutes to go in regulation, Hertl sniped on Canes goaltender Frederik Andersen to put the Golden Knights in front once again.
Carolina pushed for the tying goal once again, with the game coming down to a face off in the Vegas zone with just five seconds left. Alexander Nikishin fired a one-timer that was blocked by Mitch Marner, securing the win for the visitors.
The final got off to a torrid start. In the opening minute of the contest Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers got free after chipping the puck past Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, leading to an odd-man rush the other way. Ehlers beat Hart just 25 seconds into the game.
It tied the record for the eighth-fastest goal at the beginning of a game in Stanley Cup Final history.
Ehlers didn’t stop there. Later on in the period, a great play from Jalen Chatield sprung the Danish forward on a breakaway, scoring his second of the game and sixth of the playoffs to make it 2-0 Canes.
Despite the sluggish start, where they seemed like they were struggling to find their footing, the Golden Knights settled things down as the first period wound down. Theodore made some amends for his earlier miscue by finding the back of the net for the fifth time in the playoffs, putting Vegas on the boards a little over a minute after Ehlers’ second tally.
Vegas started to build some momentum, which carried into the early stages of period two. Ivan Barbashev’s second goal of the season came just 30 seconds into the frame, leveling the game at two.
The Golden Knights were done yet. A few minutes later, Mitch Marner made a great play to set up William Karlsson for his second goal of the playoffs, giving his team the lead for the first time.
However, the Hurricanes started to turn the tide back in their favor as the middle stanza wore on. They started to take the play back to Vegas and in the latter half of the period, captain Jordan Staal, playing in the final for the first time in 17 years, rifled a shot past Hart to tie the game at three.
Goaltending certainly wasn’t spectacular in Game 1. Yet, Hart made enough stops, including a big save on Seth Jarvis when the game was tied at four, to help his team scored the win. The Vegas backstop made 23 saves in the victory, while Andersen was credited with just 18 stops in the loss.
Despite all the goal scoring, the power play for both teams struggled. Vegas was 0-for-3 on the man advantage, while Carolina went 0-for-2.
Game 2 is set for Thursday night in Raleigh, with puck drop scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET.