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.
Bettman says retirement reports ‘greatly exaggerated’
Gary Bettman, the longest-serving active commissioner in professional sports, said on Tuesday that succession planning for his role as head of the National Hockey League was under way but that there were no imminent plans for him to step down.
Bettman, who turned 74 on Tuesday, has been NHL Commissioner since February 1993, helping the league expand to 32 teams from 24 and increase its global footprint.
Bettman said reports of his retirement were “greatly exaggerated” at a press conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, ahead of the opening game of the Stanley Cup final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.
“I do acknowledge the fact that I can’t do this forever,” Bettman said about his future in the role. “We have been in discussions, over the last couple of years at least, as to what a succession plan might look like.
“It hasn’t been fully implemented, the (NHL) executive committee is fully on board, the board (of governors) has been briefed in terms of the direction we may go. But beyond that, there’s nothing happening imminently and reports of my demise or retirement are greatly exaggerated.”
Under Bettman’s more than three decades of leadership, the NHL has grown greatly, with annual revenues for the 2025-26 season projected to be between $7.5 billion and $8 billion, the commissioner said on Tuesday. Last December, Forbes magazine estimated NHL clubs were worth an average of $2.2 billion.
The league has also expanded its footprint worldwide, bringing exhibition and regular-season contests to countries such as Austria, China, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany and Japan.
Bettman also led the NHL to its first Olympics in 1998 as players from the league stocked the rosters of the marquee men’s ice hockey event at the Nagano Games.
The league has also evolved in countless ways under his watch, from rewriting the rule book in a bid to boost overall offense to playing annual outdoor games that have proven hugely popular. (Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; additional reporting by Frank Pingue Editing by Toby Davis)
Preds tab MacFarland as president, GM
The Nashville Predators announced the hiring of Chris MacFarland as their president of hockey operations and general manager on Tuesday.
MacFarland, 56, previously served as the general manager of the Colorado Avalanche for the past four years.
He replaces Barry Trotz, who will move to an advisory role within the Predators after announcing in February his intention to retire as GM once his successor was found.
“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group,” Predators majority owner Bill Haslam said. “We conducted an exhaustive search and were able to meet with several very qualified and impressive candidates, but all along, we were hopeful to interview Chris. He turned out to be a perfect fit for us – just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward.”
MacFarland becomes the third general manager in Predators history and the second to hold the president of hockey operations title. He joins Nashville after spending the previous 11 seasons with the Avalanche.
“My wife Chandra and I, together with our children, are grateful to Bill and Crissy Haslam and the entire Nashville Predators family for this opportunity,” MacFarland said. “We also thank everyone at the Avalanche, including (team president) Joe Sakic and the Kroenke family, for their support in pursuing this position with the Predators; I believe Nashville will be a great fit for me.
“I know this is a proud organization with a solid track record of putting together teams that the fans of Smashville support wholeheartedly. My goal here is to build a winner, working with Bill Haslam, (team CEO) Sean Henry and our hockey operations staff and players to put a team on the ice that will compete for the Stanley Cup. I am excited about our future.”
Sakic will return to holding general manager duties for “the foreseeable future,” the Avalanche announced.
“We would like to thank Chris for all he did for the Avalanche organization,” said Josh Kroenke, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
“Chris was instrumental in our success over the last decade and a key part of our 2022 Stanley Cup championship. This was an opportunity for him to take on a bigger role with the Predators while being closer to his family. We wish him and his family all the best in Nashville.”
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Golden Knights pull out Game 1 win over Hurricanes in Cup Final
Reporting by Field Level Media / The Detroit News
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