By AARON BEARD and By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writers
RALEIGH, N.C. — 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 Western Conference 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,” Vegas 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 in the previous 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 in 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 conference finals 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,” Vegas 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 the Ducks 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.”
CAROLINA SEEKS TOP-LINE PRODUCTION
After carrying the Hurricanes during the season as their top goal scorers, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov are ice cold in the playoffs.
That was easier to swallow during the first three rounds, when others down the lineup picked up the slack. Now, it is a problem that could cost them the Stanley Cup.
The Hurricanes have met their match against the Golden Knights, a seasoned opponent with no glaring weaknesses. The pressure is squarely on Carolina’s best players to get it together before it is too late.
“I know we have a better in us, and we’ve got to show it,” Aho said Wednesday. “It’s on us to figure it out.”
Through 14 games this postseason, the trio of Jarvis, Aho and Svechnikov has scored just three times against a goaltender at even strength. The success of the second line of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake made getting past Ottawa, Philadelphia and Montreal a breeze with a single loss in the three series combined.
Vegas is a different animal, and Game 1 showed the frustration seeping through for the first line.
“This league is weird: You grip your stick a little tight and you get into a weird matchup, and it can look worse than it is,” Hall said. “But things can change on a dime, especially this time of year.”
The Hurricanes have been waiting nearly two months for that change. Brind’Amour for several weeks has exhibited patience and praised Jarvis, Aho and Svechnikov for doing good things away from the puck that contribute to winning, even if they’re not showing up on the scoresheet.
His tone has changed facing a deficit in the final.
“They got to play in the other team’s end,” Brind’Amour said. “They’re too much one and done and not even one (scoring chance), and it’s not a lot of time. So, they got to get a little more offensive zone time. Kind of like that last shift they had. That was one of the shifts you could say: ‘OK, there you go. That’s how it needs to look.’ We need them to get going.”
That final shift came with the score tied late in the third period Tuesday night, hemming the Golden Knights in their own end and generating quality opportunities. Jarvis had one shot blocked, then two more stopped by Hart, including a flashy glove save that set the table for Tomas Hertl to score the winning goal 21 seconds later.
It was a marked improvement from earlier in the game, when Jarvis passed up an open shot looking for a pass and later missing a wide-open net.
“The chances are there,” Jarvis said. “We’ve had our looks. We just have to capitalize now more than ever. We can’t dwell on the past, can’t dwell on the stuff we missed. It’s about the next shift, the next shot.”
Easier said than done because Vegas is going to adjust, too. Tortorella has preached a consistent approach, and there is a reason the team has won 80% of its games since he took over in late March.
“We have thoughts on how to play this team,” Tortorella said. “We need to be patient. In a number of things, how we have to play, I think, requires patience – and when you get a little antsy against that team, they can capitalize. They’re that good. I think we have an understanding of how we have to go.”
While Jarvis, Aho and Svechnikov have looked off at times, there is little evidence it comes from a lack of caring. Maybe it’s trying too hard.
“It’s not about work ethic or trying harder, but it doesn’t matter at the same time,” Aho said. “There’s also a part that we almost sometimes try to do too much, instead of just letting the game happen and play the game, let the game come to you in a way.”
Teammates are trying to keep those guys’ heads up and focused as best as possible. Defenseman Jalen Chatfield is all about bringing the positivity.
“Everybody’s giving everything out there,” Chatfield said. “That’s not the question. Sometimes it’s bounces. Sometimes things happen in hockey, but I think as a group, (it is about) leaning on each other to help each other play our best.”
Hall, the No. 1 pick in 2010 and MVP in 2017-18 who has found a groove with his sixth NHL organization at age 34, doesn’t feel the need to coach up other players who are struggling. He maintains the belief that Jarvis, Aho and Svechnikov will turn things around.
“Those guys are great players,” Hall said. “They had their chances and their looks (in Game 1). Some of the looks didn’t turn into chances. But we know how good they are, and we know how good they can be and it’s only a matter of time.”
Stanley Cup Final
Who: Vegas (up 1-0) at Carolina
When: Thursday, 5 p.m. PT
Where: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
TV: ABC (Ch. 7)