Golden Knights Rally Past Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1, Take Early Series Lead
Written By Gina Anton
LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights erased an early two-goal deficit and received a late game-winning goal from Tomas Hertl to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1 of their best-of-7 series at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
Hertl broke a 4-4 tie at 16:36 of the third period, snapping home a shot off a setup from Colton Sissons and Shea Theodore to complete Vegas' comeback and give the Golden Knights a 1-0 series lead.
The Hurricanes appeared to be in control early. Nikolaj Ehlers stunned the home crowd just 25 seconds into the opening period, beating Hart with a snap shot to give Carolina a 1-0 lead. Ehlers struck again at 12:08, finishing a backhand opportunity created by Jalen Chatfield to double the advantage and put Vegas on its heels.
The Golden Knights responded quickly.
Theodore cut the deficit to 2-1 only 1:20 later, blasting a slap shot past the Carolina goaltender after taking passes from Brayden McNabb and Cole Smith. The goal shifted momentum and gave Vegas life heading into the intermission.
The comeback continued immediately in the second period. Just 30 seconds after the puck dropped, Ivan Barbashev buried a snap shot off feeds from Jack Eichel and McNabb to tie the game 2-2. William Karlsson then gave Vegas its first lead of the night at 4:35, finishing a play created by Mitch Marner and Brett Howden for a 3-2 advantage.
Carolina refused to go away. Jordan Staal answered midway through the period, wiring a snap shot past Hart at 12:42 to tie the game 3-3 and set up a dramatic third period.
Vegas regained the lead at 1:21 of the final frame when Howden redirected a shot from Theodore for a 4-3 lead. Once again, however, the Hurricanes had an answer.
Shayne Gostisbehere tied the game 4-4 at 11:19 with an unassisted snap shot after forcing a turnover and creating his own scoring chance. The teams traded opportunities throughout the remainder of the period before Hertl delivered the decisive blow with less than four minutes remaining.
"Obviously, when you score a game-winner it's a pretty nice touch, but I'm just proud about our team effort, every single guy," Hertl said. "It's not always about the goals, it's just the details.”
Hart, steady under fire, made 23 saves on 27 shots, keeping Vegas within reach while the team clawed back from a 2-0 deficit to capture the win.
"The foundation of our team, the guts of our team, has been through this before," coach John Tortorella said. "We're down 2-0. There wasn't panic on the bench. Those guys kind of lead the way by not panicking. They don't say much. They just play, and I think other people follow behind them. I think that's so important this time of year."
Theodore played a pivotal role in the win, recording a goal and two assists, while McNabb added three assists. Ehlers led Carolina with two first-period goals, but the Hurricanes were unable to hold the lead despite twice moving ahead by multiple goals.
After a night filled with momentum swings, timely goals, and playoff intensity, the Golden Knights emerged with the only result that mattered, a Game 1 victory and an early edge in the series.
