Golden Knights-Hurricanes Game 1 takeaways, grades, questions
For two teams that had put a stranglehold on their respective conferences, the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights struggled to keep a firm grasp on Game 1.
A two-goal Hurricanes lead was wiped away. The score was tied three times, but Vegas came away with a 5-4 win Tuesday against host Carolina in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Now comes the fun part. Trying to make sense of a game that, at times, made little sense for all involved.
Here's a look at what happened, how it all went down, what to look for next and what it means for the Hurricanes and Golden Knights ahead of Game 2 on Thursday.
Carolina Hurricanes
Grade: C+
Let's play a game of word association. Tonight's word is bizarre.
As in, it was bizarre to see Nikolaj Ehlers -- or anyone for that matter -- score within 25 seconds of puck drop against what's been one of the premier defensive structures in the postseason. It was less bizarre when Ehlers scored again more than 12 minutes later, with Jalen Chatfield picking up his second assist. It also was not out of place for the Golden Knights to mount a response when Shea Theodore cut the lead to 2-1 with less than eight minutes remaining in the first period.
Carolina -- a team that had lost just once this postseason -- losing the lead within the first minute of the second? And then giving up another goal minutes later to fall behind? And to acknowledge that those goals were the product of uncharacteristic turnovers? And then to have captain Jordan Staal score his first Cup final goal in 17 years? Let's just say there's a word for that.
The bizarro Canes weren't done yet either. There was another turnover that haunted them to start the third, leading to another deficit.
It seemed like this was all going to doom the Hurricanes before Shayne Gostisbehere tied it at 4 midway through the third to give his team a chance to win. However, Tomas Hertlscored the game-winning goal with less than four minutes left that left the Hurricanes with a lot to think about before Thursday.
Vegas Golden Knights
Grade: B-
Anyone who had yet to watch the Golden Knights this postseason -- or seen little of them -- might want to know something: They're extremely comfortable playing from behind. Falling into that two-goal deficit was gradually erased by Theodore's goal before Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson scored a pair of goals within five minutes of each other to take the lead.
Now let's go back to our word of the night: bizarre. One of the ways the Golden Knights swept the Western Conference finals matchup against the Colorado Avalanche -- who had the best record in the NHL this regular season -- was not letting them find any sort of opening to get back into the game.
The Hurricanes did it twice in Game 1, as Staal and Gostisbehere scored a pair of tying goals that was split by Brett Howden's tally to make it 4-3. It created the belief that maybe the Golden Knights, the team that has made a point of coming back on opponents this postseason, could see their own strategy work against them.
Or it did appear that way until Hertl scored the game-winning goal for his team to open their fourth straight series this postseason with a Game 1 victory.
Players to watch in Game 2
Taylor Hall
LW, Hurricanes
The Hurricanes scored four goals in Game 1 but did it without anything from their leader in points through the first three rounds. Hall finished with two shots, yet his evening in some ways was less about him and more about his line.
The veteran winger has been part of Carolina's second line with Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake. They've become one of the most formidable trios this postseason but went pointless with a collective six shots. Game 1 showed that the Canes do have other options. But tying this series could depend upon if the trio who came into the Cup Final leading them in points can find a way to make a mark.
Brett Howden
LW, Golden Knights
Not that it took Game 1 for Howden to make an impact but think about what everything he did to open the Stanley Cup Final. Howden had the secondary assist on the tying goal before scoring the tally that gave the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead to start the third.
A clutch, two-point effort in Game 1 of the series only adds to the discussion: What are the chances that Howden wins the Conn Smythe Trophy? Vegas is going to have others who make a strong case. But Howden leads the postseason in goals (11) and had an impact in a game that nobody really controlled until the end. It's something to think about for those who haven't already.
Big questions for Game 2
Can Carolina cut down on its mistakes?
Miscues are going to happen throughout a game. And when they do, it's about finding a way to minimize their potential damage. That didn't happen in Game 1 for Carolina, when the inability to clear the puck led to Barbashev scoring the tying goal before another turnover behind the net became a goal for Karlsson, giving Vegas a 3-2 lead.
It happened again when the Hurricanes failed to get the puck out of their zone early in the third before Howden gave the Golden Knights a 4-3 edge. It almost became a problem again when Pavel Dorofeyev dispossessed Sebastian Aho for a point-blank chance that was turned down by Andersen.
Vegas will continue to exploit these mistakes, so Carolina must limit them.
Can the Golden Knights find consistency with their puck possession?
This postseason has shown that the Golden Knights don't need to have a strong amount of puck possession to win games. It's just that Game 1 was, well, erratic upon looking at the underlying metrics.
Natural Stat Trick's data shows that Vegas had a 33.3% shot share at 5-on-5 in the first period, a 53.8% shot share in the second, before scoring twice in the third en route to taking Game 1 ... all with a 34.3% shot share. In total, the Knights finished with a 39.7% shot share over the course of a chaotic night that was boosted by the fact that they took advantage of the Hurricanes' mistakes. They have proved they can win this way, but a more consistent amount of possession could pay dividends in Game 2 and beyond.
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