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Nikolaj Ehlers gave the Carolina Hurricanes an early 2-0 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night.
Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore fanned Carolina's flames shortly after Ehlers' second goal, cutting the lead in half to 2-1, where the score stood as the teams went into the locker room after the first period.
Ehlers poked the puck off the boards in the defensive zone, gathered it and raced down the left side past Theodore. Ehlers, who came into the Cup final with a team fourth highest nine points in the postseason, fired far side past Vegas goalie Carter Hart to give Carolina a 1-0 lead just 25 seconds in.
"Yeah, I mean, you don't know exactly what to expect, it's the first game, the building was already buzzing," Ehlers said in between periods on the television broadcast. "But that for sure, that was pretty cool. That was special. That definitely gave the arena a little more juice."
Ehlers got his second goal when he grabbed a cross-ice pass from Jalen Chatfield, who intercepted Jack Eichel's pass, raced in untouched and once again beat Hart.
The Knights got on the board when Theodore's long blast from the right point got through traffic and appeared to deflect off Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen's leg.
"They are a really good team," Ehlers added. "They play hard, they play fast, they got a lot of skill players."
Ehlers' words rang true in the second period, as the Golden Knights scored 30 seconds in when Ivan Barbashev took a pass from Eichel and beat Andersen from a wide-open spot in the top of the left circle.
William Karlsson gave the Knights a 3-2 lead moments later when he was positioned perfectly to one-time Mitch Marner's pass in front of the net.
The stunned crowd came back to life when Carolina's Jordan Staal when the Knights failed to clear the zone and took advantage of a giveaway by Noah Hanifin. Staal's shot went high over Hart's blocker to tie the game at 3-all.
"For us, it's pretty simple, we got to get punch deep and play in their zone and create stuff from there that kills their offense," Ehlers said.
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) celebrates scoring with teammates during the second period against Carolina Hurricanes in game one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center.
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Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore fanned Carolina's flames shortly after Ehlers' second goal, cutting the lead in half to 2-1, where the score stood as the teams went into the locker room after the first period.
Ehlers poked the puck off the boards in the defensive zone, gathered it and raced down the left side past Theodore. Ehlers, who came into the Cup final with a team fourth highest nine points in the postseason, fired far side past Vegas goalie Carter Hart to give Carolina a 1-0 lead just 25 seconds in.
"Yeah, I mean, you don't know exactly what to expect, it's the first game, the building was already buzzing," Ehlers said in between periods on the television broadcast. "But that for sure, that was pretty cool. That was special. That definitely gave the arena a little more juice."
Ehlers got his second goal when he grabbed a cross-ice pass from Jalen Chatfield, who intercepted Jack Eichel's pass, raced in untouched and once again beat Hart.
The Knights got on the board when Theodore's long blast from the right point got through traffic and appeared to deflect off Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen's leg.
"They are a really good team," Ehlers added. "They play hard, they play fast, they got a lot of skill players."
Ehlers' words rang true in the second period, as the Golden Knights scored 30 seconds in when Ivan Barbashev took a pass from Eichel and beat Andersen from a wide-open spot in the top of the left circle.
William Karlsson gave the Knights a 3-2 lead moments later when he was positioned perfectly to one-time Mitch Marner's pass in front of the net.
The stunned crowd came back to life when Carolina's Jordan Staal when the Knights failed to clear the zone and took advantage of a giveaway by Noah Hanifin. Staal's shot went high over Hart's blocker to tie the game at 3-all.
"For us, it's pretty simple, we got to get punch deep and play in their zone and create stuff from there that kills their offense," Ehlers said.
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) celebrates scoring with teammates during the second period against Carolina Hurricanes in game one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center.
Continue reading...
