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The Stanley Cup Final – like any best-of-seven playoff series – is usually more of a marathon than a sprint.
That said, you won’t hear too many complaints about a fast start, and it’s hard to get faster than the Carolina Hurricanes.
The game began Wednesday night in Raleigh with the Vegas Golden Knights arriving in town after clinching the Western Conference title with a stunning sweep of the Colorado Avalanche.
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Nikolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
While Vegas-Carolina isn’t exactly gold-ranked, this is a matchup between two incredibly good hockey teams.
NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL BETTING GUIDE: WHY THE HURRICANES ARE THE PICK TO BEAT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Both have different styles that make them great, but Carolina’s secret weapons are structure and fast starts.
Well, once the puck dropped in the first game, the replays hadn’t even reached the starting lineups before Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers gave the home team a one-point lead on the very first shot of the series.
The Canes simply couldn’t have asked for a better start.
And it goes without saying that this is the worst possible start for the Golden Knights.
AndAs if that wasn’t enough, Ehlers had another one up his sleeve later in the period.
Both of these goals were assisted by Jalen Chatfield.
The Canes absolutely tore up the Eastern Conference en route to their third Cup Final appearance in franchise history.
Nikolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with his teammates after a first-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NHLI via Getty Images)
Despite a fast start, Vegas made a major break on a lucky rebound to cut the lead to 2-1, a goal that was credited to Shea Theodore.
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Carolina swept the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first and second rounds, respectively. The Hurricanes then lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Montreal Canadiens before rebounding to win the next four games and clinch the series in five.
Game 2 is Thursday in Raleigh, then the series moves to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 the following Tuesday.
